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On upcoming 2006 World Conference against A & H Bombs: Gensuikyo Taka

The following is an Akahata interview with Taka Hiroshi, Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Gensuikyo) secretary general. He discussed the significance of the 2006 World Conference against A & H Bombs to be held on August 2-9 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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The 2006 World Conference will be held under a situation in which the world stands at a major crossroads with regards to nuclear weapons. We live in an era in which nuclear weapons can be eliminated by the solidarity of people of the world.

Rallying broadest possible forces

At the World Conference to be held in atom-bombed Japan, we will emphasize the call for a total ban on nuclear weapons. At the same time, we will seek to create a worldwide movement by bringing together the broadest possible domestic and international movements such as the anti-war peace actions boosted by the struggles against the Iraq war and the actions in Japan to defend the Constitution and to oppose U.S. military bases.

Last year, the World Conference took place soon after the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. This year, the World Conference is tasked to significantly change the balance of power in the world in favor of the anti-nuclear weapons and peace movement.

The war in Iraq has bogged down in a quagmire with no future. Withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Iraq is the only way to get out of it.

It is Francis Fukuyama, a neo-conservative leader, who said that the United States stands at a crossroads.

After the September 11 terrorist attack, it is repeatedly said, "There is a danger that terrorists may obtain nuclear bombs. It is the biggest threat of our time." The invasion of Iraq was used as an opportunity to deal with this "threat".

In Iraq, however, neither weapons of mass destruction nor any clue to link Iraq and the al-Qaida's attack have been found. The moral foundation of the United States has crumbled. This is what the neo-conservative leader pointed out.

The world shares this understanding. Despite the Bush administration's claims, the world has not seen a "proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." Bush also claimed the democratization of Iraq, but it can never justify the war on Iraq.

Total ban without delay

Crimes, atrocities, and murders by U.S. troops are being exposed in Iraq, which is one of the devastating outcomes of the unjustifiable war. This shows that U.S. soldiers have nothing to rely on.

Not only in Spain but also in Italy, governments that had followed the U.S. Bush administration were displaced. In the United States, anti-war sentiments seem to continue to rise in view of the midterm election this fall.

The Bush administration argues that they need nuclear weapons in order to counter terrorists and the "rogue states". Such an argument can never justify the more than 20,000 nuclear weapons existing in the world. If they perceive nuclear proliferation as dangerous, they should hurry all the more to achieve a total ban on nuclear weapons.

The overwhelming majority of countries in the world are demanding that nuclear weapons be eliminated. At the same time, current discussions also shed light on the essence of nuclear proliferation. The Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission chaired by Hans Blix, who led the United Nations inspections of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, issued a report. Members of the commission included former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry.

They are saying that it is not convincing for the nuclear weapons-possessing countries to press non-possessing countries for non-proliferation by threatening them with force, and that only a solution based on international law can prevent nuclear weapons from proliferating. This is a world opinion.

Goal to establish a nuclear-free zone

North Korea launched missiles. It is anachronistic to believe that nuclear weapons development or missile launches can be a diplomatic card in U.S. -North Korea and Japan-North Korea negotiations. Using a threat of force as a diplomatic card will inevitably end up in armed conflicts. In the 21st century, it is no longer appropriate to try to settle conflicts of opinion or interest by force. What is needed is reason.

In order to accomplish the abolition of nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapons possessing states, first of all, should make honest efforts to fulfill their promise to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. At the same time, since the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is an agreed goal, all interested parties should respond in good faith to achieve this.

It is also important to explore ways for Japan to assume a role in calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons and world peace.

At the U.N. General Assembly last year, even the phrase calling for the "abolition of nuclear weapons" was dropped from Japan's draft resolution. Being in isolation from the international community because of the war on Iraq, the United States is focusing on dragging its allies into the prosecution of war. Japan has jumped at the role.

