dzenko
02.09.05, 06:56
Nobel-winning anti-nuclear campaigner Rotblat dies
Joseph Rotblat, a scientist who worked on the atomic bomb but went on to win
the Nobel peace prize as a leading campaigner against nuclear weapons, has
died at the age of 96.
A Polish-born British citizen whose wife was killed in the Holocaust, Mr
Rotblat was the only scientist to quit the Manhattan Project which developed
the atomic bomb for the United States during World War II.
He said he had only favoured developing the bomb to stop Germany from using a
similar weapon and was horrified when the United States dropped nuclear bombs
on Japan in 1945.
He became a leading organiser of the Pugwash Conferences, which brought
together scientists and public figures from East and West during the Cold War
with the aim of promoting peace and nuclear disarmament.
"Joseph Rotblat was a towering figure in the search for peace in the world,
who dedicated his life to trying to rid the world of nuclear weapons, and
ultimately to rid the world of war itself," said MS Swaminathan, president of
the Pugwash Conferences.
Mr Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.
He remained president emeritus of the movement until he died peacefully in his
sleep on August 31, the group said in a statement.
- Reuters
