Nobel peace laureates' summit begins in Hiroshima+

HIROSHIMA, Nov. 12 Kyodo -
Nobel Peace Prize laureates met Friday in Hiroshima, starting a three-day
summit to discuss a world without nuclear weapons in the city devastated by the
U.S. atomic bombing in 1945.
The 11th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates through Sunday is the first to
be hosted by Japan. Participants are expected to come up with a declaration for
nuclear abolition at the end of the summit.
While focusing on nuclear issues, the summit also highlighted other issues
pertaining to the laureates, especially when former Chinese pro-democracy
leader Wuer Kaixi spoke on behalf of imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo,
winner of the 2010 prize.
''I strongly urge the summit and all the laureates to call on the Chinese
regime's promise to the world of being a responsible member of the
international community and the first step should be to release Liu Xiaobo
immediately and unconditionally,'' said Wuer.
Wuer, 42, was planning to bring a message from Liu, 54, to the summit but said
he could not reach Liu or his wife.
He also criticized the Chinese government for urging other countries not to
attend the Nobel Prize awarding ceremony in December in reacting to Liu's
selection, saying making such a request ''is definitely an interference of an
internal affair'' by China.
A representative of Myanmarese people in Japan called for the unconditional
release of detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1991
prize, noting that her detention period is scheduled to expire Saturday.
At the opening session, 79-year-old Akihiro Takahashi, a Japanese special envoy
for nuclear nonproliferation, explained the devastation of Hiroshima after the
bombing on Aug. 6, 1945, in World War II by showing illustrations and other
materials, and said he is ''hopeful (the participants) will demonstrate their
leadership for abolishing nuclear weapons.''
In the morning and afternoon sessions, participants explored topics including
the legacy of Hiroshima and a world without violence.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said, ''Elimination of nuclear weapons
is essential,'' while noting that although nuclear weapons are generally used
as a deterrent, there is no assurance they would not be misused or fall into
the wrong hands.
Other attendees included the former director general of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, who called poverty ''the most lethal
weapon of mass destruction'' and a linkage to nuclear weapons. He later urged
the world to reengineer the global security system and put emphasis on
cooperation and early intervention.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama, the 2009 laureate, did not attend the
summit after informing the city of his absence late last month. Hiroshima has
strongly requested that Obama make a visit to the city, which marked the 65th
anniversary of the atomic bombing this year together with Nagasaki, which was
bombed three days after Hiroshima.
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and former Polish President Lech
Walesa have pulled out of attending the summit.
==Kyodo
2010-11-12 23:47:56