100s will rally in London to remember victims of US nuclear attacks on Japan

Hundreds of protesters will gather in London’s Tavistock Square in a few hours to remember those killed or affected in the US nuclear attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War.

The event organized by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) marks the 68th anniversary of nuking of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, which was followed by another nuclear attack on Nagasaki three days later.

The bombings, now revealed to have been encouraged by Britain, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and completely razed the two cities.

The US government’s National Archives and Records Administration declassified documents earlier this week that showed London played a key role in Washington’s decision to carry out the nuclear attacks as a close ally.

“Over 340,000 people have died as a result of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As well as the remembrance ceremony in Tavistock Square, CND has sent a representative to Japan to pay our respects at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony,” CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said.

Hudson said the rally is a reminder to London, which has a stockpile of 225 nuclear warheads, that such savagery should not be repeated.

“Today, Britain has 225 warheads, each with the power to inflict eight times the damage of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. As well as commemorating those who have died and those who are still suffering from those horrific attacks, today we must reaffirm our determination that this should never happen again. The British Government can play its part now by scrapping Trident [nuclear weapons],” she said.