New York: Peace gathering outside Japanese Consulate

Aug 4th, 2015

A coalition of citizens and peace groups will be gathering in front of the Japanese Consulate in New York at noon on 5 August, to commemorate 70th Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The coalition supports the commitment of the Japanese people to protect their peace constitution by retaining Article 9. It encourages them in their continued opposition to Japan's reliance on the US-Japan military alliance and the US nuclear umbrella. It endorses their efforts to enrol the Japanese government as a signatory to the Humanitarian Pledge, now joined by 113 non-nuclear weapon states. This initiative is designed "to fill the legal gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons" just as the world had done for chemical and biological weapons.

The coalition's conviction is that nuclear weapons must never be used again against any nation under any circumstances. The message of peace from Hibakusha (survivors of the bombs) to the people of the world is an appeal for all to realize a world free of nuclear weapons.

This event is endorsed by Shigeko Sasamori and Setsuko Thurlow, atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima, Terumi Tanaka, atomic bomb survivor from Nagasaki, and Peter Kuznick, Professor of History, Director, Nuclear Studies Institute, American University, and co-author (with Oliver Stone) of The Untold History of the United States.

Participants include the New York City Chapter of Veterans for Peace; Pax Christi Metro NY; Ribbon International, a peace art project promoting peace, disarmament and care of the environment; The Granny Peace Brigade; NYC Metro Raging Grannies; Peace Boat US; CODEPINK Long Island: Women for Peace; CODEPINK NY; NYC War Resisters League; NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security; Peace Action NYS; New Jersey Peace Action; Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and the Manhattan Project.

The noon vigil is in front of the Consulate General of Japan in New York, 299 Park Avenue, New York, NY (Between 49th and 48th Street)

Source: Pax Christi New York Metro