Undeterred by a car bomb that failed to detonate the night before, thousands filled New York’s Times Square on 2 May to protest against a far more destructive bomb.
The International Day of Action for a Nuclear-Free World saw a 15,000 protesters from around the world rally and then march to the UN headquarters, where the month-long NPT review conference was to be held.
There were over 2,000 marchers from Japan alone. Hundreds of organisations were represented, including Britain’s CND, and trade unions and Mayors for Peace from around the world.
The day before the rally, Footprints for Peace arrived at the UN having completed a 1,020 mile, 79-day International Peace Walk towards a Nuclear Free Future that began at the Y-12 Nuclear Research facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The walkers carried with them the Nuclear Abolition Flame that kicked off the World Peace March in Wellington, New Zealand in October last year.
Seven-and-a-half million signatories for a nuclear-weapons-free world were presented at the start of the NPT conference. The NPT conference ended on 28 May. Full report in our next issue.
Topics: Nuclear weapons