Activists gather at Knighton memorial to mark Hiroshima Day
Activists gathered at a war memorial in Knighton to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima Day and warn of the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Peace activists Angie Zelter and Lyn Gardenchild visited Knighton War Memorial on Friday, continuing a fast they started at 8.15am on Thursday – when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima – and which continued until Sunday at 11.15am – the time the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
Bishop's Castle resident Steve Hale went to support the cause. He said: "The numbers of dead and injured were horrifying and the effects of radiation as still being experienced even now, 75 years later.
"At the time, Japan was on the verge of surrender - Roosevelt and Churchill both acknowledged this but the bombs were dropped nevertheless - with no warning - on civilian populations.
"Angie and Lyn are sitting and fasting to draw attention to this 75th anniversary and to warn us that the threat of nuclear war is more imminent than ever as the nuclear nations are upgrading and enhancing these obscene weapons rather than talking about how they can safely be decommissioned.
"The risk of annihilation grows by the day - whether through deliberate aggression or a simple - but catastrophic - mistaken response to a perceived attack.
"The United Kingdom consistently refuses to discuss or even acknowledge the wishes of the vast majority of countries that want all such weapons banned and so we all live under this threat.
"Nuclear weapons do not protect us against terrorists, conventional warfare or even pandemics. They are an abomination and have no place in a civilised world."
