Protest letter against the US subcritical nuclear test (February 4, 2000)

February 4, 2000

The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
The United States of America

His Excellency Dr. Thomas Stephen Foley
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the United States of America
Embassy of the United States of America in Japan

Letter of Protest

On the third of this month, the United States conducted a ninth subcritical nuclear test at its underground test site in Nevada. With most of the world begging the nuclear powers to engage actively in nuclear disarmament, the United States, which should be taking a leadership role in this effort, continues to repeat subcritical tests and cling to nuclear deterrence. I am enraged by your action and by your evident contempt for the vast majority of people on Earth, who seek an end to nuclear weapons. On behalf of the people of Hiroshima, I vehemently protest.

With the refusal of the US Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the military coup d'etat in Pakistan, the global movement toward nuclear disarmament has suffered serious setbacks. Recently, we have heard reports that Iran may now have nuclear weapons, which greatly heightens the danger of proliferation. Under these circumstances, the unilateral testing by the United States is a reckless slap in the face to an international community in which governments and NGOs are working energetically to prepare for the April Conference to Review the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). Your action will intensify distrust among the non-nuclear nations and could easily lead to a new round of nuclear proliferation.

The United States should immediately halt all subcritical nuclear testing and, with less than a year before the end of this century, should take the initiative in building a concrete path toward the banning and elimination of nuclear weapons in the next.

Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima