3,000 for peace march

Some 3,000 Malaysians have signed up for the Hiroshima Day Peace March on Saturday.
The march, to mark the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, is organised by Peace Malaysia and the Malaysian Medical Association Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (MMA PPNW).

It will be one of several marches to be held in the world’s capital cities.

Peace Malaysia co-ordinator Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said the march was to rally against war, nuclear proliferation, militarism and any kind of arms race.

“We hope the voices of Malaysians and those who will be marching in other parts of the world that day will send a strong message to world leaders to act collectively on disarmament for the sake of our future generations,” he said at the Umno Youth office today.

Organisations that have confirmed their participation include Umno Youth, the Malaysian Youth Council, the Malaysian Association of Youth Clubs, 4B Youth and Sokka Gakkai Malaysia.

Mukhriz set a hopeful target of 5,000 marchers.

MMA PPNW chairman Datuk Dr Ronald McCoy said nuclear arms proliferation remained one of the main threats facing the world.

“The argument is simple,” he said. “As soon as one state has nuclear weapons, other states would want to have them, for their ‘security’.”

The world has to rid itself of nuclear weapons and the initiative has to come from the leaders of the nuclear weapons states, especially the United States, he added.

Dr McCoy said although the Cold War ended 15 years ago, 30,000 nuclear warheads still exist.

Members of the public who want to participate in the march are encouraged to turn up at Padang Merbok at 7.30am on Saturday. From there, the march will proceed to Dataran Merdeka and end at Panggung Anniversari in Lake Gardens.

source from NST 04.07.2005