August 6 is observed as Hiroshima Peace Day. We really love to have a peaceful world free from all destructive and devastating nuclear weapons.
On August 6, 1945 at about 8:15 in the morning, the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima by the United States Air Force – B-29 bomber known as ‘little boy’. The dangerous and devastating power of the atomic bomb effectively obliterated the city of Hiroshima, Japan. More than 70,000 people were killed instantly, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the dangerous nuclear radiation and died in one year. Hiroshima Peace Day aims to remember the 140,000 people who tragically died after the first atomic bomb was dropped by bringing about world peace and ban all nuclear weapons. At the same time, 70% of the city’s buildings were destroyed.
This year 2020 commemorates the 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Survivors, their relatives and other participants marked the 8:15 am blast anniversary with a minute of silence. Survivors, relatives and a handful of foreign dignitaries attended this year’s main event in Hiroshima to pray for those killed or wounded in the bombing and called for world peace. But the general public was kept away, with the ceremony instead broadcast online because of COVID-19 Pandemic. On 6th August, thursday’s peace ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was scaled down this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year there were fewer than 1,000 attendees which were one-tenth of those attended in past years. Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, in his speech at the ceremony, said Japan is committed to nuclear weapons ban but a nuclear free world cannot be achieved overnight and that it has to start from dialogue between opposite sides. And U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the gathering by video message because of the pandemic, warned that “the only way to totally eliminate nuclear risk is to totally eliminate nuclear weapons”. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is an annual Japanese vigil held on Hiroshima Peace City Memorial Monument in Peace Memorial Park that takes place on August 6 with the aim of consoling the victims of the atomic bombs, reassuring people of Japan’s desire for a nuclear weapons free world and praying for the realization of lasting world peace. The second atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days after on 9th August, 1945 with the same devastating affect about 80,000 deaths immediately resulting in Japan’s unconditional surrender to the allied forces.
Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces on August 15, six days after the Soviet Union’s declaration of war and the bombing of Nagasaki.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 2017 to an advocacy group behind the first treaty to prohibit nuclear arms. It is a great achievement that the peace loving International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 “The organization is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such dangerous nuclear weapons,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement. On the other hand, International campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said in a statement after they received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 as follows, “This prize is a tribute to the tireless efforts of many millions of campaigners and concerned citizens worldwide who, ever since the dawn of the atomic age, have loudly protested nuclear weapons, insisting that they can serve no legitimate purpose and must be forever banished from the face of our earth.” And we the peace loving people must say loudly that they really deserve the Nobel Peace Prize by virtue of their tireless International campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons from the face our mother earth with a view to upholding peace, beauty, stability, humanity and prosperity everywhere in the world.
It is a shocking and terrible news that there are destructive 15,000 nuclear weapons the hands of 9 powerful countries. Both United States and Russia have the largest stockpiles like 13,500 nuclear weapons. The other countries that have nuclear weapons are China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. 15000 nuclear weapons can destroy the world several times. Let us unite and support campaigns from grassroot level for a peaceful world free from destructive and devastating nuclear weapons. We wholeheartedly want to see a beautiful world free from all nuclear weapons for the sake of peace, humanity, stability and prosperity every where in the world.
Source : News on Hiroshima Peace Day
Bidyot Bhowmik : Former professor, columnist and advisor to CBNA
Montreal, Canada, 6th August, 2020
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