Former state leaders gather in Hiroshima to discuss path to eliminate nuclear weapons
Apr. 19, 2010
by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer
The 28th Annual Plenary Meeting of the InterAction Council ("OB Summit"), where former state leaders have gathered in the A-bombed city to discuss a course for achieving the elimination of nuclear weapons, opened on April 18 in Hiroshima. The meeting will run for three days until April 20, and a "Hiroshima Declaration" will be released on the final day.
The opening ceremony was held at the International Conference Center Hiroshima, with the participation of fourteen former state leaders, including co-chairmen Jean Chrétien, former prime minister of Canada, and Ingvar Carlsson, former prime minister of Sweden, Yasuo Fukuda, former prime minister of Japan, former ministers, nuclear disarmament experts and Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, totaling about 80 people.
At the opening ceremony, Malcolm Fraser, honorary chairman and former prime minister of Australia, delivered the keynote speech. While welcoming the signing of the new nuclear disarmament treaty between the United States and Russia and other recent developments regarding nuclear weapons, Mr. Fraser described the need for a nuclear weapons convention, referring to the suspicion of Iran's nuclear development and the de-facto possession of nuclear weapons by Israel.
Sam Nunn, a former U.S. senator, who called for a world free of nuclear weapons in the Wall Street Journal along with three other former high-ranking U.S. officials, gave a special lecture, and said, "The threat of nuclear weapons is increasing. We have to take action to prevent the tragedy of Hiroshima from happening again." He urged the signatories of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) to strive for the success of the NPT Review Conference set for this May.
Prior to the opening ceremony, the participants of the meeting visited the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and Peace Memorial Museum. They will engage in discussions on April 19 and 20 at a hotel in the city.
Several planned participants such as Seyed Mohammad Khatami, former president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who was forbidden to leave the country by the Iranian government, and Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, who could not fly because of the volcano eruption in Iceland, are unable to attend the meeting.
The annual plenary meeting of the "OB Summit" began in 1983 in response to a proposal from the late Takeo Fukuda, a former Japanese prime minister, and this is the fourth such meeting in Japan. To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing, Hiroshima was chosen as the venue this time, the first time the meeting has been held in an A-bombed city.
by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer
Former state leaders, who have come to Hiroshima to attend the 28th Annual Plenary Meeting of the Inter Action Council ("OB Summit"), toured Peace Memorial Park on April 18 and learned about the damage wrought by the atomic bombing.
Prior to their talks, nearly 80 participants of the meeting visited the A-bomb Dome. Jean Chretien, the former prime minister of Canada, and Ingvar Carlsson, the former prime minister of Sweden, who are co-chairmen of the meeting, offered a flower wreath at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.
According to Steven Leeper, chairman of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, who provided the tour of Peace Memorial Museum, the former leaders studied the panoramic models depicting the state of Hiroshima before and after the bombing, along with belongings of the A-bomb victims, and agreed: "Every state leader should visit this museum."
Mr. Chretien said, "I don't have words for such a tragedy. During our meeting, we should engage in a serious discussion about eliminating nuclear weapons from the earth."
The participants also listened to accounts of the bombing shared in English by Keijiro Matsushima, 81, and Keiko Ogura, 72.
Yasuo Fukuda, the former prime minister of Japan, who nodded frequently while listening to the A-bomb accounts, said, "I again imagined the horrible consequences of the bombing. I myself will also make every effort so that this tragedy will never be repeated."
(Originally published on April 19, 2010)
The 28th Annual Plenary Meeting of the InterAction Council ("OB Summit"), where former state leaders have gathered in the A-bombed city to discuss a course for achieving the elimination of nuclear weapons, opened on April 18 in Hiroshima. The meeting will run for three days until April 20, and a "Hiroshima Declaration" will be released on the final day.
The opening ceremony was held at the International Conference Center Hiroshima, with the participation of fourteen former state leaders, including co-chairmen Jean Chrétien, former prime minister of Canada, and Ingvar Carlsson, former prime minister of Sweden, Yasuo Fukuda, former prime minister of Japan, former ministers, nuclear disarmament experts and Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, totaling about 80 people.
At the opening ceremony, Malcolm Fraser, honorary chairman and former prime minister of Australia, delivered the keynote speech. While welcoming the signing of the new nuclear disarmament treaty between the United States and Russia and other recent developments regarding nuclear weapons, Mr. Fraser described the need for a nuclear weapons convention, referring to the suspicion of Iran's nuclear development and the de-facto possession of nuclear weapons by Israel.
Sam Nunn, a former U.S. senator, who called for a world free of nuclear weapons in the Wall Street Journal along with three other former high-ranking U.S. officials, gave a special lecture, and said, "The threat of nuclear weapons is increasing. We have to take action to prevent the tragedy of Hiroshima from happening again." He urged the signatories of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) to strive for the success of the NPT Review Conference set for this May.
Prior to the opening ceremony, the participants of the meeting visited the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and Peace Memorial Museum. They will engage in discussions on April 19 and 20 at a hotel in the city.
Several planned participants such as Seyed Mohammad Khatami, former president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who was forbidden to leave the country by the Iranian government, and Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, who could not fly because of the volcano eruption in Iceland, are unable to attend the meeting.
The annual plenary meeting of the "OB Summit" began in 1983 in response to a proposal from the late Takeo Fukuda, a former Japanese prime minister, and this is the fourth such meeting in Japan. To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing, Hiroshima was chosen as the venue this time, the first time the meeting has been held in an A-bombed city.
Former state leaders learn true damage of the A-bombing
by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer
Former state leaders, who have come to Hiroshima to attend the 28th Annual Plenary Meeting of the Inter Action Council ("OB Summit"), toured Peace Memorial Park on April 18 and learned about the damage wrought by the atomic bombing.
Prior to their talks, nearly 80 participants of the meeting visited the A-bomb Dome. Jean Chretien, the former prime minister of Canada, and Ingvar Carlsson, the former prime minister of Sweden, who are co-chairmen of the meeting, offered a flower wreath at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.
According to Steven Leeper, chairman of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, who provided the tour of Peace Memorial Museum, the former leaders studied the panoramic models depicting the state of Hiroshima before and after the bombing, along with belongings of the A-bomb victims, and agreed: "Every state leader should visit this museum."
Mr. Chretien said, "I don't have words for such a tragedy. During our meeting, we should engage in a serious discussion about eliminating nuclear weapons from the earth."
The participants also listened to accounts of the bombing shared in English by Keijiro Matsushima, 81, and Keiko Ogura, 72.
Yasuo Fukuda, the former prime minister of Japan, who nodded frequently while listening to the A-bomb accounts, said, "I again imagined the horrible consequences of the bombing. I myself will also make every effort so that this tragedy will never be repeated."
(Originally published on April 19, 2010)
