NPT Watch: Visit the A-bomb exhibition to "remember their original purpose"
May 24, 2010
by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer, dispatched from New York
The A-bomb exhibition currently being held in the lobby of U.N. Headquarters opened on May 3 and was timed to coincide with the start of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. The messages written by visitors to the exhibition in a notebook at the venue already fill more than 100 pages.
The notebook contains such messages as "The atomic bombings were dreadful" and "We must learn from these mistakes." The nationalities of the writers, and their languages, vary greatly and include visitors from countries like the United States, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar.
Sueichi Kido, 70, the assistant secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, who is helping to man the exhibition until May 28 when the review conference ends, has also been sharing his A-bomb account. In his testimony, he points to a map and explains, "I was exposed to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki from a distance of about 1.6 miles, or 2 kilometers, from the hypocenter and I suffered burns."
Mr. Kido told me, "A lot of people look intently at the panels and shed tears. They're probably learning about the reality of the damage caused by the atomic bombings for the first time." I saw firsthand the significance of holding an A-bomb exhibition at this site.
It is a shame, though, that the NPT Review Conference is located in another building at U.N. Headquarters this time, as part of the usual building, where the exhibition is being held, is now being renovated and could not accommodate the conference meetings. There is little opportunity for the important content of the exhibition to draw the attention of the state representatives taking part in the gathering.
The battle of back and forth at the conference has been intensifying as the gathering culminates to a close. I'm getting the feeling, of late, that the goal which should be pursued at the conference is becoming blurred, as debate between the nuclear weapon states and some of the non-nuclear weapon states carries on endlessly. I believe that the representatives of each nation should, while the opportunity is available, visit the venue of the A-bomb exhibition in order to "remember their original purpose," and reaffirm their resolve for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
(Originally published on May 23, 2010)
The A-bomb exhibition currently being held in the lobby of U.N. Headquarters opened on May 3 and was timed to coincide with the start of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. The messages written by visitors to the exhibition in a notebook at the venue already fill more than 100 pages.
The notebook contains such messages as "The atomic bombings were dreadful" and "We must learn from these mistakes." The nationalities of the writers, and their languages, vary greatly and include visitors from countries like the United States, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar.
Sueichi Kido, 70, the assistant secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, who is helping to man the exhibition until May 28 when the review conference ends, has also been sharing his A-bomb account. In his testimony, he points to a map and explains, "I was exposed to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki from a distance of about 1.6 miles, or 2 kilometers, from the hypocenter and I suffered burns."
Mr. Kido told me, "A lot of people look intently at the panels and shed tears. They're probably learning about the reality of the damage caused by the atomic bombings for the first time." I saw firsthand the significance of holding an A-bomb exhibition at this site.
It is a shame, though, that the NPT Review Conference is located in another building at U.N. Headquarters this time, as part of the usual building, where the exhibition is being held, is now being renovated and could not accommodate the conference meetings. There is little opportunity for the important content of the exhibition to draw the attention of the state representatives taking part in the gathering.
The battle of back and forth at the conference has been intensifying as the gathering culminates to a close. I'm getting the feeling, of late, that the goal which should be pursued at the conference is becoming blurred, as debate between the nuclear weapon states and some of the non-nuclear weapon states carries on endlessly. I believe that the representatives of each nation should, while the opportunity is available, visit the venue of the A-bomb exhibition in order to "remember their original purpose," and reaffirm their resolve for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
(Originally published on May 23, 2010)
