Nagasaki Mayor remembered by NPT meeting participants

On Monday, the first day of the Preparatory Committee meeting for the 2010 NPT Review Conference, the Chairman, Ambassador Yukiya Amano called upon the government delegates and non-governmental-organization representatives to join him in a moment of silence for Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh.  All participants rose and maintained a minute of contemplative silence.

On Friday, near the base of the tallest structure in Vienna, a Japanese maple was planted in memory of Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh.  (See related article.)   A procession of government delegates and NGO representatives walked from the Austria Center, site of the Preparatory Committee meeting for the 2010 NPT Review Conference, with the tree.  After the tree was placed in the ground, a number of the participants shared heartfelt memories of the Mayor.  There was a minute of silence as groundskeepers filled in the earth around the tree.  The ceremony ended with good wishes for the health of the tree and for the success of the efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons, the cause most dear to the departed Mayor.  Later, at another site, respects were paid to Janet Bloomfield, a peace activist who had also died suddenly in April.

On Wednesday, Vienna Mayor Dr. Micheal Häupl had given his approval of the memorial plan in a meeting at City Hall with the Mayor for Peace delegation to the PrepCom.  (See related article.)   The procession was welcomed to Donau Park by a representative of the City of Vienna, Ms. Regina Wiala-Zimm.  Prof. Mitsura Kurasawa of Osaka University spoke of his long collaboration with Mayor Itoh.  Leaders of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and The International Association of Peace Messenger Cities paid their respects.  Finally, Senator Douglas Roche of the Middle Powers Initiative called on the participants to honor the Mayor’s memory by redoubling their efforts to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.  The ceremony was lead by Mr. Aaron Tovish, the manager of Mayors for Peace’s 2020 Vision Campaign.  Mayor Itoh served for 12 years as Vice President of Mayors for Peace.

The group then went to a location on the grounds of the Vienna International Center to plant sunflowers in memory of another fallen colleague: Janet Bloomfield, former chairwoman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK, and co-founder of the Abolition 2000 network.  The flowers and seeds were planted in the form of a giant peace sign that when fully grown will be visible to all those who work at the VIC.

How to visit the Itoh Memorial Maple in Vienna:
The Vienna Radio Tower is in Donau Park half a kilometer north of the UN Offices in Vienna, a building complex that includes the Austria Center and Vienna International Center.  There is a walk path from the Austria Center directly to the Tower; the Memorial Maple is on right-hand side of that walk path about 50 meters from the Tower.  It is near a memorial stone from Japan celebrating Vienna City’s one-thousandth anniversary.

How to find the sunflower peace symbol:
There is a ramp connecting the local subway stop to the visitors’ entrance of the VIC, Gate One.  When ascending this ramp toward Gate One, the plot of land hosting the sunflower peace sign can be seen on the right-hand side.  The peace sign is be about ten meters in diameter.