obama pushes vision of world without nweapons as he visits hiroshima
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Obama pushes vision of world without N-weapons as he visits Hiroshima

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Obama pushes vision of world without N-weapons as he visits Hiroshima

Barack Obama,he became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima
Hiroshima - Arab Today

Barack Obama on Friday paid tribute to the 140,000 people killed by the world’s first atomic bomb attack and sought to bring global attention to his unfulfilled vision of a world without nuclear weapons, as he became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima.
“Death fell from the sky and the world was changed,” Obama said, after laying a wreath, closing his eyes and briefly bowing his head before an arched monument in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park that honors those killed on Aug. 6, 1945, when US forces dropped the bomb that ushered in the nuclear age. The bombing, Obama said, “demonstrated that mankind possessed the means to destroy itself.”
Obama did not apologize, instead offering, in a carefully choreographed display, a simple reflection on the horrors of war and his hope the horror of Hiroshima could spark a “moral awakening.” As he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stood near an iconic bombed-out domed building, Obama acknowledged the devastating toll of war and urged the world to do better.
“We stand here in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell ... we listen to a silent cry.” Obama said.
A second atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki three days later Hiroshima, killed 70,000 more.
Obama also sought to look forward to the day when there was less danger of nuclear war. He received a Nobel Peace Prize early on his presidency for his anti-nuclear agenda but has since seen uneven progress.
“We must have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them,” Obama said of nuclear weapons.
The visit presents a diplomatic tightrope for a US president trying to make history without ripping open old wounds. He did not apologize for the attack, which is viewed by many in the US as having hastened the end of World War II; others have called it a war crime that targeted civilians.
Critics believe Obama’s mere presence in Hiroshima will be viewed as an apology for what they see as a justified attack. But he has also drawn praise from those who see it as a long overdue gesture needed to heal old wounds.
Obama touched down in Hiroshima after completing talks with world leaders at an international summit in Shima, Japan.
Those who come to ground zero at Hiroshima speak of its emotional impact, of the searing imagery of the exposed steel beams on the iconic A-bomb dome. The skeletal remains of the exhibition hall have become an international symbol of peace and a place for prayer.
The president was accompanied on his visit by Abe — a demonstration of the friendship that exists between the only nation ever to use an atomic bomb and the only nation ever to have suffered from one. US Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, also joined the president.
Bomb survivor Kinuyo Ikegami, 82, paid her own respects at the cenotaph on Friday morning, well before Obama arrived, lighting incense and chanting a prayer.
Tears ran down her face as she described the immediate aftermath of the bomb.
“I could hear schoolchildren screaming: ‘Help me! Help me!’” she said. “It was too pitiful, too horrible. Even now it fills me with emotion.”
Han Jeong-soon, the 58-year-old daughter of a Korean survivor, was also at the park Friday.
“The suffering, such as illness, gets carried on over the generations — that is what I want President Obama to know,” she said. “I want him to understand our sufferings.”
Obama’s visit is a moment 71 years in the making. Other American presidents considered coming, but the politics were still too sensitive, the emotions too raw. Jimmy Carter visited as a former president in 1984.
Even now, when polls find 70 percent of the Japanese support Obama’s decision to come to Hiroshima, Obama’s visit is fraught.
His choreographed visit will be parsed by people with many agendas.
There are political foes at home who are ready to seize on any hint of an unwelcome expression of regret.
There are Koreans who want to hear the president acknowledge the estimated 20,000-40,000 of their citizens who were among the dead in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
There are blast survivors who want Obama to listen to their stories, to see their scars — physical and otherwise.
There are activists looking for a pledge of new, concrete steps to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
There are American former POWs who want the president to fault Japan for starting the war in the Pacific.

Source : Arab News

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

obama pushes vision of world without nweapons as he visits hiroshima obama pushes vision of world without nweapons as he visits hiroshima

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

obama pushes vision of world without nweapons as he visits hiroshima obama pushes vision of world without nweapons as he visits hiroshima

 



GMT 21:52 2017 Thursday ,19 October

Israeli forces arrest 7 Palestinians in West Bank

GMT 15:41 2017 Wednesday ,04 October

Putin warns against double standards in war on terror

GMT 23:42 2017 Monday ,18 September

Mattis 'shocked' by low level of US military readiness

GMT 17:36 2017 Saturday ,14 October

What's at stake for business in Iran's nuclear deal

GMT 14:14 2017 Saturday ,11 February

Ghada Adel praises participation with Adel Imam

GMT 21:00 2017 Thursday ,05 October

Scores of settlers storm into Al Aqsa

GMT 11:56 2017 Wednesday ,29 November

Iraqis throng to Picasso in Baghdad

GMT 05:43 2018 Wednesday ,12 September

"Ala" Syria determined to liberate Idleb from terrorism

GMT 19:47 2018 Thursday ,18 January

Sultan Al Qasimi launches Sharjah real estate projects

GMT 10:58 2017 Thursday ,20 April

Kabbara meets Saudi counterpart, IMO chief in Cairo

GMT 00:10 2017 Tuesday ,10 October

Turkey calls for new round of Syria talks in Geneva

GMT 00:29 2017 Tuesday ,24 October

HM King congratulates UN secretary-general

GMT 10:42 2017 Monday ,22 May

Egypt refers 48 IS suspects to military court
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday