Today (3/2/17) representatives of HOA, Veterans for Peace, Hawai`i Peace & Justice, Amnesty International & Womenʻs Voices, Women Speak met with the Consul of Defense at the Japan Consulate in Honolulu and issued the following statement.
They will share response. Much gratitude to Beatriz Cantelmo Amnesty Intʻl Hawai`i Chairperson for issuing Amnesty Intʻlʻs Statement of Concerns ref: political prisoner Hiroji Yamashiroʻs health & civil rights.
Today, there was also a rally in NYCʻs Japan Embassy, as well as VFP-ROCK members delivering similar statements to Members of US Congress in DC. Letʻs continue this coming together internationally to stand for indigenous communities like Okinawans, as well as Native Hawaiians & Native Americans for human/political/civil rights & genuine security: may the human peace chains that have encircled entire military bases in Okinawa extend across the planet!
March 2, 2017
The Government of Japan
C/o Consulate General of Japan
Attn: Yuri Higashi, Consul of Defense Affairs
1742 Nu`uanu Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817-3201
Aloha Consul Higashi,
A coalition of concerned people within Hawai`i, including the NPOs the Hawai`i Okinawa Alliance (HOA), Veterans for Peace and Hawai`i Peace & Justice are alarmed about the use of force and arbitrary arrests of non-violent peace activists, such as Hiroji Yamashiro, while exercising their human right of peaceful assemblage in Okinawa. We are concerned by the mandated military base construction in Henoko and corresponding helipads at Takae that precipitated Okinawan citizens to assemble in the first place, for the following reasons:
* It is undemocratic. The people of Okinawa have unequivocally expressed their opposition to more military facilities, given they already suffer under disproportionate military stationing on their congested island. Governor Onaga- elected by a landslide, along with the Mayor of Nago City, all five National Diet members from Okinawa and no less than 80% of the Okinawan people according to innumerable polls are united across parties in opposition to these top-down government mandates. Forcing these projects against the will of the citizenry flaunts a blatant disregard for the democracy and rights the US and Japanese governments claim they protect.
* It is discrimination. Okinawa comprises just .6% of Japan’s territory, yet is burdened with almost 75% of US military bases in Japan. While Japan illegally overthrew the sovereign nation of Ryūkyū in 1879, it continues colonial treatment of Okinawa today. It is understood that US bases in Japan proper face widespread opposition from local communities that do not want to host bases either; its wrong for the Japanese government to just force them on Okinawans, as second-class citizens.
* It does not bring security. Base concentration exacerbates the very regional instability Japan & the US are concerned about in the first place. Rather than mere defense, US bases have been used for forward deployment to other conflicts, including the Middle East. Almost 1/3 of the local civilians were slaughtered in the Battle of Okinawa, followed by 27 years of US military rule where much base lands were seized via bayonets and bulldozers, that has nurtured a hatred of war and militarism by Okinawans. Official records reveal an on-going legacy of toxic wastes into local resources, debilitating noise pollution, inevitable accidents (41 annual average), and crimes (150 annual average including heinous violence). The fact that Japan has pledged public safety patrols by local authorities to guard against abuses by the US military underscores that the Okinawan people are less secure by this concentration of militarism.
* It will devastate the environment. The Henoko base is to be built by filling part of Oura Bay - home to one of the world’s last undamaged coral gardens, a multitude of endangered and internationally protected species- with 3.5 million truckloads of foreign soil, while an estimated 30,000 trees have been clear-cut for helipads in world heritage site candidate Takae. This continued destruction of Okinawa’s scarce natural resources that have sustained these islanders for millennia is a security threat to sustaining life.
* It is hindering the local economy. US bases occupy almost 20% of prime land, yet contributes less than 5% to the local economy. Even the Okinawan Chamber of Commerce is frustrated by the hindrance the bases pose, as data demonstrates productivity has multiplied 10 to 200 times in areas returned to civilian use from former base facilities. Moreover, most Okinawans object to an economic living based on wars and resent the limiting of local economy to one dependent on militarism. Ironically, record numbers of Chinese tourists are currently spending millions in Okinawa- yet this insistence on militarism jeopardizes this stabilizing opportunity.
* It is not in national or international self-interest. Far from being a deterrent, permanent bases are rather seen by regional rivals as foreign interference and provocation, as is shown by Chinese and N. Korean incursions. Imposing this project- with the force of hundreds of riot police dispatched from Japan proper, the US and Japan are further angering and alienating the Okinawan people, putting the entire US presence there at risk- not just Henoko. The sit-in movement has already expanded to Kadena Air Force Base, while discussions are shifting to abolishing all bases. The issue of Okinawa is not an isolated domestic issue, but rather a growing international human rights crisis, as recognized by Amnesty International. We only need to look at how long the Henoko base has been stalled by protests and legal actions already- to recognize how determined the Okinawan people are, now with increasing international support, as seen here in Hawai`i.
* It is not “the only solution.” There are no critical strategic or geographical reasons for concentrating more military facilities into tiny Okinawa. Not only is Okinawa distant from Japan proper, new policies and technology has transformed troop mobility, range and options. Many joint-use airports in Japan proper can accommodate the 1st Marine Air Wing (scheduled to be moved to Henoko).
For these reasons, we hope the Central Government seriously reconsiders forcing yet another base on the Okinawan people. If US military bases are as essential as Prime Minister Abe asserts, it would be very reasonable to find another prefectural community that overtly welcomes such a presence. The people of Okinawa have been sacrificed for Japan for far too often and too long. We respectfully request that the Government of Japan respect the popular will of Okinawa and abandon the vastly unwanted military base constructions within Okinawa, particularly in Henoko Bay and corresponding helipads at Takae, as well as returning all facilities marked and promised for return, including Futenma MCAS.
We look forward to and appreciate your consideration & feedback.
Respectfully,
Pete Shimazaki Doktor, Veterans For Peace-ROCK (Ryukyu Chapter Working Group Chair) & HOA
Terri Keko`olani Raymond, Hawai`i Peace & Justice
Ann Wright, US Army Reserve Colonel (Ret) and former US diplomat
Aiko Yamashiro, Women’s Voices, Women Speak
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On March 2 and 3 Veterans For Peace DC chapter members delivered letters addressed to congressional leaders on the Asian Pacific American Caucus (APAC), asking for their support in getting the US government to eliminate the Takae helipads and stop construction on the new Henoko base. Veterans for Peace ( Douglas Charles Lummis, director) and Veterans For Peace, Ryukyu Working Group (chair, Pete Shimazaki Doktor) wrote the letters which were hand delivered to the 50 APAC members. APAC has members from both the House and Senate, including Japanese-American Mazie Hirono, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. The group that delivered the letters to each office were able to discuss the letter with six different offices including the office of Sen. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Sen. Gregory Meeks, and Rep. Barbara Lee.
Excerpts from the letter:
Veterans for Peace- Ryukyu/Okinawa Chapter Kokusai (VFP-ROCK) respectfully requests your help in persuading the US Federal Government, especially the Department of Defense, to abandon their project of building a newly expanded US Marine Corps base at Henoko Bay and corresponding helipads at Takae, in northern Okinawa
It would be very much in the US’s interest to resolve this issue by abandoning this boondoggle project, and to utilize other options for the 1st Marine Air Wing- preferably to the continental US where some communities are protesting military sequestration in their regions, or failing that, to request that the Japanese Government find a more equitable location somewhere in Japan proper, upon a community that welcomes them.
Download the full letter and send a version to your congressional leader!