Anti Nuclear War Congress In Astana Starts Wednesday

From Kamarul Ariffin Md Yassin ASTANA (Kazakhstan), Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Astana, the Kazakhstan capital city, will be the centre of focus among members of the anti-nuclear war fraternity as it will host the 21st International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) World Congress. The congress themed "From a Nuclear Test Ban to a Nuclear Weapon Free World: Disarmament, Peace and Global Health in the 21st Century" started on Monday for the two-day student congress. The main IPPNW world congress is scheduled for Aug 27 to 29 at the Independent Palace here. IPPNW Board of Directors Lars Pohlmeier and IPPNW Executive Director Michael Christ were quoted in the congress official website as saying the 21st IPPNW World Congress would be an unforgettable journey to a very special place. "It will be a journey into the history and present of the nuclear age. It will also be a journey that will unite us again as a very special movement of colleagues and friends to guide us together into a future that overcomes the nuclear threat and the horrible impact of war," they said They said Kazakhstan has so much to teach the world as it was the first country in history that decided to give up the nuclear option by returning its nuclear weapons to Russia. "And Kazakhstan has a sad but important story to tell – the legacy of terrible suffering among its population from some 450 nuclear detonations at the Polygon test site in Semipalatinsk," they said. Pohlmeier and Christ said IPPNW had been influential in reframing the international debate about nuclear weapons. "We are winning over a growing number of countries who have adopted the catastrophic medical and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons as the central principle for complete nuclear disarmament. "We have contributed our federation’s unique influence and authority on armed violence issues, helping to secure the Arms Trade Treaty as the first ever, humanitarian-based international agreement to control the global trade in conventional arms," they said. On Aug 30, the congress's participants will travel for a special one-day excursion to Semey and Kurchatov city to the actual test site area. IPPNW, the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize winner, is a non-partisan federation of national medical groups in 62 countries, representing tens of thousands of doctors, medical students, other health workers, and concerned citizens who share the common goal of creating a more peaceful and secure world freed from the threat of nuclear annihilation. In Malaysia, Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility (Persatuan Pengamal Perubatan Untuk Tanggungjawab Sosial Malaysia) is the affiliate for IPPNW. -- BERNAMA