Hellenic Times

Catsimatidis host Mayors For Peace

By: Thomas Matthews 

May 4, 2010, Manhattan:  The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan came to the home of John and Margo Catsimatidis recently to promote world peace and tell the world about the horrors of nuclear war.  The mayors were joined by peace activist and artist, Yoko Ono and award winning actor Michael Douglas.

In 1982, at the 2nd UN Special Session on Disarmament at UN Headquarters in New York, the Mayor of Hiroshima proposed a program to promote world peace and offer cities a way to transcend national borders and work together to press for reduction of nuclear weapons.  Subsequently, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki call on mayors around the world to support this program.

On this evening in the Catsimatidis home, mayors from around the world; France, Croatia, England, Israel, New Zealand, Spain and Belgium stepped forward to pledge their support of “Mayors for Peace.”

Helen Young, long time friend of the Catsimatidis’, organized the evening and was pleased with the mayoral turnout.  Ms. Young said,  “ ‘Mayors for Peace’ is a growing organization.  So far nearly 4,000 mayors from around the world have joined.  It is dramatic and convincing to have the mayors of the only cities in history to have been targeted by nuclear weapons make a plea for world peace.   The mayors will be back in New York this coming fall for a major dinner promoting the organization.”

Mr. Catsimatidis said, “I am very happy to host these Mayors of Peace in my home and I hope their dream of a world without nuclear weapons can someday be achieved, but until that day comes, we need to make steady, realistic progress in reducing these weapons of mass destruction.”

John Catsimatidis, peace activist Yoko Ono, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima, actor Michael Douglas, atomic bomb survivor Shigeko Sassamori

Other guests include:

Mayor Tomishisa Taue Of Nagasaki
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jody Williams
Ingrid Pira, President 20/20 Vision
Leading Author On Atomic Weapons, Yale Professor Jonathan Schell
Mayor Luc Dehaene, Ypres, Belgium
Steve Leeper Executive Director, Mayors for Peace
Mr. Michel Cibot Malakoff, France city manager
Mayor Ms. Jasminka Bajlo, Biograd, Croatia,
Mayor Bob Harvey, Witekere, New Zealand
Mayor  Josep Mayoral i Antigas, Granolleff, Spain
City Manager Sean Morris, Manchester England
Mayor George Regan, Dundee, England
Yoshihara, Nagasaki City Council President bomb survivor
Fugita, Hiroshima City Council President bomb survivor
Mayor Samir Darwish, Zemir, Israel
 

Contact:

Hellenic Times

Thomas Matthews

823 11th Ave.

New York  NY  10019

212-986-6881(o)

tmwred@gmail.com