We, as human beings, now have two paths before us.
While one can lead us to "a world without nuclear weaons," the other will carry us toward annihilation, bringing us to suffer once again the destruction experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 64 years ago.
-From the speech given by Mayor Tomihisa Taue today at the 64th Nagasaki Peace Ceremony
There is more, including photos, from the ceremony below the fold.
The event included ceremonies to remember the dead, especially victims of radiation sickness who died in the previous year, music and speeches to support a nuclear-free world. A key moment in this ceremony comes every year on this day at 11:02, when everyone throughout Nagasaki stops for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the bombing. Sirens go off all over Nagasaki prefecture, so that people will remember, but at the Peace Park itself, the sound of ringing bells was louder than the sirens.
President Obama's speech given in Prague last April has been very well received here. Mayor Taue's speech went on:
This April, in Prague, the Czech Republic, U.S. President Barack Obama clearly stated that the United States of America will seek a world without nuclear weapons. The President described concrete steps, such as the resumption of negotiations on a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the Russians, pursuit of the U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which bans all nuclear explosions in the air, the sea, underground and in outer space, and seeking to conclude a treaty to ban the production of highly enriched uranium and plutonium, both essential components of nuclear weapons. The President demonstrated strong determination by saying that "as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act," which profoundly moved people in Nagasaki, a city that has suffered the horror of atomic bombing.
President Obama's speech was a watershed event, in that the U.S., a superpower possessing nuclear weapons, finally took a step towards the elimination of nuclear armaments.
Mayor Taue also invited President Obama and other world leaders to visit Nagasaki and see first hand the work that is being done here to promote peace and eliminate nuclear weapons.
Other speakers at the event included Prime Minister Aso as well as the Rev. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, the current President of the United Nations General Assembly. Rev Brockmann spoke quite passionately on the importance of calling things what they are, and not pretending that the possession of nuclear weapons makes us "safe." One of the most moving moments was the speech given by one of the elderly survivors of the Nagasaki bombing, Ayako Okumura. Here are a few highlights from her speech:
This year, August 9 has come around along with the sound of cicadas, just as it did 64 years ago...
After the bombing, I cried every day. For 46 years, I could not talk about my experience. I did not want to see or hear about anything to do with the bombing. I wanted to wipe it from my mind. I was trying to escape from the bomb. However, for posterity, I wanted to write about my family when they had been alive...This is what led to me doing what I am doing now - talking to students on school trips about my experiences as an atomic bomb survivor.
Only I and my four-year-old brother, who was burned all over his body, survived the bombing. We were moved to an unknown place in the countryside. If my mother had been there, my brother would have asked her for piggyback rides and hugs, but he could no longer have these...My brother held out against the pain in his body, but the hellish pain it inflicted on him led to his death on October 23, 1945... Life without my parents and siblings was hell. I never want people to experience this kind of pain and sadness...
United States President Obama has said that as the only country in the world to have used an atomic bomb, the United States has a moral responsibility to work towards a world without nuclear weapons... I feel as if finally, after 64 years, the voices of the atomic bomb survivors have reached the world. It means a great deal to me.
It is clear that President Obama's speech could be a watershed event. We, the citizens of Planet Earth, have a small window of opportunity to work towards a nuclear free world. I hope President Obama will take the Mayor up on his invitation. It will truly be an amazing change to see the end of these weapons, which we have wasted billions of dollars on over the years, and which can never be used.
Here are a few pictures from the event. It was an extremely hot day, but people who were unable to find seats under the shelter still stood out under the hot sun in order to observe the ceremony.
The hypocenter monument has been decorated with flowers, wreaths, and origami cranes for the memorial ceremony.
On the Atom Bomb museum grounds people are marking the ceremony.
This picture is from the exhibits on display at the Peace Park today, showing pictures taken in Nagasaki after the bombing.
Another exhibit on display at the Peace Park.
Here is a view of the main stage where the Peace Ceremony was held.
Here is a view of the attendees, with the VIP tents in the back of the picture.
Here is another view of the attendees, to show the size of the crowd.
This is Mayor Taue of Nagasaki giving his speech.
Here is Prime Minister Aso.
The student chorus is singing "A Thousand Paper Cranes."
The Peace Park fountain.
Here is a final view from the Atom Bomb Museum grounds, one of the memorials decorated with flowers and paper cranes.