People of Hiroshima on August 6, 2012 observed the anniversary of the atomic bombing, amidst the rising tide of the anti-nuclear sentiments swells in post-Fukushima Japan. The annual ceremony was attended by the ageing survivors, relatives, government officials and foreign delegates at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park commemorating the US bombing of the western Japanese city nearly seven decades back.
On August 6, 1945 an American B-29 bomber known as the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb, which turned the city in to a nuclear inferno. The atomic bombing, killed an estimated 140,000 in the final segment of the World War II.
At 08:15 am which is the time of detonation, people came to a stand still and observed silence while bowing slightly. Many of them joined their hands in prayer under the scorching sunlight. Angela Kane the UN high representative for disarmament affairs while reading a message from the Secretary General Ban Ki moon said, “On this day, in this city, let me proclaim again: there must never be another nuclear attack—never”.
The message added, “Such weapons have no legitimate place in our world. Their elimination is both morally right and a practical necessity in protecting humanity.” The official ceremony was attended by some 50,000 people and thousands others joined the demonstrations, forums and marches.
