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Op-Ed by 72 Belgian Mayors, Akiba, on Aug 6th

Congratulations to Pol D'Huyvetter for this.

A global campaign for a nuclear weapons convention by 2010
Op-ed for August 6th the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima

By Mr. Akiba Tadatoshi, Mayors of Hiroshima (1) & co-signed by 72 Belgian Mayors

Sixty years ago at 8:15 a.m. the sun was radiant in a bleu and silent sky when the U.S. B-29 Enola Gay bomber appeared as a shining silver bird above the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Seconds later it dropped the uranium bomb 'Little Boy' which was detonated 580 meters above the city. The bomb instantly created a blinding flash and firestorm of up to 4000 degrees Celsius. Never before had a bomb of 15,000 tons of TNT equivalent been dropped above a city with hundred of thousands of people. It immediately turned the city into a living nightmare, where thousands of people burned alive, while thousands of others were killed by the enormous blast which destroyed most buildings. The city was soon changed in a ghost-town, with heavily burned people and enormous suffering everywhere. There was hardly any medical help as hospitals, doctors and nurses had not been spared by the atomic bomb.

Soon it also became clear that this was not just a big bomb. It was also the first time that a bomb would spread radiation, soon to be discovered as a silent killer, haunting many of the survivors for years and decades to come. It is estimated that 80.000 people died in the living hell of Hiroshima on August 6th 1945, while another 50 to 70,000 people died by the end of 1945. The short account above illustrates the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.

Three days later followed the bombing with a plutonium bomb of Nagasaki. And soon we were engaged in the nuclear arms race, where the development of thousands of nuclear weapons have created an enormous impact on the environment.

Today the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates there are 13,470 operational nuclear warheads in the world. If one includes the number of inactive warheads, the total global inventory is some 27,600 warheads, enough to incinerate and obliterate all life on earth many times over.

The uranium mines, the enrichment and reprocessing plants, mountains of radio-active waste and especially the more than 2000 nuclear tests have created an enormous environmental and health impact. Dr. Rosalie Bertel, a well respected US scientist, has estimated that "the global victims of the radiation pollution related to nuclear weapon production, testing, use and waste conservatively number 13 million"

The NPT cornerstone for nuclear disarmament in deep crisis
The Non-proliferation Treaty of 1968 promised us a way out of the nuclear arms madness. While it would to stop new states acquiring nuclear weapons, the official nuclear weapon states would negotiate a treaty banning all nuclear weapons. At the 2000 Review Conference a series of very practical and realistic steps were agreed to lead us on this path. However, since than, we have seen rapid erosion of the NPT, with the U.S. pushing forward with development of new warheads, unilaterally withdrawing from the ABM-treaty, and furthermore refusing to ratify the Comprehensive nuclear Test Ban Treaty. On the other hand North-Korea withdrew from the treaty and Iran is strongly suspected of nuclear ambitions. And to no ones surprise Russia followed the trend and announced a modernisation of its arsenal. Of course nobody was surprised that the latest NPT Review Conference last May in the UN in New York ended in a failure.
The delicate balance between horizontal and vertical proliferation is being further undermined. How can we indeed stop horizontal proliferation to countries like Iran on the one hand, if we do not systematically move towards complete nuclear disarmament of British, Chinese, French, Russian and U.S. arsenals on the other hand?
Today the democratic forces in western countries are challenged with an unwillingness by the official nuclear weapon states to comply with their Article VI commitment when they ratified the NPT in 1970. Article VI leaves no room for doubt or interpretation: "Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."
It is here that we as Mayors for Peace ask the Belgian government to take a leading role, together with some other western governments, to move the world out of the actual nuclear deadlock. Not only the large majority of the world's population is on our side, but also more than 110 governments in the global South who are already gathered in the 6 official nuclear weapon free zones, making most of the southern hemisphere officially free of nuclear weapons (2).

Today, we invite the Belgian government to support and take initiatives for the long-awaited start of multilateral negotiations leading to a Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC), a treaty banning the development, testing, production, stockpiling, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons and provide a phased plan for their complete elimination. The Model NWC was submitted to the United Nations by Costa Rica and is distributed by the UN Secretary-General as a UN Document. (3) Every year the UN General Assembly adopts resolutions in support of nuclear disarmament. Unfortunately these resolutions calling for the world leaders to take their responsibility to rid the world of the threat of nuclear weapons are ignored by the western media. They seem to persist by playing a perverse role in the promotion of the use of double standards by portraying North-Korea as a villain while going into complete ignorance on the British, French and the U.S. who are from their side not complying with their disarmament commitments. The same can be said for the NATO's member states who continue to rely on the nuclear deterrent as part of their common security policy.

Therefore the Belgian government can take a very practical step within NATO by asking for the withdrawal of the secret number of U.S. nuclear weapons deployed on its territory. The U.S. deploys an estimated of 480 tactical nuclear weapons on NATO bases in six European countries, a nuclear force larger than the entire Chinese nuclear stockpile. The U.S. is the only nuclear weapon state to deploy nuclear weapons outside of its own territory. The NATO base at Kleine Brogel in the north-east of Belgium has a capacity to store up to 20 US B61 nuclear bombs, each of which has a lethal power that exceeds the power of the Hiroshima bomb by up to 14 times. In 1945 140,000 people died in Hiroshima because of that single atomic bomb.

