Sri Lankan president visits Hiroshima, vows to make efforts to help prevent a similar A-bomb tragedy
Mar. 16, 2018
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
On March 15, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the first time and declared his desire to make efforts to promote peace after learning about the devastating reality of the atomic bombing during his tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Guided by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, Mr. Sirisena laid a wreath of flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. During his visit, he spoke to a group of first-year students at Kabe Junior High School in Asakita Ward and, through an interpreter, asked what grade they were in. The students were visiting the park as part of a peace education program and watched as Mr. Sirisena placed the wreath. At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, he looked closely at the the exhibits, including a computer graphics display that depicts the devastation of the city in the aftermath of the atomic bombing and pictures of the city before the bombing took place.
In the museum’s guestbook, Mr. Sirisena wrote: “Words cannot describe the pain, sorrow and suffering that the people of the City of Hiroshima had to endure after the detonation of the Atomic Bomb.” He then expressed his resolve to take action in order to prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again.
Mr. Sirisena arrived in Japan on March 12 for a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on maritime security issues on March 14. His visit to Hiroshima was arranged at his request. He is scheduled to return to Sri Lanka on March 17.
(Originally published on March 16, 2018)
On March 15, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the first time and declared his desire to make efforts to promote peace after learning about the devastating reality of the atomic bombing during his tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Guided by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, Mr. Sirisena laid a wreath of flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. During his visit, he spoke to a group of first-year students at Kabe Junior High School in Asakita Ward and, through an interpreter, asked what grade they were in. The students were visiting the park as part of a peace education program and watched as Mr. Sirisena placed the wreath. At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, he looked closely at the the exhibits, including a computer graphics display that depicts the devastation of the city in the aftermath of the atomic bombing and pictures of the city before the bombing took place.
In the museum’s guestbook, Mr. Sirisena wrote: “Words cannot describe the pain, sorrow and suffering that the people of the City of Hiroshima had to endure after the detonation of the Atomic Bomb.” He then expressed his resolve to take action in order to prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again.
Mr. Sirisena arrived in Japan on March 12 for a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on maritime security issues on March 14. His visit to Hiroshima was arranged at his request. He is scheduled to return to Sri Lanka on March 17.
(Originally published on March 16, 2018)
