| Chugoku Shimbun Peace News | |
| Hiroshima mayor's 58th anniversary peace declaration: rule of law shines light for future | '03/8/7 |
- Criticism of US nuclear policy
On August 6, the 58th anniversary of the US atomic bombing, the city of Hiroshima held its annual Hiroshima City A-bomb Victims Consolation and Peace Prayer Ceremony in Peace Memorial Park, Naka-ku. Approximately 40,000 hibakusha, bereaved family members and others (city estimate) participated, observing a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m. This figure is about 5,000 fewer than last year. In his Peace Declaration, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba criticized the Iraq War, the resumption of research on small nuclear weapons, and other actions of the Bush administration while stressing the need for "rule of law" based on agreed international rules. He also advocated strongly for the spirit of "reconciliation" derived by the hibakusha from their tragic experience. The ceremony began at 8:00 a.m. with Mayor Akiba and two representatives of bereaved families placing into the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims the Records of the Past, which included the names of 5,050 names of A-bomb victims who died or whose deaths were confirmed this year. The Records now comprise 81 volumes and hold the names of 231,920 victims. Mayor Akiba, in his Declaration, pointed out that US nuclear policies appear to "worship nuclear weapons as God," and are the primary factor in the growing concern over nuclear proliferation. In criticizing the war on Iraq led by the US and UK but supported by the Japanese government, he touched on the effects of DU weapons, which have caused "..radioactive contamination that will be with us for billions of years." Quoting the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (US), he said, "Darkness can never be dispelled by darkness, only by light," then identified as darkness the "rule of power" based on war and nuclear weapons. He positioned "rule of law" and the spirit of reconciliation received from the hibakusha as a light illuminating the future for humankind. Furthermore, he invited President Bush, North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Il , and all world leaders to visit Hiroshima to see with their own eyes the reality of nuclear war. He demanded that the government of Japan, the only A-bombed nation, he demanded acceptance as national precepts three new non-nuclear principles: allow no production, allow no possession, and allow no use of nuclear weapons anywhere in the world. In his address, Prime Minister Koizumi, who participated for the third consecutive year, said, "Japan has abided by the Peace Constitution and firmly maintained the non-nuclear principles." He did not mention the new non-nuclear principles during the press conference that followed. The children's representatives, Hiroyuki Fuji (11) in the sixth grade at Minami Kanon elementary School and Mizuki Kataoka (11) in the sixth grade at Dambara Elementary School quoted Sankichi Toge in their Commitment to Peace. Their determined voices powerfully pledging to initiate actions that lead to peace led all present to share that feeling. This is the first year since 1981 that the number of participants failed to exceed 40,000. The heat may have been a factor, but we are also confronting the harsh reality that our hibakusha and bereaved family members are aging. (Caption)Mayor Akiba called for "reconciliation" in his Peace Declaration. The massive line of people slowly approaching the Cenotaph continued long after the ceremony. (9:00 a.m., August 6, Peace Memorial Park, Naka-ku, Hiroshima)
    
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