ATOM Project Announces Events Marking International Day Against Nuclear Tests

August 26, 2014

Sixty-five years ago in the steppes of northeast Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union conducted the first of what would be 456 nuclear weapons tests. No one knew the devastation the next 40 years of nuclear testing would bring.

In fact, the local townspeople often watched the mushroom clouds and it was thought that vodka would take care of any ill effects. It was a deadly error. Today, many in the area around the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site do not live past 60 and, as a result of exposure to radiation, the genetic code of those parents and grandparents was permanently altered, resulting in horrific birth defects to this day. According to the UN, in all, more than 1.5 million people in Kazakhstan are believed to have suffered premature death, horrible radiation-related diseases and lifetimes of struggle as a result of birth defects.

It is impossible to change the past, but it is possible to change the future. Through its global outreach initiative, The ATOM Project, Kazakhstan has been working to change the future, to end nuclear testing and to bring about a world free from nuclear weapons.

Part of that effort was an initiative by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev for a global day against nuclear weapons testing. That idea was unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, and August 29 is now marked as the International Day Against Nuclear Tests.

The ATOM Project has announced a number of events organized to mark this important day.

From August 25 to August 31, an exhibition will be held in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana at the Palace of Independence featuring the history of nuclear weapons testing and nuclear disarmament by Kazakhstan and the art work of ATOM Project Honorary Ambassador Karipbek Kuyukov. Kuyukov was born without arms as a result of his parent’s exposure to Soviet-era nuclear weapons testing. Kuyukov has overcome that obstacle to become an internationally recognized anti-nuclear weapons activist and renowned artist who uses his mouth and feet to paint. His works depicting the victims of nuclear testing and his inspiring story will be shared during the exhibition.

An exhibition dedicated to the International Day Against Nuclear Tests and the work of The ATOM Project will be held that same week in Malaysia, opening on August 27 at the National Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.

Also in the lead up to the August 29 Day Against Nuclear Tests, the 21st Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) will be held Aug. 27-28 in Astana’s Palace of Independence.

Kazakh officials and experts will also participate in a roundtable discussion on Aug. 28 in Moscow that is being held in honor of the International Day Against Nuclear Testing and will focus on the role of the anti-nuclear movement in the modern world.

Kazakhstan and its international partners are also organizing events on August 29 itself.

In Semey, Kazakhstan, the city closest to the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site where the Soviets conducted their tests, officials and activists will hold a conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the “Nevada-Semey” anti-nuclear movement. The city of Semey has long campaigned together and worked with those in the state of Nevada in the United States who were negatively impacted by U.S. nuclear tests in that region.

Kazakh officials will also participate in a ceremony of laying a basket of flowers at the base of the monument “Nagasaki Bell,” which is located on Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus,.

And, as previously announced, The ATOM Project is calling for an International Moment of Silence around the world at 11:05 local time to honor all victims of nuclear weapons testing. That precise hour and minute were chosen because the hands of a clock form a V for victory and this moment is meant to signify a victory of common sense over fear and for global efforts towards a nuclear-weapons-free world.

And for those who want to honor nuclear weapons testing and help The ATOM Project bring about a nuclear-weapons-free world, you can go to www.TheATOMProject.org/100k to sign The ATOM Project’s petition to global leaders and help gather 100,000 online petition signatures against nuclear weapons.

For more information about The ATOM Project, visit www.TheATOMProject.org or email info@TheATOMProject.org.