Comments on Setsuko Thurlow's letter to Trudeau
Setsuko Thurlow’s Appeal to Prime Minister Trudeau with its background document, “Canada and the Atom Bomb,” are posted on the Toronto Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition website http://www.hiroshimadaycoalition.ca/. Brief comments follow here:
Earl Turcotte, Chair, Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, https://www.cnanw.ca/:
“What a powerful letter from Setsuko! The Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons will also be pleased to post it on our website.”
Paul Meyer, Chair, Canadian Pugwash Group, https://pugwashgroup.ca/:
“Canadian Pugwash Group is proud to have Setsuko as a member. All Canadian Pugwash members, I believe, are impressed by Setsuko’s powerful testimony and her commitment to making nuclear disarmament a reality in our world.”
Joseph Gerson, American Friends Service Committee, https://www.afsc.org/media-kit/bios/joseph-gerson
I think this is such an important initiative, with the powerful authenticity of Setsuko’s personal witness.”
David Krieger, President Emeritus, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, https://www.wagingpeace.org/:
“It is a strong letter and I’m glad you’re sending it.”
Judy Scheininger, Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
“You are enlightening us all about what actually happened and the collective responsibility that needs to be acknowledged.”
Gordon Edwards, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, http://www.ccnr.org/index_short.html
“Under the terms of the 1943 Quebec Agreement, the USA and the UK had to give unanimous consent for the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. While Canada was not an official signatory to the Agreement, Prime Minister Mackenzie King completely supported Roosevelt and Churchill's decision to drop the first atom bombs against Japan. The time has come for Canada to play a leadership role in ridding the world of these weapons of mass extinction, beginning with a frank acknowledgement of our direct and official role in the World War II Atomic Bomb project.”
Peter Kuznick, Director, American University Nuclear Studies Institute, author, The Untold History of the United States:
“This is brilliant!!!!! I am so proud of you.”
Charlotte Jacobs, Stanford University(writing a biography of Setsuko):
“Setsuko sent me a copy of her letter to Trudeau and your article ‘Canada and the Atom Bomb.’ I thought her letter compelling. Your article was a superb historical piece. I look forward to celebrating the signing of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by Trudeau and our next president.”
Celine Nahory, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, https://www.icanw.org/:
“The letter is so powerful, and so is your article, ‘Canada and the Atom Bomb.’ ICAN will happily amplify the letter, the call and related news on social media.”
Cesar Jaramillo, Executive Director, Project Ploughshares, https://ploughshares.ca/:
“We would be happy to help amplify the letter, including sharing with our networks.”
Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C., Former Senator and former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament:
“Setsuko Thurlow’s important letter to Prime Minister Trudeau should be widely distributed to all Members of Parliament and Senators and civil society leaders.”