Make Okinawa US military bases an issue in the general election! ~ press conference of citizen supporters on the day after the US military helicopter accident in Okinawa

 

A press conference, “Urgent appeal from citizen supporters ~ make Futemma and Henoko bases an issue in the general election!”, was held on Oct. 12 at the Hall of House of Councilors in Tokyo. The atmosphere was tense because a US military helicopter had crashed in a farm of Takae in Higashison, Okinawa, just the day before. In front of the Diet Building, there were people sitting with the “Okinawa Times” in their hands with reports of the helicopter accident. One, who was visibly angry, told us, “While the consumption tax becomes the point of election campaign, no discussion is made on how much we spend for military expenses or how much we waste for the riot police to construct the US military helipad at Takae. We would be able to manage without raising the consumption tax rate.” At the conference, KAWANA Mari, a member of the group “Citizens Against Anti-Okinawa Media”, announced, “Yesterday, we submitted to the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan a request asking them to take on the review of the construction of a new US military base in Henoko.”    (MIYUKI Emi)

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沖縄基地問題を選挙の争点に！〜「高江ヘリ事故」翌日、市民有志が記者会見

１０月１２日午後、東京・参議院会館で「市民有志の緊急アピール普天間・辺野古基地問題を選挙の争点に！記者会見」が開かれた。前日には、沖縄県東村高江の集落に米軍ヘリが墜落したばかりで緊迫した雰囲気だった。国会前ではヘリ事故を報じる「沖縄タイムス」（写真）を掲げて座り込みをしている人たちがいた。その中の女性がインタビューに応じてくれた。「税金問題だとかと言っている時に、軍事費にどれだけお金を使っているのか、高江に基地をつくるために機動隊にどれだけ無駄にお金を使っているのか。このことが語られない。消費税をあげなくても十分やっていける」と憤っていた。午後３時から開始された記者会見で、「沖縄への偏見をあおる放送をゆるさない市民有志」の川名真理さんは「昨日、立憲民主党に、辺野古新基地建設見直しの取り組みを求める要請書を提出しました」と発表した。（見雪恵美） 

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People of Takae, Okinawa, Continue Fighting against US Marines Helipads

 

On July 22, members of Education Workers and Amalgamated Union Osaka (EWA) visited Takae of Higashi Village, Okinawa. On the same day last year, hundreds of police riot squad officers sent from across the country violently removed citizens protesting against the construction of helipads for U.S. Marine Corp’s MV22 Ospreys in front of the N1 Gate to the Northern Training Area in order to begin construction of new helipads in three zones there. It was just a few hours after Okinawans clearly showed with the result of a national election their strong will against the construction of new facilities for U.S. military that the Japanese government perpetrated the act of violence.
ISA Ikuko of the Association of Takae Residents against the Helipads briefed the union members on the present status of the helipad construction at the tent set up by protesters across the road from the N1 Gate.

The construction had been suspended for three months from March 1 during the nesting period of the Pryer's woodpecker, an indigenous species of the area designated as a national natural treasure. But, it was only the work with large noises that was suspended and other types of construction work had been continued. Then, as of July 1, the full scale construction work resumed.

The helipad construction has caused massive destruction of the rich forest of uniquely high level of biodiversity in Takae, the home of many species that are not found elsewhere in the world. The Japanese government has submitted a recommendation to UNESCO to register the forest as a world natural heritage while creating an environment there in which the precious indigenous species are threatened by noise, heat and blast the MV22 Ospreys generate, which also frustrates Takae residents.

“Our struggle so far was to prevent the construction of the helipads. From now on, we have to continue fighting to prevent the use of them,” said ISA.The struggle of the people of Takae is still on-going, but, since the start of reclamation work for the construction of the new base in Henoko the number of supporters who join the protest actions in Takae are decreasing. They are afraid that their struggle be forgotten with the completion of the construction work. Solidarity to the people there is much needed now.  (By OTSUBAKI Yuko)

 ヘリパッドを使わせない闘い続く～沖縄・高江を訪ね て

７月22日、大阪教育合同労働組合（以下、教育合 同）の組合員たちが、沖縄県東村高江のN１ゲート前を訪れた。ち ょうど１年前の同日、全国から集められた数百人の機動隊が押し 寄せ、ヘリパッド建設に反対する市民を暴力的に排除しN１ゲート 前を制圧、工事着工を強行した場所である。参院選で、辺野古新基 地建設や高江ヘリパッド建設に反対する伊波洋一さん（現参議院 議員）が、当時現職だった島尻安伊子沖縄担当相を大差で破り、歓 喜に湧いた数時間後に、市民の命を危険に曝す強制排除は行われ た。教育合同の一行は、その日、キャンプシュワブ前で開催され た辺野古新基地建設に反対する「辺野古・大浦湾の埋め立てを止 めよう！人間の鎖大行動」に参加。その後、高江に移動したため 到着は夕刻近く、その頃には座り込みを続けている市民は帰途に 着いていた。それでも､工事車両が出入りする入口付近を軌道隊車 両と、15名ほどのALSOKの警備員たちが塞いでいた。（大椿裕 子）