THIS JUST IN… Dozens of folks gathered in DC on the memorial of the Hiroshima bombing, with nonviolent demonstrations at the Pentagon and at the Enola Gay Museum (which dropped the bomb on Hiroshima 68 years ago). Carrying photos of the victims, they sang, read Scripture, poetry and listened to the words of Setsuko Thurlow (one of the atomic-bomb survivors). On their knees, they were arrested as they prayed the Lord’s prayer… and will face trial on October 4. There will be another witness on Friday, August 9 (the anniversary of Nagasaki) — at the White House at noon. Here’s the statement that they read before their arrest.
Statement Offered Before Pentagon Arrests:
As people of faith we believe it’s a sin to build a nuclear weapon. We decry the existence and continued possession and threatened use of these and other idolatrous and murderous weapons. We apologize to the people of Japan for our country’s atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 68 years ago, and ask forgiveness for these atrocities and the ongoing suffering of those affected by nuclear radiation. We repent for the continued proliferation of nuclear weapons at the expense of unmet human needs. Further, we repent for the over 50 times the US has threatened to use nuclear weapons since the first atomic bombings. We call for the closing of all U.S. nuclear weapons facilities and for the disarmament and abolition of all nuclear weapons and all weapons of terror, including killer drones. We also call for an end to the construction of a new US-backed naval base on Jeju Island in S. Korea that will serve as a US military outpost to threaten and contain China. We join with the imprisoned Transform Now Plowshares, the jailed Jeju Island resisters, the Guantanamo hunger strikers, and all peace and justice makers everywhere in calling for a world without weapons, oppression, torture and war, where all the swords of our time are transformed into plowshares. We make this plea in the name of all victims of our warmaking empire, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere.
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Shane Claiborne is a prominent author, speaker, activist, and founding member of the Simple Way. He is one of the compilers of Common Prayer, a new resource to unite people in prayer and action. Shane is also helping develop a network called Friends Without Borders which creates opportunities for folks to come together and work together for justice from around the world. His most recent book is Red Letter Revolution, which he co-authored with Tony Campolo.
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