Hiroshima Candle Float in Salisbury on 6th August 2018

Posted: 7th August 2018

Here is the Salisbury Journal coverage of this year’s Candle Float, with 26 stills and a video.

Thanks to all who worked so hard to make it happen and thanks to all who attended and made it such very special occasion.

http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/16402910.salisbury-cnd-holds-hiroshima-day-candle-float-2018/

Here’s a link to a letter they published the following week about the thinking behind the Candle Float.  

http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/16419740.letter-of-the-day-we-should-not-be-complacent-about-...

A second letter following on from the Candle Float is shown at the bottom of this page.

You can also see the front page of the Salisbury Journal at the bottom of this page.

Here is ICAN’s background to the events we were remembering

“It’s 73 years ago and a Monday morning, just like today. With the mid-summer sun already blazing, Hiroshima starts another day. Please listen to what I say next as if you and your loved ones were there. At 8:15 comes a blinding flash. A fireball more than a million degrees Celsius releases intense radiation, heat, and then, a tremendous blast. Below the roiling mushroom cloud, innocent lives are snuffed out as the city is obliterated.”

These were the opening words of the Peace Declaration given this morning by mayor Kazumi Matsui at the Peace Memorial event in Hiroshima/ It was a speech where brutal imagery of the bomb’s impact contrasted with the hopeful messages from Hibakusha – the survivors of the bombings – wishing to see the world freed from nuclear weapons. After nearly three quarters of a century of campaigning, that wish is finally within reach.

7 things you should know about the bombings

A little over a year ago, the UN adopted the historic Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which forbids all activities related to nuclear weapons: using, producing, testing, storing, financing, threatening to use, etc. This treaty was also the first to  acknowledge the suffering of the victims of nuclear use and testing. And of course, the Treaty was so welcome in this time where it seems like a single tweet could end in nuclear war, that our campaign won the Nobel Peace Prize. But it’s not just among citizens, support for the treaty is growing fast at the official level too. Just last week, New Zealand officially ratified the treaty – becoming its newest State Party – while Colombia became the 60th country to sign it. It’s time for all states to join the Treaty.

Japan is conspicuous by its absence. Much to the horror of the Hibakusha, the Japanese government remains complicit in promoting the legitimacy of nuclear weapons, claiming to rely on the US “nuclear umbrella” for its security. But should the country that first witnessed the scale of devastation brought by a nuclear attack truly allow the use – or the threat of use – in its name? A recent poll showed that80.8% of Hibakusha urge the Japanese government to join the Nuclear Ban Treaty.

The commemorative events all over the world this week – but particularly those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki – are a call to reflect and to listen. Reflect because we should never forget the events of that week in 1945 or their devastating impact on people and planet. Listen, because the survivors of nuclear use and testing have powerful stories to tell that remind the world of the unacceptable humanitarian effect of nuclear weapons.

All week, we will be sharing testimonies and commemoration events from around the world on social media. Will you take a moment to cast your thoughts to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and share these stories with your loved ones?

WATCH: Hibakusha Toshiko Tanaka calls on all nations to join the #nuclearbanLISTEN: 3-piece radio documentary on Setsuko Thurlow – Hibakusha and campaigner against nuclear weapons – on SiriusXM READ Mayor Kazumi Matsui’s full Peace DeclarationFOLLOW: commemorative events around the world on Twitter
Thank you.

Lucero Oyarzun
Digital Campaign Coordinator
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)