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News Archive |
LAST UPDATE
July 11, 2005
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| April 15, 2004 |
A thank you from Peace Boat, Japan to the people of Iraq |
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Tonight, we express our sincere gratitude to the Association of Muslim Scholars, and all the Iraqi people for the release of the three Japanese civilians, Noriaki Imai, Nahoko Takato and Soichiro Koriyama, who were taken hostage on April 8 in Iraq.
We feel that this release represents the true spirit of friendship and cooperation from our brothers and sisters in the Arab world, and for this we are thankful from the bottom of our hearts.
We deeply appreciate the efforts of the Association of Muslim Scholars: their sympathy and approval of the humanitarian work engaged in by the three Japanese, and their consequent appeals to the hostage-takers to release the three captives, were instrumental in bringing about the release. Aljazeera’s consistent coverage of the voice of Japanese civil society was also vital.
We also believe that this result is due in significant part to the committed efforts of journalists, civil groups and NGOs working together across borders in protest against the US-led occupying forces and the dispatch of Japanese self defense forces (SDF) to Iraq. The release of the three captives is a testimony to the effectiveness of people-to-people diplomacy, and non-violent means of conflict resolution.
Three hostages have been released, but the crisis that has been created by the occupying forces in Iraq prevails. The intensity of the violence inflicted on the Iraqi people, including civilians, at the hands of the US-led forces has only increased. Such brutality, and in particular the massacre in Falluja, is unforgivable. We strongly denounce these atrocities.
We pledge to continue our work to demand the withdrawal of the Japanese forces from Iraq, and to end the occupation of Iraq by the US-led forces.
We pledge to work to support the people of Iraq through non-violent and humanitarian means, always respecting the wishes and needs of the Iraqi people.
Japan is a deeply grateful country tonight, but while we celebrate our thoughts are with the people of Iraq who have lost or are missing relatives and friends, and with the families of missing Japanese Jumpei Yasuda and Nobutaka Watanabe and the other remaining hostages.
Once again, we deeply appreciate your support and we will not rest until the illegal occupation is over and the Iraqi people are released from their suffering. |
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