Pellegrini in Hiroshima: Nuclear Weapons Must Never Be Used Again

Hiroshima, 11 September (TASR-special correspondent) - President Peter Pellegrini visited Hiroshima on Thursday as part of his visit to Japan, and he paid tribute to the victims of the atomic bomb that the United States dropped on the city in 1945, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent. In Hiroshima, Pellegrini visited the Atomic Dome, laid wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and visited the museum. He also held talks with city mayor Kazumi Matsui. On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the Little Boy bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people. Three days later, the USA dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing an additional 74,000 people. Subsequently, Japan surrendered on August 15, which meant the end of WWII. "This year we commemorate 80 years since the terrible event when the first two atomic bombs were dropped here in Hiroshima and then a few days later in Nagasaki. Let's hope that these will also be the last ones to be used," said the president. "I think that nowadays, when the global security situation is deteriorating, when some nuclear powers are involved in military conflicts, we must do our utmost to end these conflicts in a peaceful manner as soon as possible and to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again, as the consequences today would be a thousand times worse than they were 80 years ago," stated Pellegrini. According to the head of state, it would be good thing if many world leaders who are engaged in military conflicts visited Hiroshima so that they would realise the damage and evil that they cause by their actions. As part of his Hiroshima agenda, the Slovak president met mayor Matsui, who said that he would like to see more Slovak mayors joining the Mayors for Peace initiative, which is always chaired by the mayor of Hiroshima. More than 8,500 mayors from around the world have joined the initiative so far, but only two of them come from Slovakia. Therefore, Pellegrini wants to discuss this issue with the Slovak Towns and Villages Association. ko/df