Hiroshima (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 50 thousand people attended this morning's ceremony to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The demand for an end to nuclear weapons, this year was joined by an appeal to create a nuclear free society, in the aftermath of the disaster in Fukushima.
At 8:15 on August 6, 1945, the
U.S. aircraft Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on the city causing 140
thousand deaths. At
the same time, today, at the Memorial Peace Park (the site of the bomb crater),
a bell intoned the hour while the crowd observed in complete silence.
The
mayor of the city, Kazumi Matsui, pleaded the case for a world free from
nuclear weapons, but added that after Fukushima the time had also come to create a mix of energy sources
for Japan that is safe and secure.
Prime
Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who attended the ceremony, said that Hiroshima should
not be forgotten and has promised the country a "mixed energy", which
"is not based on nuclear energy."
After the Fukushima disaster caused
by the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, Japan had closed all 50 nuclear
power plants, but needing energy, has reopened two.
Many
survivors of Hiroshima - called "hibakushi" - are opposed to military
and civil use of nuclear energy, stressing that there were deaths directly
caused by the bomb, but also those who died later from radiation. Toshiyuki
Mimaki, a survivor of 70 years, said: "We want to work together with the
people of Fukushima and join our voices so that there are no more victims from nuclear
energy."
In
conjunction with the ceremony at Memorial Peace Park, there was also a
demonstration of about 700 people, including survivors of Hiroshima and
displaced persons from Fukushima.
The official ceremony was also attended by representatives from over 70 countries. For the first time these included a grandson of U.S. President Henry Truman, who decided to launch the bomb. The Allies have always justified the violence by saying that the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (and the second a few days later, on August 9, on Nagasaki) prompted Japan to surrender, reducing the number of possible victims in case the war continued. Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of the late president, said it was important to hear the voices of survivors and understand all the consequences of decisions made by his grandfather.
At present in
Japan there are over 200 thousand survivors of Hiroshima, with an average age
of 78. The
mayor pointed out the economic difficulties that they have to get medical care.
But
he also promised that the city of Hiroshima wants to help them and record their
experiences lest we forget what has happened.
The
ceremony was also attended by Angela Kane, UN High Representative for
Disarmament Affairs, who read a message from Ban Ki-moon. "On this day, in this city, let me
proclaim again: there must never be another nuclear attack-never ... Such weapons have no legitimate place in our
world. Their elimination is both morally right and a practical necessity in
protecting humanity. "