Thousands protest nuclear arsenals, occupation of Iraq

Thousands of anti-nuclear and anti-war protesters marched past the United Nations May 1, the eve of a conference of the world body on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The main message on their banners was to eliminate nuclear weapons. A second message on banners and placards was to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Representatives of 189 countries began the conference at the UN on May 2. Mil lions of people all over the world want the U.S. to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. Wash ington is attempting to use the conference to prevent Iran and the Demo cratic People’s Republic of Korea from developing nuclear arms that could stop a U.S. attack like the Pentagon’s invasion of Iraq.

Among the demonstrators was a delegation of at least 1,000 Japanese people, including dozens of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. They had come especially for the UN conference and the protest, where they were joined by other Japanese visitors, Japanese-Americans, and people from 34 other countries, including people from all over the United States.

The many colorful banners in Japanese and the enthusiasm of that delegation gave the protest the flavor of a Japanese demonstration, with support by the rest of the world. This was fitting since the two Japanese cities were the only targets hit in an act of war on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945.

Over 100,000 people were killed instantly in the two cities, almost all civilians, including many Koreans who were forced laborers. By 1950, some 340,000 people had died in total, most from radiation poisoning.

Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba addres sed a rally of the demonstrators in Central Park. “There is nothing normal, natural or necessary about nuclear wea pons, Akiba said. “They’re a deadly cancer on the planet that needs to be removed.”

The protest was called by United for Peace and Justice and Abolition Now, whose organizers estimated that 40,000 people participated.