I read the report of the 1996 and 1998 World Conference against A & H bombs and was dismayed and hurt by the pain and sorrow of those writing about their experience. I felt the terror of the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the long pain and suffering of the Hibakusha. I wished there were no bombs as dreadful as those that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and No Hibakusha to remind us of the hate that one nation felt for the citizens of another nation. The hibakusha people are innocent as those citizens who were caught by the A & H-bomb on that tragic and sad day of August 6 and 9, 1945. For their sake I wish that this generation would devote more time and effort for peace so that a thousand million generations to come will have no hibakusha, no dreadful death. I wish for peace to reign over all of us so that the lotus flower of peace will be there for all to pluck and enjoy with reverence. In Nepal, there was peace yesterday. Today, peace is in danger. We have many reports in the newspapers about lootings, killings and encounters. This makes us very sad but it is not the sad news of the Hibakusha, which engulfs a whole civilization. But still sad news is there, suffering is there, pain is there and there is the fear of uncertainty. In Nepal, the hibakusha are those that live under grinding poverty, ignorance and ill health. For Nepal and the Nepalese peace is freedom that comes from employment, freedom that comes from useful education, and freedom that springs from good health. We hope for these freedoms even as the hibakusha hope for love. But, both Pakistan and India have tested (exploded) atomic devices. The whole of south Asia is in danger despite the promise not to first use these weapons of mass destruction. We pray that the leader of these two nations will encounter only peace and fulfill their pledge to dismantle nuclear weapons. We in Nepal think that it is better for the people of these two nations to sit-down and talk for the demolition of nuclear weapons (atomic arsenals), to take the war to the peace conference than to wage war in the paddy fields, the huts and work place. After all we have inherited peace from the Buddha who is of this soil, these rocks, these rivers and the surrounding seas. Peace is a legacy, which we bestow to the world-let us, preserve it, protect it. In Nepal, when we talk about the bomb over Nagasaki and Hiroshima, people are amazed and non-believing about the extent of the destruction. We show them the video footage and those that have seen the graphic display have expressed their solidarity to the cause of peace. It is with this vote of hope that I wish to demand from you for more information, which we will share with our people in Nepal.
To the 2001 Wolrd Conference against A & H Bombs