By INPS*
NAGASAKI (IDN) – Officials of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs will present global symbols of peace to the people of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in a special ceremony, which will take place on November 1, 2015 at 9:00 am (local time) at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.
This ceremony will mark the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the 60th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, and the 20th anniversary of the Nobel award to the Pugwash Conferences.
“As a reaffirmation of our international organization’s continuing commitment to work actively for a world free of nuclear weapons, the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is placing on permanent loan gold-plated official copies of the Pugwash Nobel Peace Prize medal for display in the atomic bomb museums in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. We also are providing the original and a copy of the Nobel diploma for these displays,” stated a press release.
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs shared the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize with one of its founders, Joseph Rotblat, for “efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms.”
Pugwash President Jayantha Dhanapala said: “These symbols of peace are offered to the people of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and especially to the hibakusha, as proof that the international community has heard their calls for peace and nuclear disarmament.”
Pugwash Secretary General Paolo Cotta-Ramusino said: “These symbols of peace are meant to inspire visitors to the museums in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, by demonstrating that individuals, working together, can help eliminate this threat to humanity. The Nobel peace symbols show that even in the darkest of times, dialogue across divides can help to build a more peaceful and less dangerous world.”
Pugwash is part of the vibrant international community of non-governmental organizations actively seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Executive Director Sandra Butcher said: “As we commemorate this 60th anniversary of our founding document, the 1955 Russell-Einstein Manifesto, we remind leaders worldwide to ‘remember your humanity and forget the rest.’”
Dr. Tatsujiro Suzuki, chair of Japanese Pugwash said: “Never again should people have to bear witness to the pain and horror of nuclear war. We must eliminate these weapons from global arsenals.”
*INPS is an acronym for the International Press Syndicate that monitors diverse news and information sources around the world, enabling IDN offer news, features and analyses on topics that impact the world and its peoples. [IDN-InDepthNews – 21 October 2015]
Image: Pugwash Conferences
