[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 130 (Saturday, August 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA

                                 ______


                         HON. RONALD V. DELLUMS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 4, 1995
  Mr.  DELLUMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the 50th anniversary 
of the United States dropping of the world's first and only atomic 
bombs; one on August 6, 1945 on Hiroshima and one 3 days later, on 
August 9 on Nagasaki. I take this moment to share with you the 
unanimous resolution of the Oakland--California--City Council in 
stating that they join ``with Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the profound 
conviction that nuclear weapons must never be used again'' and also 
calls for the achievement of a ``world free of nuclear weapons.''
  Each August 6th and 9th provides us with the occasion to acknowledge 
the enormity of the decision to drop these two weapons upon populations 
that were overwhelmingly civilian, and who became the object lesson of 
our message to the world that we had a weapon of incredible power and 
destruction.
  I am pleased to reiterate my support of the city of Oakland's passage 
of a statute which declared Oakland to be a Nuclear Free Zone which 
restricts city investments in and purchases from companies that make 
nuclear weapons, provides for city designation of local routes for 
transportation of hazardous radioactive materials and requires a 
permitting process for nuclear weapons work in the city.
  It is my privilege to bring to the attention of my colleagues the 
following resolution adopted by the city of Oakland:
Resolution to Observe the 50th Anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima 
                              and Nagasaki
       WHEREAS, 1995 marks the 50th Anniversary of the bombings of 
     Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and
       WHEREAS, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 
     Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945, represent the first and only 
     use of nuclear weapons against a civilian population; and
       WHEREAS, the atomic bombings of these cities resulted in 
     the immediate deaths of over 200,000 people, the complete 
     devastation of the cities, and untold suffering for those who 
     survived; and
       WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of people have since died or 
     continue to suffer from the long-term effects of the bomb, 
     including some 1,500 ``Hibakusha''--atomic bomb survivors 
     living in the United States, most of whom are Japanese 
     American citizens; and
       WHEREAS, there are 628 known HIBAKUSHA residing in 
     California, approximately 275 in Northern California, as of 
     1993; and
       WHEREAS, the people of Oakland have repeatedly expressed 
     their opposition to nuclear weapons; and
       WHEREAS, in 1986 the Oakland City Council voted unanimously 
     to support a Comprehensive Nuclear Test ban; and
       WHEREAS, in 1988 the residents of the City of Oakland 
     approved an initiative ordinance known as the ``Oakland 
     Nuclear Free Zone Act'' and
       WHEREAS, despite the end of the Cold War, many thousands of 
     nuclear weapons remain deployed around the world; and
       WHEREAS, all humanity must strive to achieve a world free 
     of nuclear weapons and to attain peace so that such untold 
     suffering never occurs again;
       THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED THAT:
       1. August 6 and 9, 1995, be proclaimed Hiroshima and 
     Nagasaki Remembrance Days, respectively.
       2. The City of Oakland joins with Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 
     the profound conviction that nuclear weapons must never be 
     used again.
     

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