Japan Press Weekly

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2008 August 20 - 26 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

Messages to 2008 World Conference against A & H Bombs from foreign governments

The 2008 World Conference against A & H Bombs received many messages from foreign governments. The present issue of the Japan Press Weekly carries excerpts from messages from Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, and Laos. Messages from Egypt, New Zealand, Norway, and Lithuania were reported in the previous (No. 2584) issue of the Japan Press Weekly.

Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada
President
National Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba

Today, even after the end of the Cold War, the arms race goes on, military budgets are increasing, and new and more sophisticated weapons are being produced. The hunger, the true scourge for the economically deprived all over the world is exacerbating with the present global food crisis.

The presidency of the National Assembly of People’s Power calls on all peace-loving people to firmly struggle for a better world through concrete actions that oblige the number-one enemy of our peoples to recognize and respect the right to life, the right to development, the right to live in peace in a world without arms or wars, so that the crimes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will not be repeated.

Let us never forget the atrocity of 1945 that took the lives of noble Japanese people. They were and will be always our brothers.

Nguyen Minh Triet
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

On behalf of the people and peace movement of Vietnam and in my own name, I would like to convey warm solidarity greetings to all international and Japanese participants in the 2008 World Conference Against A & H Bombs held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two cities direct victims of the atomic bombings 63 years ago.

The Conference will be an occasion for peace organizations and forces in Japan and other countries to reaffirm their determination, push ahead activities and tighten solidarity in the struggle for abolishing nuclear weapons of all types and preventing the recurrence of the nuclear disaster to any nation in the world.

The Vietnamese people, victims of many decades of devastating war and lingering and heavy consequences of many types of weapons, especially the toxic chemical Agent Orange, support the noble goal of the Conference for a world without nuclear weapons and the demands of Japanese nuclear bomb victims for a satisfactory settlement of their legitimate rights and interests.

Mercedes F. Ruiz Zapata
Charge d’Affaires, a.i., Embassy of Mexico

Mexico is convinced that disarmament and non-proliferation are complementary actions needed to deal with the concerns on peace and security from the international community. We also believed that that genuine and lasting international peace and security can not be reached by security schemes based on the accumulation and development of nuclear weapons. In this regard, one of the highest priorities of the Mexican foreign policy is precisely nuclear disarmament.

The Government of Mexico wants to underline that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons remains the cornerstone of the disarmament and non-proliferation regime as well as the fundamental provision for the pacific use of nuclear energy.

With that in mind, during the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which was held in Geneva from April 28 to May 9, 2008 Mexico insisted on the urgency to fulfill the legal obligation of nuclear disarmament, according to Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the unequivocal commitment adopted in the 2000 Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty by nuclear States regarding their arsenal elimination.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
The Prime Minister of Malaysia

There is no doubt that the path towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons will be long and arduous. The progress towards achieving this objective will be slow because of the existence of different views as well as self interest and the absence of political will. However, we must continue to persevere in these efforts. We must remain committed to the total elimination of weapons of mass destruction as an essential prerequisite for the establishment of real peace and security in the world and the prevention of war. The elimination of all weapons of mass destruction is certainly the best guarantee against another nuclear holocaust.

Malaysia supports all efforts of the international community to pursue nuclear disarmament and the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Governments must work towards achieving a Nuclear Weapons Convention. Civil society can play an important role in galvanizing public opinion in support of such a convention. In the meantime, all nations should commit themselves to fully implement the provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

I wish to extend my appreciation and support to the organizers for their untiring efforts in organizing and hosting this Conference once again this year. I wish the 2008 World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs success in achieving its objective. I am confident that the participants will be able to contribute fully towards the objective of the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons.

Choummaly Sayasone
President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

As we all do recognize that Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs are mass destructive weapons destroying all the living organisms in the world, particularly the humankind. Consequently, we wish that this conference will be able to gather creative ideas in order to discover necessary measures to fight against, destroy and also step forward of wiping out the production of these kinds of weapons in the future, and to protect peace and stability in the region and the world.

The Lao PDR would like to reaffirm that we will support this World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs and cooperate closely with the Japanese People and International Community to resist and prevent the production and proliferation of these dangerous weapons, for the world community’s peaceful coexistence without these destructive weapons and for the cooperation and development of the civilized world in the future.