Canadian Peace Alliance/l'Alliance canadienne pour la paix

Canada's largest umbrella peace group

Peace Groups Commemorate Bombings

and call for

International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

For immediate release — August 5, 1998

(Halifax) On August 6 and August 9, 1945 the first ever atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over 200,000 people were killed as a result of these bombings.

The Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA), the largest umbrella peace organization in Canada, joins many Canadians in marking this grim anniversary. Commemorative events are being held in communities across the country.

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki began the darkest period in our history -- with an arms race that saw billions of dollars directed towards the preparation for the annihilation of civilization while ignoring real human needs. "For over 50 years the threat of nuclear war has terrorized all of humanity. Now is the time to change all that," says Tryna Booth, Coordinator of the CPA.

"The only way that this can be assured is to abolish nuclear weapons," Booth continues, "and our government has the mandate to get the ball rolling." In a recent Angus Reid poll commissioned by the Canadian Peace Alliance, 93% of Canadians surveyed support the abolition of nuclear weapons and 92% believe the Canadian Government should take the lead in this initiative.

"We’re calling on the Government of Canada to declare unequivocally its commitment to the abolition of nuclear weapons and to work towards the establishment of an International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should be the last use of nuclear weapons on earth," concludes Booth.

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