Protesting U.S. nuclear test, A-bomb survivors stage sit-in before cenotaph for victims
Aug. 26, 2013
by Kohei Okata, Staff Writer
Following the news of a nuclear test performed by the United States, a sit-in was staged in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in downtown Hiroshima on August 21. This action was organized by the Hiroshima Peace Liaison Conference for Nuclear Abolition, which is composed of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organization, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi, the Hiroshima Local of Japanese Trade Union Confederation, and other entities.
About 65 A-bomb survivors and members of trade unions took part in the sit-in. They sat in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims for about 30 minutes, holding a long banner that read, in Japanese and English, “We, from the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, strongly protest against all nuclear tests!”
At the end of the public protest, Haruko Katayama, 83, co-chairperson of the Hiroshima Congress Against A- and H-Bombs, said, “What about that speech by President Obama in Prague, where he called for a world without nuclear weapons? This is unforgivable.”
Fukuyama Mayor Akira Hada and Higashihiroshima Mayor Yoshio Kurata, among other local leaders, sent letters of protest to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
(Originally published on August 22, 2013)
Following the news of a nuclear test performed by the United States, a sit-in was staged in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in downtown Hiroshima on August 21. This action was organized by the Hiroshima Peace Liaison Conference for Nuclear Abolition, which is composed of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organization, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi, the Hiroshima Local of Japanese Trade Union Confederation, and other entities.
About 65 A-bomb survivors and members of trade unions took part in the sit-in. They sat in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims for about 30 minutes, holding a long banner that read, in Japanese and English, “We, from the A-bombed city of Hiroshima, strongly protest against all nuclear tests!”
At the end of the public protest, Haruko Katayama, 83, co-chairperson of the Hiroshima Congress Against A- and H-Bombs, said, “What about that speech by President Obama in Prague, where he called for a world without nuclear weapons? This is unforgivable.”
Fukuyama Mayor Akira Hada and Higashihiroshima Mayor Yoshio Kurata, among other local leaders, sent letters of protest to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
(Originally published on August 22, 2013)
