Atomic Bombing Survivors Disappointed At Npt Failure To Reach Consensus
Survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have expressed disappointment that the review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons failed to adopt a final document.
The head of a survivors' group in Hiroshima, Mimaki Toshiyuki, told NHK that he cannot help but feel the NPT regime is worthless under the current circumstances.
He said his goal is to see nuclear weapons abolished while he is still alive, but he feels the words "nuclear disarmament" are now even more elusive.
The head of another survivors' group in Hiroshima, Sakuma Kunihiko, visited New York as the review conference got underway.
He told NHK he hopes that another round of discussions will be held soon.
He added that his group will continue to call for the abolition of nuclear arms despite the review conference's failure to reach consensus.
The head of a survivors' group in Nagasaki, Kawano Koichi, said he thinks member countries lacked willingness to compromise from the beginning.
He added that failure of the NPT review conference to reach consensus again raises the issue of how the world will respond to the reality that the non-proliferation regime is not working.
He said if the issue is not addressed, nuclear weapons will be left unchecked, an idea which he describes as horrible.