30th July 2006

A vigil has been organised for Saturday 5th August to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (i) and to call an end to the brutality in the Middle East.

Other events will also be taking place around the country including a march in London calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to attacks (ii).

Cllr John Marjoram, who is organising the vigil said: "Most people in this country are horrified at the bloodshed and destruction unfolding daily in Lebanon. We are totally dismayed that the British government, almost alone in the world, is not calling for an immediate ceasefire to enable the suffering to stop. We welcome all to join us at 11.30 am outside "Milletts" in Stroud High St. with any suitable banners. It seems an appropriate time, being 61st anniversary, to also remember the 214,000 and more victims, mostly civilians, of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

Notes

(i) 6th August is the actual anniversary. See more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

(ii) The London demonstration of 5 August will assemble at Hyde Park Speakers Corner (nearest tube Marble Arch), march via the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to Trafalgar Square, down Whitehall past Downing Steet, where we will hand in a letter demanding that Tony Blair call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza, and into Parliament Square, where there will be a rally. More details from:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/