IDPD delegation attends Nobel Prize ceremony

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 11

A seven-member delegation from Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) from different parts of the country, including Dr Arun Mitra, co-president, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), among others participated in the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in Oslo, Norway, on Sunday.

The ICAN was launched as a group of various peace movements around the world on April 23, 2007, as an idea conceived by the IPPNW to build a broad movement for nuclear disarmament.

It now has 468 partners with the IDPD as one of them. Various researches have shown that even a limited nuclear war using 100 Hiroshima sized bombs will put two billion people at the risk of starvation and death.

Total number of nuclear weapons on earth at present is estimated to be 17,000, which can put all the flora and fauna at the risk of extinction.

Expressing joy at the award as a recognition to the anti-nuclear movement, various groups gathered at Oslo, said, “Such catastrophic effects must not be allowed. Therefore, nuclear weapons must be destroyed for good.” To attain this objective the ICAN has organised several civil society meets around the world on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. This ultimately convinced the UNO to discuss the issue and succeed in getting the TPNW through.