Atom Project Hon. Ambassador urges Aug 29 moment of silence in memory of nuclear weapons testing victims

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM The ATOM Project has initiated a global moment of silence on that day to honor all victims of nuclear weapons testing. Kazakhstan suffered more than 450 Soviet nuclear weapons tests at the Semipalatinsk site beginning August 29, 1949 and ending on that date in 1991 when Kazakhstan’s first and current President Nursultan Nazarbayev, responding to the a civil society campaign, shut down the site, the press service of the Kazakh Embassy in Budapest says.

In 2012, Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev launched The ATOMProject, a global initiative led by victims of nuclear tests,to help bring into force the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) andshow world leaders that the public worldwide is united in its desire toeliminate nuclear weapons.

«Weare calling for people around the world to observe 11:05 a.m. their local timeas a moment of silence,» saysATOM Project Honorary Ambassador Karipbek Kuyukov. «That time was chosen because the clock hands show aV, which stands for victory. This moment is meant to signify a victory ofcommon sense over fear and a victory for global efforts towards anuclear-weapons-free world.»

Kuyukov himself is an example of victory over nucleartests. Born with no arms, and with other health complications from the effectsof radiation on his parents, Kuyukov has become an accomplished artist whopaints with his mouth and feet. One of his paintings depicting a nuclear testin Kazakhstan was presented to President Obama at the Nuclear Security Summitearlier this year.