International

The event took place before the flame that has burned since 1945 in memory of those who died, and that will not be extinguished until all nuclear weapons are eliminated. AT the event, representatives of the World March committed to carry the flame of Hiroshima through every country the WM will travel through, demanding the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Eduardo Gozalo, Aurora Marquina, Alvaro Orus and a few others reached the meadow at 3400 metres and set up Base camp 1, with the plan to continue the climb towards the peak of Mount Ararat, the mythical site where it is said Noah’s Ark came to rest after the Great Flood. They will continue towards Base 2, located at 4500 metres.

**Editorial from Hiroshima** The economic world crisis, starting in Wall Street last year, exploded in Japan more powerfully than in any other country. A similar explosion occurred when Japan was hit by two nuclear bombs in 1945, dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, immigrants are the first victims of the explosion caused by the present economic crisis.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog’s board has approved an almost €25 million increase in the agency’s 2010 budget.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will receive over €318 million in its regular budget next year, with the biggest funding boost going to work in nuclear security and safety, technical cooperation, nuclear power and nuclear applications.

To mark the start of the second half of the Secretary-General’s 100-day “WMD-We Must Disarm” countdown campaign to the International Day of Peace on 21 September, the United Nations has launched a competition to find the best short film on the issue of nuclear disarmament and/or non-proliferation.
Winning films will be shown at UN Headquarters.

A torch to be lit from the Hiroshima Flame on August 5 will be carried on a march around the world to promote the abolition of nuclear weapons – ending up at the United Nations in May 2010 for a major inter-governmental conference on nuclear non-proliferation.
It will remain alight until all nuclear weapons are eliminated.

A formidable group of professional film makers from all continents have resolved to document peace extending throughout all latitudes of the world. With their own scripts, these filmmakers following the World March for Peace and Nonviolence will develop, in the last quarter of this year, a documentary of the World March to be presented in the international festivals.

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence commemorates Hiroshima Day, August 6, in New York City by launching roving celebrity billboards throughout Manhattan featuring the faces of presidents, Hollywood actors, Nobel Laureates and many others who endorse the March and feel deep worry for the nuclear threat. All will converge in Times Square for a closing ceremony.

The abrahamic Occident expanded three times: islam 622-1492 from Iberia to the Philippines; christianity from 1492 on all five continents; and judaism from 1948 in the Middle East. They left and leave behind enormous clashes of civilizations in their wake, many extinguished. South America is building on an incredible rich history and wisdom like Bolivia’s Morales is now doing.

In 1969, Yoko Ono and John Lennon staged a Bed-In for Peace during their honeymoon to protest the Vietnam War. 40 years later, the organizers of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence will re-enact the Bed-In near the famous “Strawberry Fields” to warn how nuclear weapons pose the most dangerous threat to humanity and demand they be abolished.