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News Archive |
LAST UPDATE
July 11, 2005
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| August 18, 2004 |
Public Notice from Peace Boat to People of
Iraq Published in Iraqi Newspaper: Az zaman (circulation 50,000) |
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The public notice as it appeared in the August 18 edition of
Az zaman newspaper
Please see below for message text, or click image for larger view. |
In April 2004, Japanese civilians taken hostage by armed groups in Iraq were
released without harm. The successful release of the five hostages was made possible through both
civil society and state efforts to cooperate with Iraq and Arab civilians, and the Association
of Muslim Scholars.
As a token of Peace Boat's deep respect and appreciation to the Iraqi people whose efforts
led to the release of the Japanese hostages, we placed a A4 size public notice in the Iraqi
newspaper "Az zaman" on
August 18, 2004, by using donations collected from the Japanese public.
The occupying forces, including Japan's SDF, continue to face unprecedented rejection from the Iraqi
and Arab societies. As members of Japanese civil society, we believe the only way to rectify this situation
is to call for the immediate withdrawal of Japan's SDF, as has been done with forces from Spain, the
Philippines and Honduras. |
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| Peace Boat anti-war demonstration; Humanitarian aid sent to Fallujah;
Tokyo anti-war demonstration 2003 |
The statement in "Az zaman" was made possible by the collective efforts
of people in Japan and we believe conveying the genuine hopes and beliefs of Japanese people in
this way will help to avoid similarly tragic situations in the future. Included in the message
in Arabic is information about Japan's SDF, as well as other contributions by Japan in the form
of humanitarian aid. The publishing of this public notice was also made possible through the dedicated
efforts of Baghdad resident and Peace Boat staff Dr. Waqal, of Fallujah General Hospital.
A delivery of humanitarian aid consisting of blankets was successfully delivered to a hospital in Fallujah.
The blankets were unloaded from the Peace Boat in Aqaba, Jordan, and transported to Fallujah via Baghdad.
Peace Boat plans to continue sending aid supplies to Fallujah hospital, in the form of medical supplies
and tetanus vaccinations. |
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A message from Japanese civil society to the people of Iraq
- We would like to express our deep and sincere appreciation to all Iraqi citizens for
supporting the release of the Japanese hostages. We also convey our sincere gratitude to
the Muslim scholars who strongly appealed for the release, and to the Arab Media that aired
the voices of the hostages' families and Japanese citizens.
- We mourn the victims in Falluja
and other regions of Iraq and we express our profound condolences to their families. We
pray for the safety of all the Iraqi people who are still in danger.
- We strongly condemn
the US and its allied forces for killing civilians in Falluja and other areas. Therefore,
we strongly request the respective governments that the US and other foreign forces in Iraq
withdraw their troops immediately.
- According to the Japanese government, the Japanese Self-Defense
Forces have been dispatched for the purpose of humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts.
However, we demand their withdrawal, and we strongly request the Japanese government to
actively cooperate with and give support to unarmed Japanese civilians who are
involved in humanitarian aid.
- We strongly oppose violent acts such as bombings or kidnappings
that pose a threat to innocent Iraqi people and foreign civilians. We will put our utmost
effort into realizing a non-violent, peaceful world, especially in Iraq and Palestine, together
with the Iraqi people and all those people of the world who wish for peace.
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