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STATEMENT
We oppose
construction of a new US military base within Okinawa, and support the people of
Okinawa in their struggle for peace, dignity, human rights and protection of the
environment
We the undersigned oppose
the deal made at the end of 2013 between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and
Governor of Okinawa Hirokazu Nakaima to deepen and extend the military
colonization of Okinawa at the expense of the people and the environment.
Using the lure of economic development, Mr. Abe has extracted approval from
Governor Nakaima to reclaim the water off Henoko, on the northeastern shore of
Okinawa, to build a massive new U.S. Marine air base with a military port.
Plans to build the base
at Henoko have been on the drawing board since the 1960s. They were
revitalized in 1996, when the sentiments against US military bases peaked
following the rape of a twelve year-old Okinawan child by three U.S.
servicemen. In order to pacify such sentiments, the US and Japanese
governments planned to close Futenma Marine Air Base in the middle of Ginowan
City and move its functions to a new base to be constructed at Henoko, a
site of extraordinary bio-diversity and home to the endangered marine mammal
dugong.
Governor Nakaima’s
reclamation approval does not reflect the popular will of the people of
Okinawa. Immediately before the gubernatorial election of 2010, Mr.
Nakaima, who had previously accepted the new base construction plan, changed
his position and called for relocation of the Futenma base outside the
prefecture. He won the election by defeating a candidate who had consistently
opposed the new base. Polls in recent years have shown that 70 to 90 percent
of the people of Okinawa opposed the Henoko base plan. The poll conducted
immediately after Nakaima’s recent reclamation approval showed that 72.4
percent of the people of Okinawa saw the governor’s decision as a “breach of
his election pledge.” The reclamation approval was a betrayal of the people of
Okinawa.
73.8 percent of the US
military bases (those for exclusive US use) in Japan are concentrated in
Okinawa, which is only .6 percent of the total land mass of Japan. 18.3
percent of the Okinawa Island is occupied by the US military. Futenma Air Base
originally was built during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa by US forces in order
to prepare for battles on the mainland of Japan. They simply usurped the land
from local residents. The base should have been returned to its owners after
the war, but the US military has retained it even though now almost seven
decades have passed. Therefore, any conditional return of the base is
fundamentally unjustifiable.
The new agreement would
also perpetuate the long suffering of the people of Okinawa. Invaded in the
beginning of the 17th century by Japan and annexed forcefully into
the Japanese nation at the end of 19th century, Okinawa was in 1944
transformed into a fortress to resist advancing US forces and thus to buy time
to protect the Emperor System. The Battle of Okinawa killed more than
100,000 local residents, about a quarter of the island’s population. After the
war, more bases were built under the US military occupation. Okinawa
“reverted” to Japan in 1972, but the Okinawans’ hope for the removal of the
military bases was shattered. Today, people of Okinawa continue to suffer from
crimes and accidents, high decibel aircraft noise and environmental pollution
caused by the bases. Throughout these decades, they have suffered what the
U.S. Declaration of Independence denounces as “abuses and usurpations,”
including the presence of foreign “standing armies without the consent of our
legislatures.”
Not unlike the 20th century U.S. Civil Rights struggle, Okinawans
have non-violently pressed for the end to their military colonization. They
tried to stop live-fire military drills that threatened their lives by entering
the exercise zone in protest; they formed human chains around military bases to
express their opposition; and about a hundred thousand people, one tenth of the
population have turned out periodically for massive demonstrations.
Octogenarians initiated the campaign to prevent the construction of the Henoko
base with a sit-in that has been continuing for years. The prefectural assembly
passed resolutions to oppose the Henoko base plan. In January 2013, leaders of
all the 41 municipalities of Okinawa signed the petition to the government to
remove the newly deployed MV-22 Osprey from Futenma base and to give up the plan
to build a replacement base in Okinawa.
We support the people of Okinawa in their non-violent struggle for peace,
dignity, human rights and protection of the environment. The Henoko marine base
project must be canceled and Futenma returned forthwith to the people of
Okinawa.
