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Statements Archive |
LAST UPDATE
July 11, 2005
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| October 18, 2003 |
Statement on the Dispatch of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces
and Monetary Contribution to the Iraq War Effort |
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The attack on Iraq, conducted with blatant disregard for
the United Nations and world public opinion, caused the loss of life on a massive scale. Furthermore,
the depleted uranium munitions and cluster bombs used during the attack continue to take civilian
lives, the majority of those being women and children. To this day, there has been precious little
evidence produced to corroborate the claim that the US Government used prior to the attack, that
Iraq was harbouring weapons of mass destruction. In addition, attacks against the occupation forces
continue across the country and the security situation in Iraq is clearly and rapidly deteriorating.
In
light of this situation, international NGO Peace Boat, believes that the summit meeting held between
US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in which Koizumi committed
to dispatch Japanese troops to Iraq, is nothing but an attempt by the invading forces to extricate
themselves from their post-war responsibilities. Moreover, this together with the pledge to contribute
US$1.5bn (US$5bn over four year), which will go to the US-led occupation forces in Iraq and therefore
cannot be considered as humanitarian assistance is a clear breach of the Japanese Constitution.
The
dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq will mean that the Iraqi people will be under military
occupation by the US, which boasts being the largest military power in the world as well as Japan,
which continues to wield significant influence on the international stage. This act also means
that Japan is retrospectively justifying the recent attack on Iraq and indicates to international
society that Japan is prepared to support such acts of aggression in the future. What is needed
in Iraq is, first and foremost, an end to the occupation and the re-establishment of civic law
and order. This should be followed by a thorough investigation of the damage caused by the war
and an accurate assessment of what is needed to reconstruct Iraqi society. It is vital that the
Iraqi people are given a central role in this process and that the United Nations and the NGO
community prioritise the role of civil society when carrying out humanitarian assistance operations.
The
results of the current misguided US foreign policy, together with the irresponsible and uncritical
compliance of the Japanese Government will be the spiralling escalation of the crisis in the region
surrounding the Korean Peninsula and the continuing violence in the Middle East. We feel that we
cannot allow this situation to be neglected any longer.
We take a firm stand in opposing the dispatch
of Japanese troops to assist in the military occupation of Iraq in complete disregard for the
basic human rights of the Iraqi people. We absolutely refuse to allow our taxes to be used for
the continuation of the military occupation of Iraq.
Finally, we, as Japanese people, are proud
of our Constitution, which states, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right
of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. As
global citizens who aspire to the human ideal of everlasting peace, we make this international
appeal based on the idea encapsulated in Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, that reconstruction
using community level based assistance, not military force, be used the model for building
the future of Iraq and express our sincere desire for a peaceful society without wars or conflicts. |
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