On this day, 75 years ago, one of the great tragedies in human history took place. It was no accident but a deliberate and brutal attack by the U.S. against Japanese civilians.

On 6^th August 1945 an atomic bomb was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Three days later, on 9^th August 1945 a similar bomb was detonated over Nagasaki.

Long term effects

Between 230,000 and 280,000 people were killed, most of whom were civilians. The long-term effects of the devastation are still being felt. Hiroshima and Nagasaki became haunting monuments of death and destruction and brutally painted the consequences of nuclear war.

Today we remember the many victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and we deplore the abuse of technology in the relentless arms race and the pursuit of imperialist warmongering and aggression.

Arms race continues

Imperialism remains a threat to global peace. Weapons of mass destruction, much more powerful that the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, now exist. The arms race continues apace, devising ever more dangerous and destructive weapons.

The UK remains a member of NATO which for its entire existence has been a military instrument of imperialism amounting to a permanent threat to the peoples of the world. Ireland, despite its constitutional commitment to neutrality, remains a member of NATO’s so-called “Partnership for Peace” (PfP). The European Union has an ever closer and increasing relationship with NATO.

An end to aggression and interference

The Workers Party calls for an immediate end to weapons of mass destruction and an end to the arms race, an end to imperialist aggression and interference in the affairs of sovereign states and respect for the guiding principles of the World Peace Council. We also demand that the UK leave NATO and that the Republic of Ireland leave PfP.

We pay our respects today to the victims and survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, we extend our solidarity to those throughout the world dedicated to the struggle against nuclear weapons and we recommit ourselves to building a future free from the terror and destruction of imperialist war.