Norman Birnbaum, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University
Herbert Bix, Emeritus Professor of History and Sociology, State
University of New York at Binghamton
Reiner Braun, Co-president International Peace Bureau and
Executive Director of International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
John W. Dower, Professor Emeritus of History, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Alexis Dudden, Professor of History, University of Connecticut
Daniel Ellsberg, Senior Fellow at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation,
former Defense and State Department official
John Feffer, Co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus (www.fpif.org) at the
Institute for Policy Studies
Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear
Power in Space
Joseph Gerson (PhD), Director, Peace & Economic Security Program,
American Friends Service Committee
Richard Falk, Milbank Professor of International law Emeritus, Princeton
University
Norma Field, Professor Emerita, East Asian Languages and Civilizations,
University of Chicago
Kate Hudson (PhD), General Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Catherine Lutz, Professor of Anthropology and International Studies,
Brown University
Naomi Klein, Author and journalist
Joy Kogawa, Author of Obasan
Peter Kuznick, Professor of History, American University
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace laureate
Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action
Gavan McCormack, Professor Emeritus, Australian National University
Kyo Maclear, Writer and Children’s author
Michael Moore, Filmmaker
Steve Rabson, Professor Emeritus, Brown University/ Veteran, United
States Army, Henoko, Okinawa, 1967-68
Mark Selden, a Senior Research Associate in the East Asia Program at
Cornell University
Oliver Stone, Filmmaker
David Vine, Associate Professor of Anthropology, American University
The Very Rev. the Hon. Lois Wilson, Former President, World Council of
Churches
Lawrence Wittner, Professor Emeritus of History, State University of New
York/Albany
Ann Wright, Retired US Army Colonel and former US diplomat
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35,000 citizens recently rallied on Okinawa
opposing US military bases
At Oura Bay in Henoko the US Marines are
building a new airbase with a runway that will extend out over the bay
destroying endangered sea life
The right-wing newspaper, Washington Times, ran a piece on Monday
entitled "The other side to the Okinawa story: The 'All Okinawa' opposition to
US military presence [occupation] is a leftist ruse".
The hit piece was written by Robert Eldridge (former political affairs and
public diplomacy officer, Marine Corps Installations Pacific on Okinawa). He
wrote about the current visit of Okinawan Gov. Takeshi Onaga to Washington to
express the demand of his people that the US government close the military bases
on their island. Gov. Onaga was elected in a recent landslide vote by the
citizens on Okinawa who have had more than enough of US bases, destruction of
their environment and culture, and want them immediately closed.
In the
Washington Times Eldridge commented:
Mr. Onaga, a four-term mayor of Naha, the prefecture’s largest city,
was elected governor in November 2014 as the result of a sophisticated
campaign amid a highly divided and complicated election. Although formerly a
conservative and once rising star of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
in Okinawa, even running his opponent’s re-election campaign in 2010, he broke
with his predecessor and chose to run on an anti-base platform dominated by
the organizational might of the Communist Party, the archenemy of the
conservative LDP...
There are many other fictions created by these activists [Okinawans who
oppose US bases], who work hand-in-hand with the local media, national and
international “peace” groups and politicians, and whose base (no pun intended)
are these very anti-base forces...
There is more than meets the eye regarding Okinawa. Washington, especially
those in the media and think tank world, mustn’t be fooled any longer. Okinawa
is too important geostrategically for the United States, Japan and the entire
Asia-Pacific region to become, as Mr. Onaga urges, “a peaceful buffer zone
with no bases.”
Mr. Eldridge gives himself away when he spins on about the 'geostraegic
importance' of Okinawa to Washington and the Pentagon's 'pivot' into the
Asia-Pacific region. Instead of the US taking responsibility for the 70-years
of American abuse of Okinawa, the author slams the governor who turned against
his own right-wing ruling party in Tokyo in order to give voice to the people's
deep outrage. For that he is accused of being an agent of Bejing. Pure
red-baiting trash.
On Sunday I joined several members of Veterans for Peace (VFP) to deliver a
letter to officials from the Okinawan government that was addressed directly
to Gov. Onaga. The letter gave strong support to the island people in their
long struggle to rid their homeland of US military bases. VFP national board
member Tarak Kauff (New York) read the letter that concluded with a pledge to
build national and international support for Okinawa and declared that, if
invited, the organization wished to send a strong delegation of its members to
the island to stand with the people.
Immediately after Tarak had finished reading the letter one Okinawan official
said, "You have our invitation. Please come and see for yourselves."
Tarak Kauff presents the VFP letter to
Okinawan officials (Photo by Ellen Davidson) In the fall VFP will
indeed lead a delegation to Okinawa and will go to Jeju Island in South Korea as
well. These twin-campaigns for peace and environmental sanity represent the
most visible Asia-Pacific island struggles that are similarly being waged in
Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines and beyond as the US moves to consolidate control
of the region on behalf of corporate interests.
Following the presentation of the letter everyone moved to a nearby restaurant
where about 60 people gathered to have dinner with Gov. Onaga and the delegation
of other elected officials from Okinawa. Many of those attending the dinner
were Okinawan-Americans, women who had married former American GI's or other US
officials that were once stationed on the island.
There is much talk about whether the Okinawan delegation to DC will be
successful in changing US policy. Considering that Obama won't even answer
letters from elected officials on Okinawa does not give one much confidence that
US policy is likely to change anytime soon. But don't be fooled by
inside-Washington baseball. The real change is taking place in the hearts of
people on Okinawa, in Japan, and throughout the world. The images of the US
Marines building a runway that will extend out into pristine Oura Bay where
coral and endangered sea mammals are being threatened reveal a manifest
injustice. Already large concrete blocks have been dropped into the bay at 75
sites (for runway construction) and as a result 94 colonies of coral have been
destroyed.
