Gensuikyo presses Britain to implement promise to eliminate nuclear weapons

A Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) delegation now visiting Geneva held meetings with missions of Britain, Egypt, and China on April 25 to exchange views on the issue of the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The Gensuikyo delegation, led by General Secretary Takakusagi Hiroshi, Gensuikyo general secretary, is in Geneva to attend the 2nd session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2005 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference from April 28-May 9.

In the talks at the British mission, Takakusagi said that the U.S.-British attack on Iraq was an act of aggression in violation of the U.N. Charter and it will have grave, negative effects on efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament.

Referring to the preemptive attack strategy employed by the United States and Britain, he demanded that nuclear weapons countries implement their promise to eliminate their nuclear arsenals and that binding measures be established to prevent the preemptive use of nuclear weapons and their use against non-nuclear countries.

Takakusagi said, "Non-nuclear countries, which are the world's majority, are imposing treaty obligations on themselves to not seek to have such weapons. If nuclear weapons countries not only refuse to eliminate their nuclear weapons but even assert a right to use them arbitrarily, the nuclear non-proliferation regime will be destroyed by the nuclear weapons countries."

David Broucher, British Disarmament Ambassador, stated that his government is not against the first use of nuclear weapons.

An Egyptian official stressed the need for the whole of the Middle East region to be made nuclear weapons-free, and said that nuclear have-nots must be protected and not intimidated.

Chinese mission officials stated that China will not be the first to use nuclear weapons and that it will certainly not use them against non nuclear-weapons countries. (end)