Hiroshima — youth get radioactive!

Hiroshima Day in Sydney last weekend was not a huge march, but it had, 
none-the-less, a very positive feel to it due to the strong youth presence. 
The overwhelming majority of the crowd were of university and high school 
age. For some of these it could well have been their first political march, 
others were already well experienced and involved in political 
activism.

The Hiroshima Day march has always been an event that was attractive to 
young people and for many it has served as an introduction to a wider 
involvement in politics.

It is heartening to see that youth radicalism is continuing to be drawn to 
these marches — which unites the individual dissent felt by young people 
into a collective protest, giving them a voice.

Hiroshima Day was celebrated in all States, in commemoration of the 
criminal nuclear bombing by the United States of the Japanese cities of 
Hiroshima and Nagasaki — the only time in history that nuclear weapons 
have been used to kill people.

It is entrusted to the youth of today to ensure that this crime is never 
perpetrated again by any country.

The Sydney protest focused on nuclear issues: the Jabiluka uranium mine, 
the proposed new nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights and a proposal for a 
nuclear waste dump in Australia, as well as the anniversary of Hiroshima.

The bigger political question of peace and opposition to imperialist 
aggression today, such as the ongoing bombing of Iraq and the war against 
Yugoslavia, were largely ignored in the Sydney rally.

Greetings from Nagasaki & Hiroshima

In Adelaide messages were read to the rally from the Mayors of the city of 
Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh called for the people of 
the world to join together "to make the 21st century free of nuclear 
weapons and to create an international society in which children can live 
in peace and security".

"The citizens of Nagasaki have appealed relentlessly for the abolition of 
nuclear weapons and for the realisation of lasting world peace to ensure 
that this tragedy is never repeated on Earth", said Mr Itoh.

From Hiromshima, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba recalled the suffering and 
destruction caused by the atomic bomb, and also called for the abolition of 
nuclear weapons and lasting world peace.

Don Jarrett, representative of the Australian Peace Committee at the World 
Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs in Hiroshima, sent greetings 
to the rally in Adelaide.

He spoke of the support around the world for the prevention of nuclear war 
and the elimination of nuclear weapons.

"Going against this trend is the US role in signing new treaties that 
threaten the movement for peace. This is seen in the enactment of the new 
Japan-US Guidelines related to war laws in Japan and the adoption by NATO 
of a `new strategic concept' in Europe.... "Last year's nuclear tests by 
India and Pakistan drastically changed the nuclear agenda, showing the 
urgent need for eliminating nuclear weapons", said Mr Jarrett.

Mr Jarrett referred to the dangers posed by the US/NATO alliance and raised 
the question of the Australian Government's forward defence policy which 
ties Australia into US military planning in the region and uses Australian 
troops offensively in the region or elsewhere.

The current world situation emphasises even more the importance of keeping 
alive the memory of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the need to 
strengthen the peace movement.