TORONTO—August 6, 2012, marked another milestone in the effort to eliminate nuclear weapons.
Two Hiroshima atom bombing survivors, Setsuko Thurlow, Member of the Order of Canada, and Joe Ohori, are using commemorations of the 67th anniversary of the tragedy to propel a warning about the threat posed by nuclear weapons.
Thurlow, along with 600 other Members of the Order of Canada, has signed an appeal to the federal government to support an international elimination of nuclear weapons.
Canada’s honoured citizens are not alone in their call for change. On the other side of the planet, more than 750 Members of the Order of Australia have also urged their government to take action by forming the Australians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention group.
“If humanity is to continue, we have to make a choice, we can’t be wishy-washy,” Thurlow said. “If we don’t make a decision, then we are part of the problem.”
That problem is made worse by the terrifying evolution of nuclear weapons, which have grown exponentially more powerful than those dropped in Japan.
At present, five nuclear-weapon states—Russia, France, China, United Kingdom, and the United States—possess some 20,000 nuclear weapons. Lesser amounts are in the hands of India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel is believed to have nuclear weapons as well.
Even though Canada doesn’t possess any weapons, Thurlow noted that as a member of NATO, Canada stands behind a policy that outlines the willingness to use nuclear weapons defensively.
Thurlow calls that fact, and the 2010 parliamentary motion to abolish nuclear weapons, a “great contradiction.”
“Canada has to be more honest to the international community,” she said.
Due to their destructive capacity, nuclear weapons should not be considered as part of a country’s defence system at all, she argues. “It has such unparalleled destructive power; it’s not just the destruction caused by a bomb or a canon or something,” she said with tears in her eyes.
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