Hiroshima remembered
2001-08-06 10:53
Hiroshima - The mournful tolling of a bell marked the moment 56 years ago when
the city of Hiroshima was reduced to ashes by the world's first
atomic bomb attack.
Tens of thousands of people at an annual ceremony on Monday observed
60 seconds of silent prayer at 8:15 a.m. (2315 GMT Sunday) - the
moment that the United States dropped the bomb on August 6, 1945.
City officials and police estimated the crowd at between 30 000 and 50 000.
Those attending the ceremony at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park
bowed their heads amid both sadness for the 140 000 who perished
and disappointment that two world wars and countless other
conflicts in the 20th century failed to bring an end to hatred.
"The end of the century of war has not automatically ushered in a
century of peace and humanity," Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba
told gatherers. "Our world is still darkened not only by the direct
violence of civil wars, but also by innumerable other forms of
violence."
Hundreds of white doves were released into the sky at the ceremony,
which is televised nationally every year. A choir of children sang
a song of peace. Hiroshima is about 687 kilometres
southwest of Tokyo.
On Thursday, ceremonies were to be held to mark the atomic bombing
of Nagasaki, further south, in which 70 000 people were killed.
Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II.
Amid growing concern that tensions between India and Pakistan - the
world's newest nuclear powers - and the illegal sales of nuclear
weapons to rogue nations could lead to atomic war, Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi vowed to redouble efforts to achieve a worldwide
ban on testing of atomic weapons.
"As the only country that has experienced a nuclear attack .. we
have appealed to the global community to eradicate nuclear weapons
and build a lasting peace, so that the devastation of nuclear
warfare will never again be repeated," Koizumi said.
While the 1945 atomic bombings have largely become relegated to
events of history in the minds of many people around the world,
Japan still grapples with the aftermath of the raids over Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
Courts continue to hear lawsuits filed by survivors who say they
have not received sufficient medical care for ailments caused by
exposure to radiation. Some victims, however, endure their
suffering in secret - fearful of discrimination against those with
bomb-related disabilities.
But as the generation that experienced nuclear warfare firsthand
grows older, many across Japan worry that its terrors will soon be
forgotten.
"One day, there won't be anybody left who can describe what it was
really like," said the nationwide Asahi newspaper in an editorial
Monday. "How are we to preserve our memory of the tragedy, to carry
it into the future?" - AP
- SAPA