Chair of upcoming NPT Review Conference visits Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Apr. 9, 2015
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
On April 3, Ambassador Taous Feroukhi of Algeria, who will serve as chair of the 2015 Review Conference for the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), visited Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, prior to the conference which will open in New York on April 27. Ms. Feroukhi, who currently serves as Director-General for Political Affairs and International Security at Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, toured Peace Memorial Museum and met with an A-bomb survivor. Renewing her determination, the ambassador said she will keep the tragedy of Hiroshima in mind while remaining committed to the success of the conference.
This was Ms. Feroukhi’s first visit to Hiroshima. At Peace Memorial Museum, the ambassador gazed at photographs of A-bomb victims and personal effects, such as a charred lunchbox, expressing a pained look from time to time. She offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and paid a tribute to the dead. Afterward, she told reporters that she was moved by her visit to Hiroshima and that opposition to nuclear weapons must transcend national borders, religions, and ethnicities.
Seiko Ikeda, 82, a resident of Aki Ward, who recounted her experience of the bombing for Ms. Feroukhi at the International Conference Center Hiroshima, said, “I think the ambassador has deepened her understanding of the tragic nature of the atomic bombing. I believe she will exert her power for the abolition of nuclear weapons.”
According to an official of the City of Hiroshima, during a closed-door discussion with the mayor, the ambassador said that “the conference, too, cannot ignore the humanitarian issues,” referring to the efforts being made by non-nuclear weapon states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which seek to outlaw nuclear arms by focusing on their inhumane nature.
Ms. Feroukhi arrived in Japan on April 1 at the invitation of Japan’s Foreign Ministry for discussions in advance of the NPT Review Conference. She came to Hiroshima on April 2, will visit Nagasaki on April 4, then depart Japan on April 5.
(Originally published on April 6, 2015)
On April 3, Ambassador Taous Feroukhi of Algeria, who will serve as chair of the 2015 Review Conference for the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), visited Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, prior to the conference which will open in New York on April 27. Ms. Feroukhi, who currently serves as Director-General for Political Affairs and International Security at Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, toured Peace Memorial Museum and met with an A-bomb survivor. Renewing her determination, the ambassador said she will keep the tragedy of Hiroshima in mind while remaining committed to the success of the conference.
This was Ms. Feroukhi’s first visit to Hiroshima. At Peace Memorial Museum, the ambassador gazed at photographs of A-bomb victims and personal effects, such as a charred lunchbox, expressing a pained look from time to time. She offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and paid a tribute to the dead. Afterward, she told reporters that she was moved by her visit to Hiroshima and that opposition to nuclear weapons must transcend national borders, religions, and ethnicities.
Seiko Ikeda, 82, a resident of Aki Ward, who recounted her experience of the bombing for Ms. Feroukhi at the International Conference Center Hiroshima, said, “I think the ambassador has deepened her understanding of the tragic nature of the atomic bombing. I believe she will exert her power for the abolition of nuclear weapons.”
According to an official of the City of Hiroshima, during a closed-door discussion with the mayor, the ambassador said that “the conference, too, cannot ignore the humanitarian issues,” referring to the efforts being made by non-nuclear weapon states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which seek to outlaw nuclear arms by focusing on their inhumane nature.
Ms. Feroukhi arrived in Japan on April 1 at the invitation of Japan’s Foreign Ministry for discussions in advance of the NPT Review Conference. She came to Hiroshima on April 2, will visit Nagasaki on April 4, then depart Japan on April 5.
(Originally published on April 6, 2015)
