Hiroshima rally seeks end to Iraq war

Last Update: Saturday, August 6, 2005. 3:33pm (AEST)


Commemorations have taken place around Australia to mark the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

There have been rallies in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Alice Springs, while Melbourne's commemorations will happen on Sunday.

A rally in Sydney called for troops to be pulled out of Iraq and an end to nuclear proliferation.

About 1,000 people attended the march through Sydney's CBD, which was followed by speeches from organisers and a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing.

Denis Doherty from the Hiroshima Day Committee called for the removal of US military installations in Australia.

"We say there must be an end to any alliance which causes us to be complicit in nuclear war strategy," he said.

"And we say there must be an end to using our land to prosecute countries, against citizens of other countries that we have no fight against.

"No longer are we prepared to give up our soil for the prosecution of nuclear wars and other wars through intelligence gathering and training bases. We say no to all that."

One man who attended the rally was deeply affected by the bombing.

"The reason for me being here is that my grandmother is an atomic bomb survivor from Hiroshima, and my mother as well," he said.

"She lost two of her sisters."

Others expressed concern that the mistakes of Hiroshima are still being repeated.

"Sixty years later and we're, I guess, committing wars against the poorest nations without any real justification."

Tasmania

Tasmanians have marked the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing with an inter-faith commemorative service in Hobart.

The service was held at St David's Cathedral and was followed by a rally on the lawns of Parliament House.

As part of the service, Hobart's Lord Mayor Rob Valentine read an anniversary statement prepared by the Mayor of Hiroshima.

"He finishes with, 'on this 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing we seek to comfort the souls of all its victims by declaring that we humbly reaffirm our responsibility to never to repeat the evil, please rest peacefully for we will not repeat the evil'," he said.

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