A forgotten genocide and crime against humanity
Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Fazle Akbar
Genocide is defined as any of the act committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. It includes (1) Killing members of the group, (2) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, (3) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, (3) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, (5) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
To the best of knowledge, the word “Genocide” has been composed of two prefixes; one Greek prefix, genos, meaning race or tribe, and the other the Latin suffix cide, meaning killing. In 1944, Polish Lawyer, Raphael Lemkin uttered the word “Genocide” in his book “Axis Rule in Occupied Europe”. In 1946, Genocide has been accepted by UN general assembly as Crime under International Law. A total of 152 countries and states have ratified or acceded to the treaty (as of June 2021). Although some countries have not ratified it due to various technical reasons, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has repeatedly stated that the Convention embodies principles that are part of general customary international law. This means that whether or not States have ratified the Genocide Convention, they are all bound as a matter of law by the principle that genocide is a crime prohibited under international law.
In addition to genocide, the International Criminal Court (ICC) that has been endorsed by 193 countries investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. Thus, in addition to genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of aggression are also condemnable and is liable to face international justice.
The pretext of these contexts is to highlight and discuss the national and international consensus about “GENOCIDE” and “CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY” resulting from Dropping Atom Bomb”. On August 6th 1945, the dawn of nuclear age started with a severe crime against humanity with the dropping of an atomic bomb, Little Boy” over Hiroshima, Japan. There remains controversy about the immediate and long-term causalities due to atomic bomb. But, there remains a consensus that more than hundreds of thousands of people of Hiroshima died immediately after the bombing. Even the effect of atomic bombing is going in the 2nd decade of 21st century, about 75 years after dropping of bomb.
Some data has been retrieved from the handling of atom bomb survivor of Hiroshima with a search of “Hibakusha”. In order to take care of people effected by atomic bombing, “The Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law” of Japan defined hibakusha as people who fall into one or more of the following categories: (1) within a few kilometers of the hypocenters of the bombs, (2) within 2 km of the hypocenters within two weeks of the bombings, (3) exposed to radiation from fallout; or not yet born but carried by pregnant women in any of these categories. Based on these criteria, the Japanese government has recognized about 650,000 people as hibakusha. Data analyses revealed that as of March 31, 2020, 136,682 were still alive. Although there is a primary belief that Japanese have only been killed and later affected by atom bomb, about 20,000 Koreans were killed in Hiroshima as well. Although lot of issues were faced by Koreans to be recognized as “Hibakusha”, now most of the issues have been legally resolved. In addition, some American-born people were also affected by atom bomb and the numbers may be around some thousands. In addition to these figures, other foreigners have been killed due to atomic bomb. These figures are somehow arbitrary as proper statistics cannot be properly collected at that time.
Now the billion-dollar question is whether the death and casualties by Atom bomb in Hiroshima is attributable as a genocide or a crime act against humanity or a war crime or simple war-related death. A thorough discussion of the realities of 1940s and 2nd world war should be discussed to have a historic understanding of the facts and to realize our present and future responsibilities.
For years debate has raged over whether the US was right to drop atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. In his first radio address after the bombing of Hiroshima, President Harry S. Truman claimed that “the world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. That was because we wished in this first attack to avoid, insofar as possible, the killing of civilians. The statement is not correct. Rather, it was misleading. Hiroshima is neither the capital of Japan nor one of the main cities of Japan. In fact, about 90% people killed by atom bomb was civilians. Thus, the statement that President Truman used to announce and authenticate the use of atom bomb is far from truth. All facts of that time indicate that civilians were intentionally attacked by Atom bomb. And, most importantly if this can be proved that mostly civilians were killed by atom bomb, how the world community to judge the statement of President Truman. Several documents have found that both the Target Committee (which included Robert Oppenheimer and Maj. Gen. Leslie Groves of the Manhattan Project) and the Higher-level Interim Committee (led by Secretary of War Henry Stimson) sought to kill large numbers of Japanese civilians in the attack. Finally, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was deliberately detonated above the residential and commercial center of the city, and not directly on legitimate military targets, to magnify the shock effect on the Japanese public.
When the author of this article analyzed different statements and realities following dropping of Atom Bomb on Hiroshima via various searching sites, several statements in favor and against the dropping of this inhumane weapon were traced. Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter, UK, and the author of more than twenty-five books on the age of the World Wars and European dictatorship, including The Bombing War: Europe 1939–1945. His opinion reflects that “Bombing was immoral, and unnecessary”. In fact, the atom bomb did not kill people only but it destroyed a city. Of course, the bomb created massive urban destruction, but it also left the cities radioactive, so that they could not function properly in the immediate aftermath of an atomic attack.
The next, militarily Japan was finished and further blockade and urban destruction would have produced a surrender in August or September 1945 at the latest, without the atomic bomb. As for the second bomb on Nagasaki, that was just as unnecessary as the first one. In fact, the bomb of two different types were used in two cities just to assess the cynical scientific imperative. The Hiroshima bomb was made from highly-enriched uranium-235. This was prepared by diffusion enrichment techniques using the very small differences in mass of the two main isotopes: U-235 (originally 0.7% in the uranium) and U-238, the majority. The 21-kiloton explosive charge for the bomb detonated over Nagasaki three days later was provided by about 6.2 kilograms of plutonium-239 (>90% Pu-239), and its preparation depended on the operation of special nuclear reactors built for the purpose. What are we viewing? An experiment was accomplished on human being to assess the destructive power of U-235, U-238 and U-239.
