By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) – Envoys representing Group of Seven (G7) nations in Tokyo have been left fuming and, what appears to be a coordinated move, may not attend an event to commemorate US nuclear bombing of Japan.
The trigger for their apparent anger comes from a decision by local administration in Nagasaki to not invite Israel to its "peace event," scheduled for Friday.
Japan, the host and victim of the US nuclear bombing, has not said anything yet.
Local governments in twin cities hold annual events since World War II after the US dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima, the site of the world's first atomic bomb, on Aug. 6, 1945, and then Nagasaki on Aug. 9, resulting in at least 140,000 deaths by the end of that year.
Japan is commemorating the 79th anniversary of the atrocity this year.
In a joint letter, envoys of the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the EU have expressed their “concern” to the Nagasaki city government about its decision.
The letter, dated July 19, warned that if Tel Aviv was excluded, "it would become difficult for us to have high-level participation" in the event, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.
This, the letter added, "would result in placing Israel on the same level as countries such as Russia and Belarus," which have not been invited to the ceremony for a third consecutive year.
Earlier on Tuesday, local government in Hiroshima refused to pay heed to public calls and went ahead to invite Israeli officials to its event.
- Protest against double standards
Slamming Hiroshima of double standards over wars in Ukraine and Gaza, peace activists and volunteers held demonstrations outside the government event which was also attended by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Rahm Emanuel, US top diplomat in Japan, is not attending the Nagasaki peace ceremony on Friday in response to the city not inviting Israel, the report said.
British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom has also indicated a similar move.
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki has said the decision was taken over fears that protests against Israel's ongoing war on Gaza could "affect the ceremony's solemnity.”
Addressing an "Alternate Peace Conference" in Hiroshima on Tuesday, the Palestinian top diplomat in Japan drew parallels between the "unspeakable horrors" of the Hiroshima nuclear bombing and the onslaught in the Gaza Strip.
Japan does not recognize a Palestinian state but hosts the General Mission of Palestine in Tokyo.
Deputy chief of Palestinian mission will attend the Nagasaki event.
Without identifying the presence of Israeli representatives at the Hiroshima event, Ambassador Waleed Siam expressed “profound disappointment and frustration that the city of Hiroshima, a symbol of peace, has chosen to be hijacked by the oppressors and their supporters while excluding the victims.”
The Israeli army has killed nearly 40,000 and injured some 91,645 others since last Oct. 7 in Gaza.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Ten months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Aamir Latif contributed to the story from Pakistan