Telegram from Oslo

by Ira Helfand

Official government conference on Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons about to begin.  132 nations attending.  Delegates being greeted by raucous crowd of young Norwegians holding signs that say “Thank you” in more than 30 languages. Boycott by P5 continues to animate meeting.  Delegates feel the boycott underlines the importance of the meeting and the need for non-nuclear weapons states to provide leadership in nuclear disarmament.  25 NATO  states—all except for the”P3″ NATO members who have nuclear weapons—are attending.