Hiroshima Day is observed all over the world every year on 6 August, in commemoration of the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War. It is estimated that 140 000 people were killed in Hiroshima, and 74 000 people in Nagasaki, where the second, bigger bomb was dropped three days later.
Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP since 1999 is a longstanding campaigner for peace. She said: "We mark Hiroshima Day this year with a cautious optimism that the attitude of world leaders towards nuclear weapons might finally be shifting."
"President Obama’s pledge to work towards a nuclear-free world, and the UK Government’s recent announcement that it will delay a decision on Trident replacement until after the non-proliferation talks next year, are both encouraging signs. What we, as campaigners for peace, need to do is ensure that these initial steps are followed by bolder moves to finally rid the world of nuclear weapons."
"The devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should be the most eloquent and chilling testimony against nuclear weapons, and yet the world’s major powers have spent the sixty-four years since August 1945 devising new ways to destroy human life and devastate the planet. We can only hope that, finally, the lessons of the past are being learnt. It is time to dispel once and for all the perverted Cold War notion of peace built on mutually assured destruction, and concentrate our efforts on protecting the planet for the future generations who will inherit it."