Danish envoy advocates nonproliferation at top of Mt. Fuji

SUMMIT OF MT. FUJI, Japan, Aug. 6 Kyodo -
Danish Ambassador to Japan Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin called for nuclear
nonproliferation Thursday as he staged a protest march to the top of Mt. Fuji
against an ever-present nuclear threat on the 64th anniversary of the U.S.
atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Brandishing a banner that ironically said, ''Have a nice doomsday,'' Mellbin
and 25 other climbers who advocate nonproliferation offered a one-minute silent
prayer from 8:15 a.m., the time of the atomic-bomb attack on Hiroshima, and
then shouted the slogan.
The envoy said at doomsday, people are asked by the god what they did in their
life. Although this slogan does not have any religious connotation, it is meant
to ask people in the world whether they have made any efforts to stop nuclear
proliferation, he added.
Following a demonstration near the crater of Japan's highest mountain, the
Danish ambassador said, '''The world is one and we are one with the world. It's
true for the environment but it's also true for peace.''
''This march was just a perfect opportunity to show the strength of cooperating
and doing something together actively,'' he said. The protesters called for
nonproliferation after an overnight climb to the top of the 3,776-meter
mountain, which is considered to be the symbol of Japan.
The ambassador told reporters at the summit that time is crucial now because
danger comes from the governments of such countries as North Korea and Iran
that try to ''stay in power by acquiring nuclear weapons.''
He also said it is important to ''show our solidarity with Japan,'' which has
''suffered from nuclear weapons directly'' and also ''rightly feels very
threatened'' by the possibility of Pyongyang launching nuclear attacks.
Denmark has long been coordinating with Japan on nuclear nonproliferation
issues. It is one of the cosponsoring nations of U.N. Security Council
resolution 1695 adopted in 2006 to condemn North Korea for its test-firing of
missiles.
The envoy said Denmark ''is determined together with Japan and other
like-minded countries to build a new international system to stop further
proliferation.''
Among the 25 climbers who staged a protest with the envoy were Birute
Abraitiene, charge d'affaires of the Lithuanian Embassy in Japan, and Anjo
Mayor Gaku Kamiya. The city in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan has a sister
city relationship with Kolding, Denmark.
Abraitiene said Lithuania and Denmark as states of the European Union ''cannot
stand passive facing danger of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
missiles.''
''We declare that the contributions of civil society in promoting
nonproliferation objectives are invaluable,'' she said.
==Kyodo