On April 21st the Belgian Senate approved a resolution asking for the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe. Also the House is expected to approve a similar resolution. In Belgium almost half of the mayors have joined the 2020 vision for the complete elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020 (4). Today August 6th 2005 will become known as the day where Belgian mayors support the call of the Belgian Parliament to advocate a balanced approach of the non-proliferation regime.

Today we need the Belgian government to move with urgency and make strong new alliances for a world where children will be freed of the threat of a new nuclear holocaust as was experienced by the people of the Japanese city of Hiroshima 60 years ago.

André Martens, Mayor of Berlaar
André Van Genechten, Mayor of Meerhout
Anne Marie-Lizin, Mayor of Huy
Antoine Denert, Mayor of Kruibeke
Bart Brughmans, waarnemend Mayor ofBrasschaat
Brigitte Simal, Mayor of Villers-le-Bouillet
Bruno De Lille, Depute Mayor Brussels
Carl Devlies, Depute Mayor of Leuven
Christian Krings, Mayor of Sankt Vith
Daniel de Laveleye, Mayor of Ohey
Danny Claeys, Mayor of Nazareth
Diane Verbist-Vandewijngaerden, Mayor of Heist-op-den-Berg
Dirk Claes, Mayor of Rotselaar
Dirk De Vis, Mayor of Ham
Elio Di Rupo, Mayor of Mons
Filip Gijssels, Mayor of Kaprijke
Freddy Deghilage, Mayor of Saint-Ghislain
Freddy Vranckx, Mayor of Lubbeek
Frank Beke, Mayor of Gent
Georges Rovillard, Mayor of Fontaine l'Eveque
Hans Eyssen, Mayor of Holsbeek
Harry Hendrickx, Mayor of Malle
Hugo Casaer, Mayor of Beersel
Ignace De Baerdemaeker, Mayor of Laarne
Ingrid Pira, Mayor of Mortsel
Ivan Delaere, Mayor of Pittem
Jacques De Ruyck, Mayor of Deinze
Jan Verheyden, Mayor of Tessenderlo
Jan Peumans, Mayor of Riemst
Jan Peeters, Mayor of Herentals
Jean Dutrieux, Mayor of Ecaussinnes
Jean-Luc Dehaene, Mayor of Vilvoorde
Jean-Marie Cheffert, Mayor of Ciney
Jean-Pierre Brouhon, Schepen Elsene/Ixelles
Jean-Pierre De Groef, Mayor of Machelen
Jef Kersemans, Mayor of Oud-Turnhout
Joel Riguelle, Mayor of Berchem-Ste-Agathe
Johan Delmulle, Mayor of Wortegem-Petegem
Jos Ansoms, Mayor of Wuustwezel
Katrien Schryvers, Mayor of Zoersel
Leo Peeters, Mayor of Kapelle-op-den-Bos
Lieven Latoir, Mayor of Sint-Lievens-Houtem
Luc Dehaene, Mayor of Ieper
Luc De Ryck, Mayor of Temse
Luc Martens, Mayor of Roeselare
Luc Peetermans - Mayor of Herselt
Luc Vuylsteke de Laps, Mayor of Hove
Lutgard Vanderborght, Mayor of Opwijk
Marc Wijnants, Mayor of Linter
Marc Wackenier, Mayor of Alveringem
Marcel Hendrickx, Mayor of Turnhout
Marcel Mondelaers, Mayor of Beringen
Michel Jadoul, Bourgmestre de Berloz
Michiel Van Daele, Mayor of Tielt
Nicole Debois - Lebrun, Mayor of Walcourt.
Patrick Janssens, Mayor of Antwerpen
Patrick Marnef - Mayor of Boom
Patrick Moenaert, Mayor of Brugge
Patrick Moriau, Mayor of Chapelle-Lez-Herlaimont
Patrik Vankrunkelsven, Mayor of Laakdal
Paul Buekers, Mayor of Herk-de-Stad
Paul Claes, Mayor of Pepingen
Paul Rotthier, Mayor of Mol
Paul Vanhie, Mayor of Ledegem
Philippe Mahoux, Mayor of Gesves
Philippe Mettens, Mayor of Flobecq
Raf Drieskens, Mayor of Neerpelt
Raf Truyens, Mayor of Hechtel-Eksel
Rob Mennes, Mayor of Schelle
Roland Crabbe, Mayor of Nieuwpoort
Stany De Rechter, Mayor of Stekene
Stefaan De Clerck, Mayor of Kortrijk
Theo Kelchtermans, Mayor of Peer
Tony Beerten, Mayor of Heusden-Zolder
Willy Kuijpers, Mayor of Herent
Willy De Waele, Mayor of Lennik
Willy Minnebo, Mayor of Zwijndrecht
Willy Taminiaux, Mayor of La Louvière