Dharamsala, November 15 – The Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and six other Nobel Peace prize winners on Sunday paid tribute to Japanese soldiers and civilians killed in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings during the World War II.
Fellow Nobel laureates, F.W. de Klerk, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Mohamed ElBaradei, Jody Williams and Dr Shirin Ebadi accompanied the 75 year old Tibetan leader to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
The six Nobel Peace Prize winners who were in Hiroshima for the 11th World
Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates walked to the cenotaph that former South African President F. W. de Klerk called “a sacred place.”
The Nobel laureates stood in front of an eternal flame and spoke of their commitment to peace and liberation from nuclear weapons. His Holiness said the “spirit and message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” had moved him ever since his first visit to the cities, and hoped that that spirit would “reached every part of the world.”
“The past is past; we must look forward,” he said, expressing his admiration for the forgiveness embodied in the two cities. “Using force is outdated,” he said.
“I want to appeal from this site to various leaders of different religious traditions: all major religions talk about compassion, forgiveness, love. So, please, religious leaders, take a more active role! Not just praying in your church or temple, but coming out and doing something to promote their values,” he said. He also urged scientists and businessmen to work for peace and elimination of nuclear weapons.
“Ultimately, people have the power to change the world,” he said. “Each of us has the potential to make some contribution to the people’s movement. And in the latter part of the 20th century, change came not from governments, often, but from real people,” he said.
An annual award for humanitarian work was presented to former Italian football star Roberto Baggio, who has worked tirelessly on behalf of earthquake victims in Haiti and freedom for Aung San Suu Kyi. Jody Williams read the charter that the six Nobel laureates had signed, calling for the elimination of all nuclear weapons.
“I am overjoyed,” said the Tibetan leader on asked by reporters about his reaction to Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.
His Holiness will leave Hiroshima for New Delhi via Tokyo on Tuesday.
based on a report sent by Tsewang Gyalpo Arya of Office of Tibet, Japan