Based on remorse over the past war of aggression and the experience of the atomic bomb tragedies, Japan renounced war and adopted the Constitution that stipulates non-possession of a military. It also established the Three Non-nuclear Principles as its national policy. The world now requires of Japan to make use of its Constitution and the national policy in Japan's diplomacy.

In the United Nations, 80-90 percent of member countries have voted for resolutions calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and tens of millions of people throughout the world took to the streets to oppose the Iraq War. I believe that Japan can ensure its own security by gaining trust from people in Asia and the rest of the world through honestly sticking to its Constitution and the Three Non-nuclear Principles.

Today, more and more Japanese people are seeking to play a part in the movements against nuclear weapons and for peace. A variety of such movement will converge at the 2006 World Conference.

Dialogue with residents

The Yamaguchi Prefectural Gensuikyo recently visited some communities in Iwakuni City, and collected nearly 500 signatures in support of the "Call for the Swift Abolition of Nuclear Weapons" through dialogues with local residents. This shows that the movement against A and H Bombs has an important role to play in strengthening the move for peace by promoting dialogues concerning the elimination of nuclear weapons with which most of the residents can agree.

Government representatives will take part in the 2006 World Conference, including Mexico which facilitates nuclear-free zones in the world, Egypt which plays a major role in making a nuclear-free Middle East, and Cuba and Malaysia which are active in the non-aligned movement. Representatives of anti-nuclear weapons movements from the five nuclear-weapons possessing countries, victims of nuclear testings and accidents, as well as Japanese grassroots movements will discuss ways to establish a world without nuclear weapons.

In Vancouver, the "Abolition 2000" in its general meeting held as part of the World Peace Forum in June decided to jointly submit with Japan Gensuikyo the signatures for the "Call for the Swift Abolition of Nuclear Weapons" to the United Nations in October.

U.N. initiative

In the NPT Review Conference last year, the U.S. blocked every move that could lead to the abolition of nuclear weapons. Because of this situation, the United Nations must fulfill its mission to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war" (Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations) and to eliminate nuclear weapons stated in its first resolution.

Max Kampelman, an arms control negotiator for President Ronald Reagan, recently wrote in the New York Times that President Reagan was able to propose the abolition of nuclear weapons because he had a vision of how the world should be while leading the nuclear confrontation in the "cold war". Kampelman stressed that President George Bush should call for a total ban on nuclear weapons at the U.N. if he is serious about security and that he should make clear that the U.S. is prepared to eliminate its nuclear arsenal provided that the international framework for this end is established.

The U.N. has taken important initiatives such as the holding of the Special Session of the U.N. General Assembly on Disarmament, the signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the convening of the U.N. Security Council open session on Iraq that stimulated public opinion in the world. Now is the time for the U.N. to take the initiative again.

The driving power for the World Conference against A & H Bombs held annually in Japan is the sharing of the Hibakusha's experiences of the atomic bombing. Hibakusha have filed concerted lawsuits at 13 district courts calling for their diseases to be officially recognized as A-bomb related. The Hiroshima District Court is expected to issue its ruling as early as the beginning of August. We hope that the World Conference will strengthen support for Hibakusha and send the stories of the Hibakusha and the anti-nuclear peace messages more widely throughout the world.

Inheritance and solidarity

Young people will assemble in Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the call for "inheritance". The anti-nuclear peace movement sends an important message to all young people. In present-day society where people are divided into a tiny group of "winners" and a large group of "losers", the anti-Iraq war movement has convinced many people that they can change the world. Although it could not stop the Iraq war, in the overwhelming majority of countries public opinion has made even their respective governments oppose the war. The idea of the elimination of nuclear weapons that had been regarded as a mere dream now is shared by the governments and citizens of most countries. This idea has been sent out to the world by Hibakusha and the movement against A & H Bombs.

At last year's World Conference, one-third of the participants were young people in their twenties. The conference's motto this year is to create "solidarity beyond generations." Participation of young people gives hope to all generations.

I believe that the 2006 World Conference will give us a hopeful vision of our future.
- Akahata, July 12 and 13, 2006