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Statement by Greenpeace's global leadership for the 60th Anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima & NagasakiOn this anniversary which reminds us about war and the horror war brings, Greenpeace - once again - commits itself to creating peace. We envision a world where the kind of death and destruction caused in Hiroshima and Nagasaki can never happen again. We envision a future where there is no fear of nuclear weapons and their destructive power. We envision a future where terrible conflict provoked by the very existence of nuclear weapons has been totally eliminated. To honour those who died as a result of nuclear weapons unleashed in Japan, we must all work together to create this world. From every corner of the planet, across 40 countries and representing 2.8 million supporters, Greenpeace sends its solemn promise that it will continue fighting for peace. Today Greenpeace also delivers messages from citizens around the world and the point is crystal clear: to create lasting peace all nations must eliminate all their nuclear weapons - as well as the dangerous materials and technologies used to create them. This double imperative is more urgent than ever. Since the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, eight other nations have acquired nuclear weapons. Meanwhile countries like Japan intend to produce nuclear weapons useable material. But it's not too late to take action. The first step is up to leaders of nuclear weapons states. They must lead by example and honour past promises to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. They must stop using nuclear weapons as a threatening tool - a tool to prop up self-interested worldviews which fail to recognize how the fates all nations and all peoples are inextricably intertwined. Next month at the Millennium Summit Review leaders of Nuclear Weapons States will have the opportunity to set aside self-interest in favour of the common good. What the world's people expect from this meeting is that negotiations start for nuclear disarmament - negotiations that start NOW. The responsibility falls not just on nuclear weapons states. Leaders of countries like Japan which intend to produce dangerous nuclear weapons usable material must immediately abandon their plans. As long as deadly substances like plutonium are produced, the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation exists. And by pursuing a plan that will create eight tonnes of nuclear weapons material Japan also dramatically weakens its own call for nuclear disarmament. It was thirty four years ago that twelve activists sailed their ship into the heart of the U.S. nuclear weapons test zone. The memory of lives lost in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki propelled them forward. Greenpeace will continue remembering those lost lives. But we will also focus on the world we want to create: one where people from all over the planet unite in common cause for our common good. With their messages sent from all over the world to Hiroshima today, that's exactly what people did today. Will their leaders follow? Signed by
Gerd Leipold
Martin Prieto, Executive Director, Greenpeace Argentina |
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