Vietnam Peace Committee
The delegation of the Vietnam Peace Committee to the 2001 World Conference against A & H Bombs would like to extend its warm greetings to esteemed delegated and friends, representatives of national and international peace organizations. Also, allow me to express our profound thanks to the Conference Secretariat for facilitating us to join the Conference today.
Most of delegates participate in the Conference with the deepest feelings in memory of victims of the atomic bombs dropped on the two cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States 56 years ago. The atomic bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a shock and awakes conscience of the whole progressive mankind; warning the world about the danger and threat forward our life; turning many people into pacifist struggling for friendship, cooperation and sustainable development. Those are the reasons we gather here today.
The Vietnamese people have been keen on an aspiration of peace, which is a background of a real national independence, democracy, freedom and happiness. Therefore, the Vietnam Peace Committee was established only one year after foundation of the World Peace Council (November 19th, 1950) in the fierce situation of the resistance for Vietnamese national liberation.
Suffering great sacrifices and miseries in various wars caused by imperialist, the Vietnamese people extremely sympathize with vast of losses that the Japanese people had carried from the consequences of atomic bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the possible disastrous after-effects of the strong radioactivity which affected the environment over the coming generations. In the invaded war implemented by the United States, amount of paddy fields and mountainous areas in Vietnam has received one hundred thousands tones of toxic, especially orange agent (Dioxin) from the US air-force. Millions of innocent Vietnamese people including children living in the contaminated environment has shouldered changing of DNA structure that causes abnormal forms of creatures and newborn babies foe generations. Those are obvious evidences to denounce barbarousness of genocidal weapons. With the support and assistance of people around the world, the Government of Vietnam and the Vietnamese people have tried with all efforts to surmount consequences caused by the chemical weapons.
Nowadays, the arm race in worldwide seems to be abated since the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the communist block in Eastern Europe. However, currently, major trends of civil wars, violent conflicts among states, border disputes, ethnic and religious confrontations are still lingering. Behind these conflicts are warlike imperialists and national extremists whose plot is to cause unstable situation for the purpose of steering peace movements forward their own benefit. The leaders of U.S. are the instigators of these trends. They not only swallow their promises on obligations of the ABM treaty but also continue pursue their implementation on NMD plan. It is, in fact, a fueling of arm race to deter progressive and loving peace forces in the world through the threat of mass killing weapons. The leaders of the US have never left their role of international policemen out.
Facing with the contemporary international situation, together with all Vietnamese organizations, the Vietnam Peace Committee always reaffirms its continuous active contributions to peace protection and stability in South East Asia and over the world. Any interference, plot of separation among the states or racial and ethnic conflicts must be strictly condemned. Almost every intention of pushing our world into the new arm race must be prevented. Vietnamese people wish to further consolidate traditional cooperation among the world peoples.
The responsibility of solidarity for struggling the aggressive warfare and peace protecting initiated by the World Peace Council over 50 years ago is still an urgent requirement in the new era. We demand a complete destruction of all nuclear weapon arsenals and a strictly forbidding the use of either nuclear or genocidal weapons. The Vietnamese people recognizes that pursuing the renovation process for the ultimate goal of making a powerful country with wealthy people loving in an equitable, democratic and civilized society is the decisive factor contributing to peace consolidation and stability in the South East Asia region and the world.