Martin J Sherwin, one co-recipient of “Pulitzer Prize in 2006” also narrated that “I believe that it was a mistake and a tragedy that the atomic bombs were used. Those bombings had little to do with the Japanese decision to surrender. The evidence has become overwhelming that it was the entry of the Soviet Union on 8 August into the war against Japan that forced surrender but, understandably, this view is very difficult for Americans to accept”. Truman could have simply waited for the Soviet Union to enter the war but he did not want the USSR to have a claim to participate in the occupation of Japan. Another option (which could have ended the war before August) was to clarify that the emperor would not be held accountable for the war under the policy of unconditional surrender. US secretary of war Stimson recommended this, but secretary of state James Byrnes, who was much closer to Truman, vetoed it. Thus, better options were discarded for political reasons” as told by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa (Tsuyoshi Hasegawa is a professor of history at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the author of Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan (Harvard University, Press 2005). He also mentioned that once sympathetic to the argument that the atomic bomb was necessary, the more research I do, the more I am convinced it was one of the gravest war crimes the US has ever committed. I’ve been to Japan and discovered what happened on the ground in 1945 and it was really horrifying. The radiation has affected people who survived the blast for many years and still today thousands of people suffer the effects.
In addition to these, history indicated that the bomb was made for defense only: The origin of Manhattan project was designed to save USA, not to win the war by destroying a part of civilization. From 1949-1991 the Cold War was waged under the shadow of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), and even though the United States fought major wars in Korea (while Truman was still in office), Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, nuclear weapons were never again deployed. In other words, not using them in those wars has been an admission that they should never have been used offensively in the first place. This is especially meaningful if we consider the realities of Japanese military power in 1945. They had no capacity to attack USA at that time.
Prior to use of atom bomb in 1945, international convention banned bombing of civilian population. On September 1938, the League of Nations, “under the recognized principles of international law,” issued a unanimous resolution outlawing the intentional bombing of civilian populations, with special emphasis against bombing military objectives from the air. The League warned, “Any attack on legitimate military objectives must be carried out in such a way that civilian populations in the neighborhood are not bombed through negligence”. Significantly, the resolution also reaffirmed that “the use of chemical or bacterial methods in the conduct of war is contrary to international law.” In other words, a special category of illegal weapons had been recognized, a category today called Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Also, the dropping of atom bomb was partially racially motivated. Opponents of President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb argue that racism played an important role in the decision; that had the bomb been ready in time it never would have been used against Germany. All of America’s enemies were stereotyped and caricatured in home front propaganda, but there was a clear difference in the nature of that propaganda.
As human being, we have a fundamental nature of making things complex and this is highly prevalent among intellects. Some of them try to bring the issue of barbaric nature of imperialistic attitude of Japan in Asia in early 20th century to 2nd world war with the “Dropping of Atomic Bomb” on Hiroshima. This article is not to support the behavior of Japan or German or Russia or UK or USA in 2nd world war. This sole target of this article is to assess how “Genocide” should be defined and how “Crime Against Humanity” should be treated, as the author’s mother land has experienced an act of genocide by Pakistani Army in 1971. Any genocide that is taken place at any part of the world by any criminal or their groups is deplorable. About 70-85 million died in 2nd world war. Compared to those, the death by atom bomb in Hiroshima is considerably low. In fact, the numbers of people died to an act is little to define a genocide or crime against humanity. It is the intention of making such as act constitute a GENOCYTE or CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.
Another notable point remains undiscussed regarding atomic explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Killing of human being may be a collateral damage during war as genocide has been occurring for centuries in the name of many immoral and moral deeds. But, the point is if any country has the right to spread radiation that would affect the humanity for century even after having full information about these factors. If we are not become vocal about genocide the world is harboring several weapons those are several times destructive than atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and we would take a path of destruction of this beautiful planet.
Taken all these notions, it seems that a crime against humanity has been done in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Now, it may seems to be immaterialist to analyze whether this was required or not. If atom bomb was not dropped, the war may be lengthened a little and some more US soldiers would die. Also, the influence of USSR could be more on Japan. USA might not the sole superpower. But, at the same time, a town has been destroyed and radioactive materials have been spread over the whole city. People are still suffering for effect of radiation. The destructive capacities of various kings, emperors and warriors have been noted in the history. USA has written its name on the same page. The dropping of atom bomb happened before 76 years. The present conscious generation has nothing to do with that barbaric activity. But, the recent days Americans can reevaluate what that was done on 6th August 1945. Barak Obama was the first American president to attend the Hiroshima atomic epicenter site, but he did not ask for apology for the activity of his predecessor. But, it was a genocide, a war crime and a crime against humanity. We can only hope that someone of notable position of America would ask for apology. This may be required for USA more than any country as many irresponsible countries have been hosting atom bomb and other WMD and many rouge countries or leasers will get logics to use those in the name of their security. The only way is to destroy more than 13000 atomic war heads immediately.
Finally, we can move for consensus about genocide versus atom bomb. There may an attempt not to punish anyone for bombing as several complex factors and nationalism would act as formidable boundary. But, if we accept that atomic bombing was an act of genocide and crime against humanity, that may have positive impact on the activities of several rogue states that show little care to human values and humanity.
(The article was compiled from several references and quotation from different available sites and these were used as such so that there remains no ambiguity. The authors urge and plea for recognizing all sorts of genocides, small or large, without any favor or fear and without looking the face of the actor)
Writer: Researcher, Department of Gastroenterology & Metabology Ehime University, Japan
