15:30 Embassy of Japan, Hiroshimastraße 6, 10785 Berlin

On the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, we, various individuals and groups in Berlin, invite you to a demonstration from the Embassy of Japan to the US Embassy entitled ‘Hiroshima is a constant struggle!*’ We demand: The abolition of nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants, as well as nuclear colonialism! Decolonisation of the culture of remembrance! Disinvite Israel from the “Peace Ceremony” in Hiroshima! We will continue to talk about Palestine!

1. No nuclear weapons! No nuclear energy!

79 years ago today, the so-called United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima as a result of Japanese colonialism and the imperialist war of invasion. At the time, Hiroshima was a military-industrial city where many mobilised Korean workers also lived. The nuclear bomb indiscriminately killed over 160,000 people and injured countless others. The nuclear weapons industry and the closely related nuclear power industry flourished throughout the Cold War period. Behind this are nuclear colonialism, the exploitation, pollution, destruction and human experimentation in colonised countries and communities.

Now humanity has enough nuclear weapons to wipe out all life on earth. All nuclear superpowers, including the USA and also Japan, refuse to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The West has never criticised Israel’s nuclear arsenal and is complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We are appalled. We are angry. We demand: No war, no nuclear weapons, and no nuclear energy!

2. Decolonise the culture of remembrance!

The Japanese government has been trying for years to embellish its own history of imperial colonial rule. One example of this is the destruction of the Statue of Peace here in Berlin and in Kassel. Even school books or art that deal with Japan’s perpetration are accused of being ‘masochistic’ and actively censored. No future can be built without confronting the past as perpetrators. We demand: The voices of the victims must remain visible/heard!

3. DisinviteIsrael and Free Palestine!

We stand in solidarity with the people of Hiroshima in their #DisinviteIsrael movement. While the city of Nagasaki did not invite Israel, Hiroshima welcomes Israel to this year’s ‘Peace Ceremony’. The city reacted to the protests by citizens by imposing large-scale restrictions. What does ‘peace’ even mean here? When illegal settlers feel safe? Back in November last year, the bombing of the Gaza Strip was equivalent to two Hiroshima-equivalents of energy. Is that peace? If we don’t talk about exploitation, is that peace? We say no to the false ‘peace’! We will not be intimidated into continuing to talk about Palestine!

* The title of the demo is based on the book by Angela Y. Davis “Freedom is a constant struggle”. We ask ourselves whether that would be appropriation. Nevertheless, we believe we are fighting in the spirit of Angela Davis and acting according to the principle of abolitionism.