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広島平和宣言

広島市長、秋葉さんの平和宣言、すばらしかったです。「世界に誇るべき平和憲法をあるがままに遵守（じゅんしゅ）し、米国の時代遅れで誤った政策にははっきり「ノー」と言うべきです。」とういう、勇気ある発言には、感動しました。８月９日の長崎の田上市長は、どのような内容の平和宣言をするのか、楽しみです。広島平和宣言 '07/08/06 　運命の夏、八時十五分。朝凪（あさなぎ）を破るＢ―２９の爆音。青空に開く「落下傘」。そして閃光（せんこう）、轟音（ごうおん）―静寂―阿鼻（あび）叫喚。　落下傘を見た少女たちの眼は焼かれ顔は爛（ただ）れ、助けを求める人々の皮膚は爪（つめ）から垂れ下がり、髪は天を衝（つ）き、衣服は原形を止（とど）めぬほどでした。爆風により潰（つぶ）れた家の下敷（したじき）になり焼け死んだ人、目の玉や内臓まで飛び出し息絶えた人―辛うじて生き永らえた人々も、死者を羨（うらや）むほどの「地獄」でした。　十四万人もの方々が年内に亡くなり、死を免れた人々もその後、白血病、甲状腺癌（がん）等、様々（さまざま）な疾病に襲われ、今なお苦しんでいます。　それだけではありません。ケロイドを疎まれ、仕事や結婚で差別され、深い心の傷はなおのこと理解されず、悩み苦しみ、生きる意味を問う日々が続きました。　しかし、その中から生（うま）れたメッセージは、現在も人類の行く手を照らす一筋の光です。「こんな思いは他の誰にもさせてはならぬ」と、忘れてしまいたい体験を語り続け、三度目の核兵器使用を防いだ被爆者の功績を未来永劫（えいごう）忘れてはなりません。　こうした被爆者の努力にもかかわらず、核即応態勢はそのままに膨大な量の核兵器が備蓄・配備され、核拡散も加速する等、人類は今なお滅亡の危機に瀕（ひん）しています。時代に遅れた少数の指導者たちが、未（いま）だに、力の支配を奉ずる二十世紀前半の世界観にしがみつき、地球規模の民主主義を否定するだけでなく、被爆の実相や被爆者のメッセージに背を向けているからです。　しかし二十一世紀は、市民の力で問題を解決できる時代です。かつての植民地は独立し、民主的な政治が世界に定着しました。さらに人類は、歴史からの教訓を汲（く）んで、非戦闘員への攻撃や非人道的兵器の使用を禁ずる国際ルールを築き、国連を国際紛争解決の手段として育ててきました。そして今や、市民と共（とも）に歩み、悲しみや痛みを共有してきた都市が立ち上がり、人類の叡智（えいち）を基に、市民の声で国際政治を動かそうとしています。　世界の千六百九十八都市が加盟する平和市長会議は、「戦争で最大の被害を受けるのは都市だ」という事実を元に、二〇二〇年までの核兵器廃絶を目指して積極的に活動しています。　我（わ）がヒロシマは、全米百一都市での原爆展開催や世界の大学での「広島・長崎講座」普及など、被爆体験を世界と共有するための努力を続けています。アメリカの市長たちは「都市を攻撃目標にするな」プロジェクトの先頭に立ち、チェコの市長たちはミサイル防衛に反対しています。ゲルニカ市長は国際政治への倫理の再登場を呼び掛け、イーペル市長は平和市長会議の国際事務局を提供し、ベルギーの市長たちが資金を集める等、世界中の市長たちが市民と共に先導的な取組（とりくみ）を展開しています。今年十月には、地球人口の過半数を擁する自治体組織、「都市・自治体連合」総会で、私たちは、人類の意志として核兵器廃絶を呼び掛けます。　唯一の被爆国である日本国政府には、まず謙虚に被爆の実相と被爆者の哲学を学び、それを世界に広める責任があります。同時に、国際法により核兵器廃絶のため誠実に努力する義務を負う日本国政府は、世界に誇るべき平和憲法をあるがままに遵守（じゅんしゅ）し、米国の時代遅れで誤った政策にははっきり「ノー」と言うべきです。また、「黒い雨降雨地域」や海外の被爆者も含め、平均年齢が七十四歳を超えた被爆者の実態に即した温かい援護策の充実を求めます。　被爆六十二周年の今日、私たちは原爆犠牲者、そして核兵器廃絶の道半ばで凶弾に倒れた伊藤前長崎市長の御霊（みたま）に心から哀悼の誠を捧（ささ）げ、核兵器のない地球を未来の世代に残すため行動することをここに誓います。 二〇〇七年（平成十九年）八月六日広島市長　秋葉忠利 That fateful summer, 8:15. The roar of a B-29 breaks the morning calm. A parachute opens in the blue sky. Then suddenly, a flash, an enormous blast - silence - hell on Earth.The eyes of young girls watching the parachute were melted. Their faces became giant charred blisters. The skin of people seeking help dangled from their fingernails. Their hair stood on end. Their clothes were ripped to shreds. People trapped in houses toppled by the blast were burned alive. Others died when their eyeballs and internal organs burst from their bodies-Hiroshima was a hell where those who somehow survived envied the dead. Within the year, 140,000 had died. Many who escaped death initially are still suffering from leukemia, thyroid cancer, and a vast array of other afflictions. But there was more. Sneered at for their keloid scars, discriminated against in employment and marriage, unable to find understanding for profound emotional wounds, survivors suffered and struggled day after day, questioning the meaning of life. And yet, the message born of that agony is a beam of light now shining the way for the human family. To ensure that "no one else ever suffers as we did," the hibakusha have continuously spoken of experiences they would rather forget, and we must never forget their accomplishments in preventing a third use of nuclear weapons. Despite their best efforts, vast arsenals of nuclear weapons remain in high states of readiness-deployed or easily available. Proliferation is