Recently, the world marked the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bomb killed 70,000 in Hiroshima and another 70,000 died soon afterward from their wounds and from radiation poisoning. The bomb that destroyed Nagasaki killed 75,000.
Incredible as it may seem, 20,000 nuclear weapons are still deployed globally, with 3,000 on alert status, ready to be fired on 15 minutes notice. We live with the constant threat of a nuclear weapons disaster through accident, miscalculation or madness.
Deeply concerned, 5,296 cities around the world, including Salmon Arm, joined the World Conference of Mayors for Peace whose goal is the elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayors for Peace is calling for negotiations to begin now on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons.
Thousands of Canadians recently signed a petition asking the Canadian government to host discussions on a global nuclear weapons treaty. MP Colin Mayes presented the House with more than 100 signatures of Salmon Arm citizens.
The government’s disappointing response is that such negotiations must wait until all countries have joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and treaties banning nuclear weapons testing and the production of fissile material are fully in force.
This won’t happen while the USA, Russia, France, and the UK continue modernizing their nuclear weapons, thus signalling that these weapons are essential for their national security. It’s hardly surprising that India and Pakistan want to hang on to their nuclear weapons, while others, like Iran, want to acquire them.
The solution is to begin negotiations now on a nuclear weapons ban, thus signalling that the five original nuclear-armed countries are serious about implementing their treaty obligations to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Citizen action is urgently needed to press governments into action.
Canadians can make their voices heard by signing the Mayors for Peace petition: https://www.ssl-hiroins.city.hiroshima.jp/pcf/en/form.htm, and by writing to Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, the Hon. John Baird: John.Baird@parl.gc.ca
Anne Morris
