Threatening remarks by Russia over possible use of nuclear weapons stir fear and anger among A-bomb survivors
Mar. 30, 2015
by Shinya Hori and Daisuke Neishi, Staff Writers
The Russian ambassador to Denmark has warned that “Danish ships could become targets of Russia’s nuclear arsenal if the Scandinavian country joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) missile defense (MD) program.” This report caused fear and anger to whirl through the minds of the atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima on March 22. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remark on authorizing the possible use of nuclear weapons in connection with the Ukraine crisis has only recently come to light. The survivors reiterated their appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons by saying, “There will be no peace on the earth as long as nuclear weapons are a threat to human beings.”
“This is inexcusable,” decried Kazuo Okoshi, 74, acting chairperson of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations. “Threatening the use of nuclear weapons creates a vicious circle in which the deterrence of the nuclear umbrella will expand. The main source of the threats themselves must be eradicated.” The number of countries which jointly proposed a resolution calling for the elimination of all nuclear arms, adopted last December in the plenary session of the U.N. General Assembly, was the largest ever. The survivors will seek to strengthen their assertion that “the abolition of nuclear weapons is a global trend.”
“The international community will continue to lose trust in Russia,” said Kazumi Mizumoto, vice president of the Hiroshima Peace Institute at Hiroshima City University, in rebuking Russia. Mr. Mizumoto believes that Russia’s isolation in Europe, which stems from the crisis in Ukraine in February 2014, is behind the threatening remark made by the Russian ambassador. At the same time, he stressed that Western nations should act prudently so that Russia is not driven into a corner.
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference will open on April 27. “Mr. Putin’s remark is discouraging,” Toshiyuki Mimaki, 73, secretary-general of one faction of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi, said angrily. In response to the remark made by Mr. Putin that he had authorized the possible use of nuclear weapons, Mr. Mimaki said, “The outlook for the conference has become even gloomier. Still, this must not discourage the A-bomb survivors at this important turning point in which exactly seventy years have passed since the atomic bombings.”
(Originally published on March 23, 2015)
The Russian ambassador to Denmark has warned that “Danish ships could become targets of Russia’s nuclear arsenal if the Scandinavian country joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) missile defense (MD) program.” This report caused fear and anger to whirl through the minds of the atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima on March 22. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remark on authorizing the possible use of nuclear weapons in connection with the Ukraine crisis has only recently come to light. The survivors reiterated their appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons by saying, “There will be no peace on the earth as long as nuclear weapons are a threat to human beings.”
“This is inexcusable,” decried Kazuo Okoshi, 74, acting chairperson of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations. “Threatening the use of nuclear weapons creates a vicious circle in which the deterrence of the nuclear umbrella will expand. The main source of the threats themselves must be eradicated.” The number of countries which jointly proposed a resolution calling for the elimination of all nuclear arms, adopted last December in the plenary session of the U.N. General Assembly, was the largest ever. The survivors will seek to strengthen their assertion that “the abolition of nuclear weapons is a global trend.”
“The international community will continue to lose trust in Russia,” said Kazumi Mizumoto, vice president of the Hiroshima Peace Institute at Hiroshima City University, in rebuking Russia. Mr. Mizumoto believes that Russia’s isolation in Europe, which stems from the crisis in Ukraine in February 2014, is behind the threatening remark made by the Russian ambassador. At the same time, he stressed that Western nations should act prudently so that Russia is not driven into a corner.
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference will open on April 27. “Mr. Putin’s remark is discouraging,” Toshiyuki Mimaki, 73, secretary-general of one faction of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi, said angrily. In response to the remark made by Mr. Putin that he had authorized the possible use of nuclear weapons, Mr. Mimaki said, “The outlook for the conference has become even gloomier. Still, this must not discourage the A-bomb survivors at this important turning point in which exactly seventy years have passed since the atomic bombings.”
(Originally published on March 23, 2015)
