Reportage – 2006

Nuclear weapons must be eliminated: Dalai Lama's message from Hiroshima

HIROSHIMA, Japan, 1 November 2006 — The Dalai Lama delivered a keynote speech on cultivating "Sense of global responsibility" on the first day of the Hiroshima International Peace Summit 2006, saying that the message from Hiroshima to the whole world is "nuclear weapons are terrible".

"The painful experience suffered by the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can send a message to wake up humanity that these destructive weapons have to be eliminated sooner or later", the Dalai Lama said in the conference, which was also attended by fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Betty Williams.

"National boundries are not much important, humanity is. The whole world is one entity, one body. The whole world is a part of yourself. That is the new reality."

The concept of "we" and "they" are outdated in today's new global order. This dividing concept creates wars, which means mobilised violence. It is a legalised violence.

Wars were the biggest mistake of human history, he said.

"In this new reality, destruction of your neighbour is destruction of yourself. Repercussion of problems elsewhere eventually comes to our own places. Iraq crisis affects the oil prices everywhere. Reality is that everything is interdependent."

"Human beings, with their intelligence, have caused the extreme violence. But the same intelligence has the potential to contribute for a better world," he said.

But ignoring the increasing gap between rich and poor can cause more violence in the future.

He said every individual should take the responsibility to contribute for a better future. "Nothing will come from the sky to solve our problems. We must act."