Hiroshima Day 2005 across the Globe…

Australia

Over Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 August we held our national conference which was designed to emphasize the issues of nuclear weapons and to show the links between the horrific events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 60 years ago and the current threats by these weapons. The conference was a resounding success in the content and the interest and response of the participants, but of course we would have liked a larger audience (as always of late). However many positive links have been made for MAPW( Medical Association for Prevention of War ) with both our IPPNW colleagues but also many wonderful non-medical people who attended, particularly those in our region (three of the international speakers we had were from our region) The regional issues raised have also reinvigorated many within MAPW to strengthen our focus on the Asia-Pacific (perhaps our Regional Vice President Daniele Viliunas will expand on this at a future date).

At all these meetings we brought up the issues of the need for a NWC(Nuclear Weapons Convention), dealer ting, NSA's, the reprocessing project at SILEX, the problem of safeguarding Australian uranium exported, particularly to nuclear weapons states (this in particular caused some stirs as the Australian government is about to start exporting uranium to China) and many other things. No doubt more will come from these meetings in coming weeks. Most importantly perhaps, we put them all on notice that a push towards a NWC would be seen from us and others and many were interested in this idea and will be receiving further briefings from us about it (too few people knew that the draft text for the NWC actually exists).

Germany

Students from Berlin and Düsseldorf joined up and organized Target Berlin on the German capital's most famous publiq square - Alexanderplatz. There was also a bell-ringing ceremony in the Japanese peace park and in the evening, IPPNW Germany organized a concert in the Gedächniskirche, a church that was destroyed in WWII and has been left a ruin to remind people of the horrors of war. Public reaction to the street action on Alexanderplatz was very positive and more informations can be found on the Target Website.

 India

On August 9, 2005, the Department of community medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, organized an impressive exhibition of photos and posters to observe the 60th anniversary of Bombing at Hiroshima & Nagasaki (Japan). The Exhibition, which was arranged by Dr. M. Ather Ansari, lecturer at the above department and inaugurated by the Dean Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Usha Singhal, was primarily an important attempt to educate the public about the consequences of the creation of atomic energy. It was designed to encourage medical students to think about the bomb and its connection to health aspects. Most of the posters were brought from the Indian Institute of Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, Nagpur, India, while, rests of the posters were made by undergraduate and post-graduate students working in the department of community medicine.

The posters and photos were based on World War II, the history of the Enola Gay and the devastation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The exhibition, which has survivor accounts, photographic panels, artifacts and messages of peace. It also weaves personal stories, information and images to communicate the depth of these atrocities and the people victimized by the A-bombings. There was also a Target Nagpur, that was organized by Indian students.

 Nepal

The heavy drizzle that welcomed the beautiful morning on August 6, 2005 was not that strong a factor to discourage the participation of many medicos under Physicians for Social Responsibility, Nepal for gathering to observe the day which would go down as the most heinous act of inhumanity.

The program began with Dr. Basanta Pant making a presentation on how it led to the bombing of the A-bombs and how the people in those towns were were affected.The program was graced by many human right activists who condemned the inhumane scientific malpractice and called for the solidarity for banning nuclear nukes.

The pleasant aspect of this day was the vivid poster display on part of Ms.Midori who used to be an inhabitant of Hiroshima. Many participants shared their opinions on nuclear hazards and their proliferation.

The rain metaphorically reminded us the black rain that drizzled in the tranquil mornings of the two Japanese cities. However; it stopped only with the gatherings sharing a consensus of banning the nuclear bombs and the indiscrete proliferation policies.

Norway

On the occasion of the 60 years commemoration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, IPPNW Norway has together with the Norwegian Pugwash Committee, translated the World appeal into Norwegian and distributed it to our web site, several newspapers, the Norwegian members of Mayors for peace, and to those (a bishop, politicians etc.) who addressed a meeting outside the Parliament in Oslo on August 6 arranged by the Norwegian grass root movement No to nuclear weapons. Our affiliate also distributed handouts of the appeal on the same occasion.

Sweden

We had IPPNW speakers at two ceremonies in the Cathedral of Stockholm. We also had one speaker in a commemorating mess in a neighboring countryside church, Värmdö. There was a manifestation at a central square in Stockholm with speeches, an exhibition, lanterns sold and booklets etc. IPPNW was one of several peace/antinuclear organizations arranging the manifestation.  

In Uppsala city of Sweden the local peace alliance FREDSAM had an ecumenical) meeting in the Cathedral of Uppsala, a demonstration with speeches at central square of Uppsala and a seminar at the University Institute for Peace and Conflict resolution research: How do we achieve a world free from Nuclear Weapons? At this seminar Swedish IPPNW representatives discussed the IPPNW programme including the students NWIP. There also was a lantern ceremony at the Fyris River in central Uppsala, with Cathedral church bells ringing. An appeal list will be sent to all states in possession of Nuclear Weapons + NATO HQ in Brussels. Media covered all this with a big article with photos in the main Uppsala daily newspaper 

Turkey

On 6 August 2005 IPPNW-Turkey organized a press conference under the umbrella of "antinuclear platform" with leading NGOs such as Chamber of Environmental Engineers and Consumer's Rights Association hosted by Ankara Cankaya Mayor Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Eryilmaz (NUSED member) at the municipality headquarters meeting room.
Press release themed "No to nuclear weapons and no to nuclear plants at the 60th Anniversary of Hiroshima" followed the conference.

Besides the press release, the Rhodes Appeal will be open for public signatures. Istanbul Antinuclear Platform the author of the press release text also conducts the same press conference with two days' more comprehensive anniversary activities including Rhodes Appeal public signature.