SALISBURY campaigners have welcomed news of a Nobel Peace Prize for their friends in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Salisbury Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) campaigns to rid the world of nuclear weapons and each year floats a number of lanterns down the Avon, including many bearing messages from survivors of the blasts – known as the Hibakusha.
Earlier this month, it was announced Nihon Hidankyo – a Japanese grassroots movement dedicated to banning nuclear weapons – had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
It was founded in 1956 by Hibakusha and organises activities including sending delegations to international conference and events, and holding speaking tours where survivors give first-hand accounts of the devastation caused by nuclear weapons.
“The survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Hibakusha, have provided an inspiration for us all for many years,” a spokesperson for Salisbury CND said.
“We are delighted that their moving testimonies and important campaigning efforts have been acknowledged by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.
READ MORE: Hundreds of lanterns float down the Avon in Salisbury to mark nuclear anniversary
“Salisbury CND has established links with people in Hiroshima and each year our Hiroshima Day Candle Float commemorates all who have suffered from nuclear weapons either directly or as a result of the development, manufacture or testing of these weapons.”
As part of the candle float, school children from Hiroshima send lanterns they have decorated to join those made in Salisbury as they float down the River Avon.
The spokesperson said the Salisbury group wants to develop the links further.
“Nuclear war and climate chaos threaten the planet,” they added. “The escalating costs of war and nuclear weapons divert billions away from urgent climate action.
“We all need to heed the wisdom of the Hibakusha.”
The Nobel Prize citation said: “The fate of the survivors was long concealed and ignored. In 1956, local Hibakusha associations along with victims of nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific formed The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organisations, shortened in Japanese to Nihon Hidankyo.
“This grassroots movement soon became the largest and most widely representative Hibakusha organisation in Japan.”
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