Duterte: Nuclear weapons won’t make nations stronger, more secure

President Rodrigo Duterte has urged countries to reject war and eliminate nuclear weapons. 

In his message for the 75th anniversary of the destruction of Japanese city Hiroshima by a US atomic bomb, Duterte said nations must “do everything to pave the path to peace.” 

“We must not forget: Nuclear weapons will not make us freer, stronger, nor more secure. We must not waver,” he said. “All nations must work together to eliminate nuclear weapons.”

Around 140,000 people were killed after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Three days after, the US dropped a plutonium bomb that ripped through the port city of Nagasaki, killing 74,000 people.

Weeks later, Japan formally surrendered to the Allied forces, thus ending World War II. 

“That defining moment in history documented and revealed in great detail came with grim suffering, crippling pain, and horrific deaths,” Duterte said. “No goals, however lofty, can justify weapons that destroy with such unforgiving brutality.”

The President said the Philippines and Japan “have continued to do our utmost to fortify the foundations of peace, propel the course of progress and give full meaning to the promise of prosperity.”

“Seventy-five years on, the Philippines stands shoulder to shoulder with Japan and all peace-loving countries of the world. We remain committed to this cause. We have learned from the lessons: In their relations with others, nations must build. Never destroy,” Duterte said. —KG, GMA News