 Int'l meeting of 2004 World Conference against A & H Bombs closed The three-day International Meeting of the 2004 World Conference against A & H Bombs in Hiroshima closed on August 4 after unanimously adopting a declaration calling on the world to rise in actions to get nuclear weapons abolished without delay, and accelerate their actions toward the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2005. Representatives of governments of Malaysia, Mexico, and Egypt make statements The international meeting was attended for the first time by government representatives of Malaysia, Mexico, and Egypt, who criticized the U.S. Bush administration for clinging to a preemptive strike strategy to overthrow governments that it does not like and calling for the possible use of nuclear weapons against countries with no such weapons. Hussein Haniff of Malaysia, chairing the Non-Aligned Conference, stated, "The rise of a security strategy that includes preemptive attack may have increased the possibility of nuclear weapons being used." Referring to the 2002 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review report, he criticized the U.S. for further developing small nuclear weapons and planning to launch nuclear attacks against non-nuclear countries. Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico, a New Agenda Coalition member, expressed "great concerns" that the international community seems to be accepting the U.S. government allegation that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is no longer effective. Pointing out that the promise made at the 2000 NPT Review conference that nuclear weapons countries have to make efforts to get their nuclear weapons eliminated is an established matter, the Mexican ambassador stated that there is no need to make another agreement. Every party to the NPT, including the U.S., must keep the promise, he said. As regards obstacles to achieving the goal of nuclear disarmament, Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamed Ezzel Din pointed out the lack of comprehensive measures for peaceful settlements of international disputes as well as the lack of cultural efforts for peace, and called for these shortcomings to be overcome before the 2005 Review Conference through political and diplomatic efforts. Gordon Ondiek Nyabade from Kenya called for launching a campaign to settle conflicts through peaceful means. Maryam Behnoodi from Iran called out to U.S. President Bush, "Can you hear the voices of the Hibakusha? Listen to what the ground zero of Hiroshima is saying!" Solidarity between Hibakusha in Japan and world In the special session for solidarity of world Hibakusha, atomic and hydrogen bomb sufferers from the Marshall Islands, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia, as well as Hibakusha from South Korea and the United States made speeches. Shimo Sachiko, the San Francisco branch director of the American A-Bomb Victims Association, stated, "Recently, the Japanese perception of war and nuclear weapons seems to be changing. If Hibakusha ceased speaking out, Japan may again go to war abroad." Discussions ranged over how Hibakusha be compensated, and Japanese specialists spoke about lessons learned from Hibakusha's collective legal suits in Japan. On August 4, during the final day session, participants in the International Meeting adopted the Declaration, "Abolition of Nuclear Weapons Now-- Call for Worldwide Action and Solidarity" (for the full text of the declaration, see Japan Press Weekly, No. 2394). (end) |