Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Hiroshima Marks 58th Anniversary of A-bomb Annihilation
Hiroshima on Wednesday marked the 58th anniversary of its annihilation by a US atomic bomb on Aug. 6,1945, with its mayor saying the United States seems to "worship nuclear weapons as God."
Hiroshima on Wednesday marked the 58th anniversary of its annihilation by a US atomic bomb on Aug. 6,1945, with its mayor saying the United States seems to "worship nuclear weapons as God."
"The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the central international agreement guiding the elimination of nuclear weapons, is on the verge of collapse," Tadatoshi Akiba was quoted by Kyodo News.
"The chief cause is the US nuclear policy that, by openly declaring the possibility of a preemptive nuclear first strike and calling for resumed research into mini-nukes and other nuclear weapons, appears to worship nuclear weapons as God," Akiba said.
Akiba called on US President George W. Bush and leaders of all the nuclear powers to visit Hiroshima and learn the reality of nuclear war.
"We must somehow convey to them that nuclear weapons are utterly evil, inhumane and illegal under international law," the mayor said in an annual Peace Declaration before an estimate of 40,000 people at a ceremony in the western Japanese city.
He also said the US and British war in Iraq had highlighted thefalsity of the claim that peace could be achieved through war, noting it had been conducted with "disregard for the multitudes around the world demanding a peaceful solution."
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi also attended the 45-minute ceremony, his third attendance at the event.
According to Kyodo, 5,050 more people have been recognized as atomic-bomb victims by the city since August last year, bringing the total victim number to 231,920.