The fact that the US ignores the voices of 80% of the Okinawan people and
plunges ahead with devastating base expansion indicates the obvious colonial
status of the island people.
In Japan taxpayers are apparently allowed to target to which prefecture
(regional government) they want their taxes to be sent. As a way to express
solidarity for Okinawa, all across Japan taxpayers are designating that their
money go to support the people fighting the US imperial bases.
Even here in the US there are legions of citizens who would support the
heart-broken people on Okinawa or Jeju Island if they only knew about what was
really going on there. Thus the decision by VFP to stand with the people in the
Asia-Pacific is significant because it opens the door for the American people to
learn about this atrocity being committed by the US endless war machine. It is
a good time for people to open their hearts and speak out against the global
full spectrum dominance project by Washington.
Tarak concluded the letter to the Okinawan people by reading:
We promise to carry your message to members of Congress, the
administration, our international Veterans For Peace membership and to every
corner of our land. In fact, this summer at our annual convention in San
Diego, California, the theme will be “Peace and Reconciliation in the
Pacific,” so we are already working to bring awareness about the region to our
members and beyond.
The cry of the people of Okinawa must ring loudly all across America—and we
will do our part to make the voices of the Okinawan people heard.
Letter to Okinawan Governor
May 27, 2015
The Honorable Takeshi Onaga
Governor of Okinawa Prefecture
Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Dear Governor Onaga:
Veterans For Peace was founded to help end war. We have lived directly with the
experience of U.S. empire and our members have served in war and been stationed
on bases around the world. Many of our members have served on, or flown to, U.S.
bases on Okinawa over the years. We are deeply concerned about, and oppose
construction of, a new U.S. military base within Okinawa. We stand in total
solidarity with the people of Okinawa in their long struggle for peace, dignity,
human rights, and protection of the environment.
At this time, Veterans For Peace is particularly disturbed by the U.S. attempt
to build a massive new U.S. Marine air base with a military port at Henoko. Not
only would the Henoko base be an environmental disaster—the location is rich in
bio-diversity and is home to the endangered marine mammal dugong—but the base
would also be a betrayal of the Okinawan people who for many years have
requested that the U.S. government remove its huge military boot-print from the
island.
As you are aware, Okinawa is host to nearly 74 percent of all U.S. military
bases in Japan. More than 18 percent of the island of Okinawa is occupied by the
U.S. military. The people of Okinawa had their land taken during WWII, and the
United States shows no sign of ending its occupation of the island.
Recent elections on Okinawa have clearly demonstrated the will of the people to
remove these U.S. bases. How long can any people be expected to suffer from U.S.
military pollution, rapes and harassment by U.S. troops, noise, and the constant
fear of being a war target as tensions increase between Japan and China? We know
that President Obama’s announced “pivot” of even more U.S. forces into the
Asia-Pacific means that more airfields, barracks, and ports-of-call will be
needed, but Okinawa should not have to bear this heavy load one day longer.
The Okinawan people have shown remarkable courage and determination as they have
stepped up their non-violent resistance to the recent deployments of the Osprey
aircraft at Futenma base and plans for the Henoko base. Just in recent days,
once again, large numbers of Okinawan citizens have protested these U.S.
military operations and it appears that Washington and Tokyo are still ignoring
the people’s heartfelt demands. Given the U.S. leading role in militarism around
the globe, we in the United States have a special responsibility to protest our
government's actions.
Veterans For Peace understands this responsibility and stands ready to offer its
assistance to the people of Okinawa. If invited to do so, we are prepared to
bring a delegation of our members to Okinawa to stand in solidarity with the
people of Okinawa in their protests against the bases at Futenma and Henoko.
Veterans For Peace joins with the people of Okinawa in rejecting the notion that
Okinawan lands should be strategic war posts for the furtherance of U.S.
military expansion.
It is an honor for members of Veterans For Peace to meet with Okinawan leaders
who are now in Washington, D.C., on their trip to appeal to the U.S. government
to hear the plea of the Okinawan people. We promise to carry your message to
members of Congress, the administration, our international Veterans For Peace
membership and to every corner of our land. In fact, this summer at our annual
convention in San Diego, California, the theme will be “Peace and Reconciliation
in the Pacific,” so we are already working to bring awareness about the region
to our members and beyond.
The cry of the people of Okinawa must ring loudly all across America—and we will
do our part to make the voices of the Okinawan people heard.
In Peace and Solidarity,
Barry Ladendorf
President
Veterans For Peace
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