Horsham Labour party is very pleased and proud to have the opportunity to publish such an important article from a leading member of CND who lives and works within Horsham. It provides an excellent contribution to the current debate about whether there is a need to replace the UK's independent nuclear deterrent.
Many members of the local Labour party, including its chair and campaign co-ordinator, oppose the Trident and do not see the moral, military, or financial justification for its replacement.
Linda's report is below:
Visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki is an incredible experience, especially during the times commemorating the explosion of the atomic bombs over these cities. It was a bit daunting to be going to places with such sad memories of terrible happenings but also inspiring to experience the determination to ensure that no other cities and their populations have to suffer the same fate.
The Hibaksha, those who experienced the atomic bombs and survived, are revered by the Japanese Peace Movement, Gensuikyo, which works tirelessly to bring about the abolition of nuclear weapons and to bring about a peaceful world. The presence for the first time ever of Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary General, and the US ambassador at the 2010 Hiroshima commemoration has given Gensuikyo even more hope for some real change within the lifetime of the Hibaksha. It was a privilege to be in Hiroshima at such an auspicious time and to feel the underlying optimism.
Peace movements across the world, including CND, have been campaigning for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, which is a mechanism for a global ban on nuclear weapons in the same way that biological and chemical weapons are banned. At the end of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Review meeting in New York in May this year, there was reference to the Nuclear Weapons Convention for the first time, which, along with Ban Ki Moon's personal commitment to make it a priority for the UN, was a hopeful sign.
Another was the mention of working towards a nuclear free Middle East This is in contrast to the frustration that comes from the nuclear weapons states again refusing to put any timelines on their NPT commitment to abolish nuclear weapons.
The international situation has changed in the last few years with Obama and Medvedev concluding a START agreement this year and many former government hawks from across the world (Henry Kissinger even!) realising that the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a real threat to the world.
Despite this there was only reluctant agreement to mention a Nuclear Weapons Convention at the NPT, but now it is there, it gives peace movements across the world a significant tool to campaign with, to put to their governments. My own message to the World Conference Against A & H bombs, in speeches on behalf of CND, was to recognise the historic opportunity that is here at this moment and to urge peace movements across the world to work strategically, in unity and to seize the moment!
National peace movements also have their own specific work to do, whether it be in Britain, France, The US, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and even Japan, which sits within a US 'nuclear umbrella'. In Britain, CND is campaigning to scrap Trident, starting with not replacing it and also for the Nuclear Weapons Convention. Our government has tried to tell us that a Nuclear Weapons Convention is contrary to the NPT, but can’t any longer! The economy and public service spending cuts will be an important aspect of our campaign, as it will across the world.
My family visited the Peace Museums in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which my husband Ian described as 'harrowing' given the detailed descriptions of the death, destruction and misery that followed the bombings. For myself, I was interested in why the bombings took place. There were many documents displayed, released by US national archives, detailing some of the discussions taking place in the US hierarchy.
I knew that President Truman had said the bombs were dropped to avoid the deaths of thousands of American and allied troops needed to force Japan to surrender by conventional methods. I can understand this; more lives are saved the earlier any war ends. However, Japan was already discussing surrender terms in July 1945 as its cities were being routinely bombed and defeat was certain.
In late July the US refused to guarantee the future of the Emperor and Japan rejected unconditional surrender, with the macabre rhetoric of fighting to the last man being its only bargaining tool. The USSR was due to enter the war against Japan three months after VE day and that was fast approaching. The US wanted to avoid this due to the power struggle that was already developing in Europe.
I was aware of some of this information but seeing the documentary evidence was a powerful reminder. However I was startled to find that the US government had also felt the need to justify the expenditure of $2billion on the Manhattan Project, which had developed the atomic bomb; this was new to me.
We learned that there were half a dozen Japanese cities selected as targets; the size and topography being important. My daughter Bryony was appalled to learn that the target cities were not conventionally bombed to any great degree, to make the effects of the atomic bombs more clearly measurable. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima was uranium; that on Nagasaki was plutonium.
I have been unable to escape from my conclusion that the atomic bombs were primarily dropped on Japan to demonstrate America's power to the world, especially to the USSR. Understanding this, is in my view, essential to understanding why we still have nuclear weapons. Its power not defence.
The ceremony in Hiroshima, August 6th, was a high powered affair with all the international dignitaries and politicians, including the Japanese Prime Minister as well as Ban Ki Moon. We were in place by 7.30am, the sun already hot despite being in the shade of a tree for a while. At 8.15am, the time of the bomb detonation, there was a minute's silence except for the eight tolls of a bell, followed by the Peace Declaration from the Mayor and then the release of doves.
After the speeches, including one from two local twelve-year-olds, there was singing of the Hiroshima peace song from the choir, dressed all in white. In Nagasaki, 11.02, 9th August, I was in the World Conference where a minute of silence took place. My family were in the city at this time and they experienced the minute silence across Nagasaki; everyone stopped, including most of the traffic, a siren denoting the time.
There was so much more to this trip to Japan that I could write about: collecting signatures for a petition in Nagasaki with only two words of Japanese; our superb homestay hosts who looked after us so well; the Peace Parks in both cities; the international delegates from across the world campaigning for nuclear abolition; members of Gensuikyo, the organisers of the conference who worked so tremendously hard; travelling across Japan on their fantastic trains; the shrines, temples, gardens, scenery, Tokyo, the 24-hour flights and the heat. An unforgettable experience!
Linda Hugl
August 2010
