Bangladesh, Japan stand together to make world peaceful: Envoy
Role of Bangladeshi people lauded ahead of Hiroshima Day
UNB
Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh Hiroyasu Izumi yesterday said Bangladesh and Japan stand hand in hand to make this world more peaceful and harmonious, reports UNB. I truly appreciate Bangladeshi people who show sympathy to the victims and express strong message for peace, he said in a message marking the Hiroshima Day that falls on August 6.
This year marks the 73rd anniversary since the end of WW2 (World War II), and the memories and messages of those who suffered from the atomic bombing have been lost and gradually forgotten over the course of time.
Despite such a tragedy, the Ambassador said, he believes that people in Hiroshima do not have negative feeling toward the people of the country, which dropped the atomic bomb.
We witnessed an overwhelming welcome for Barack Obama, then President of the United States to visit Hiroshima and lay flowers for the victims of the atomic bomb in 2016. I personally believe that Hiroshima has sublimated the tragedy and has made it a peace loving city, he said.
I always find myself praying for peace on this very day, 6th of August, no matter how far I am from Hiroshima, said Ambassador Izumi who was born and raised in Hiroshima.
Before he came to Dhaka last September as Ambassador of Japan, many Japanese friends and colleagues who had special bond with Bangladesh told him that quite a lot of Bangladeshi people knew the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and some Bangladeshi organisations held memorial events every year on the day of tragedies.
The facts deeply impressed me and made me very grateful to the people of Bangladesh for their sympathy and strong wish for peace. I was already proud to serve as a diplomat in such a country, even before arriving at Bangladesh, he added. On August 6, many people set afloat lanterns in Ohta River in Hiroshima City, because a lot of people who were burnt in the heat and flame caused by the atomic bombing rushed into the river and died in the water, said the Ambassador. We offer lanterns to console those victims. I am grateful to the many Bangladeshi people who join us and pray for peace this year again, he added.