gaining momentum, and the human family still faces the peril of extinction. This is because a handful of old-fashioned leaders, clinging to an early 20th century worldview in thrall to the rule of brute strength, are rejecting global democracy, turning their backs on the reality of the atomic bombings and the message of the hibakusha. However, here in the 21st century the time has come when these problems can actually be solved through the power of the people. Former colonies have become independent. Democratic governments have taken root. Learning the lessons of history, people have created international rules prohibiting attacks on non-combatants and the use of inhumane weapons. They have worked hard to make the United Nations an instrument for the resolution of international disputes. And now city governments, entities that have always walked with and shared in the tragedy and pain of their citizens, are rising up. In the light of human wisdom, they are leveraging the voices of their citizens to lift international politics. Because "Cities suffer most from war," Mayors for Peace, with 1,698 city members around the world, is actively campaigning to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020.In Hiroshima, we are continuing our effort to communicate the A-bomb experience by holding A-bomb exhibitions in 101 cities in the US and facilitating establishment of Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses in universities around the world. American mayors have taken the lead in our Cities Are Not Targets project. Mayors in the Czech Republic are opposing the deployment of a missile defense system. The mayor of Guernica-Lumo is calling for a resurgence of morality in international politics. The mayor of Ypres is providing an international secretariat for Mayors for Peace, while other Belgian mayors are contributing funds, and many more mayors around the world are working with their citizens on pioneering initiatives. In October this year, at the World Congress of United Cities and Local Governments, which represents the majority of our planet's population, cities will express the will of humanity as we call for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The government of Japan, the world's only A-bombed nation, is duty-bound to humbly learn the philosophy of the hibakusha along with the facts of the atomic bombings and to spread this knowledge through the world. At the same time, to abide by international law and fulfill its good-faith obligation to press for nuclear weapons abolition, the Japanese government should take pride in and protect, as is, the Peace Constitution, while clearly saying "No," to obsolete and mistaken US policies. We further demand, on behalf of the hibakusha whose average age now exceeds 74, improved and appropriate assistance, to be extended also to those living overseas or exposed in "black rain areas." Sixty-two years after the atomic bombing, we offer today our heartfelt prayers for the peaceful repose of all its victims and of Iccho Itoh, the mayor of Nagasaki shot down on his way toward nuclear weapons abolition. Let us pledge here and now to take all actions required to bequeath to future generations a nuclear-weapon-free world. Tadatoshi AkibaMayorThe City of Hiroshima62th Year Memorial Ceremony,Mayor Akiba's Declaration