A Request from VFP-ROCK

January 25, 2017
Warm greetings from Okinawa.  Two resolutions opposing yet more base construction on Okinawa, Resolutions 2016-9 and 2016-20 were passed by acclamation at the convention, with less than ten opposing votes each in the national polling. This was reported in the local Okinawan newspapers and television, giving great encouragement to the demilitarization movement in Okinawa.  As the US military occupation of Okinawa enters year 71, much gratitude goes to the US chapters of VFP for their solidarity and advocacy.
 
However, this is only the beginning for VFP.
 
Resolution 2016-9 ends as follows:
Therefore Be It Resolved that VFP Chapters are urged to support the Okinawan people and encourage resolutions in their communities for their three short-term demands:
  1. That the 1st Marine Air Wing, Futenma, Ginowan City, be moved out of Okinawa;
  2. That construction of the new base at Henoko cease, and the plan to build a new base there be abandoned respecting the democratic rights of the people;
  3. That all of the accident-prone Osprey aircraft be moved out of Okinawa.

Now that the resolutions have been officially approved by the membership, it is time for us to ask each chapter to take some form of action on this, to the degree possible.  One strategy would be to lobby a chapterʻs local city council to pass a resolution following the lead of the city councils of Berkeley and Cambridge.  Another could be for your chapter to pass a resolution or statement of support for the Okinawan struggle to address to representatives in Congress and local/social media.  VFP chapters have organized films & panels on the human rights struggle in Okinawa, posted solidarity photos/messages on social media, and have brandished signs at various parades, Federal buildings and Japan Consulates.    Whatever action you take, please let us know about it.

Please understand that you are not being asked to support this action out of sympathy for the Okinawans, Okinawans have been effectively resisting military occupation and rule for decades.   The indigenous movement in Okinawa parallels the Native American struggle at Standing Rock North Dakota in local defense of essential resources – beginning with water - that sustain life, as well as human and democratic rights, and calls for the same spirit and actions of solidarity.  But this is not only an “Okinawan issue; it is an American issue and an international problem. The new bases being built at Henoko and Takae are intended to be, as the military puts it, “the tip of the spear,” at the very forefront of US domination in east Asia.  The anti-base struggle is a crucial part of the struggle against America’s Empire of Bases, where permanent military occupations have provoked international tensions and a range of abuses against civilian populations, thwarting efforts for genuine human security, as we see now in the South China Sea.

For your reference here is the Cambridge City Council Resolution and the simpler VFP resolution, the latter rewritten so that chapters can use it as is.

In Solidarity,

C. Douglas Lummis

President, Veterans for Peace Ryukyu Okinawa Chapter Kokusai (VFP-ROCK)

Pete Doktor

VFP-ROCK Working Group (VFP-WG)

Category: Uncategorized
Tags: VFP-ROCK, Okinawa, Ryukyu Okinawa Chapter Kokusai, Action
secret