PAN-PACIFIC RALLY TO DEMILITARIZE THE PACIFIC:
SOLIDARITY WITH OKINAWA, GUAM, TOKUNO ISLAND, KOREA & HAWAI`I
END THE OCCUPATION OF FUTENMA!
PRINCE KUHIO FEDERAL BUILDING, HONOLULU (300 ALA MOANA BLVD & PUNCHBOWL)
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2010 4:30-6:30
On April 16, 2010, Okinawans will be encircling Futenma Marine Corps Air Station in Ginowan City, Okinawa, forming a human chain around the enormous military base as a vote of mass opposition and solidarity against further base expansion in Okinawa, particularly Henoko in northern rural Okinawa, the proposed site of Futenma's relocation. On April 14, diverse people of O`ahu will gather in solidarity with the Futenma rally and other people's movements throughout the Pacific.
However, this isn't just about Okinawa. This is an international problem. US military forces are deployed in 130 countries around the world, with permanent bases in 50 nations and growing. Because of local resistance in Okinawa, alternative sites have been proposed, such as in Guam and Tokuno Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago (north of Okinawa). From the illegal overthrow and military occupation of Hawai`i in 1893, the US, along with other colonizers, have occupied nations throughout the Pacific with military forces and agendas. We stand with our Pasifika sisters & brothers united against further military occupation and expansion, including localities not mentioned in this appeal.
We demand the clean-up and return of lands back to civil societies to restore true human security and self-determination throughout our island homes. Recent proposals to relocate forces from Okinawa to Guam, the Marianas, and Tokuno Island are just spreading this problem. This is not a "not in my backyard" movement, but a "no militarism anywhere" unity rally. To date, policy makers have not listened to island residents, so we unite as an ohana (family), defending our rights, our homes, our human security and our legacies. Similarly, we want occupation armed forces to return to their home fronts, to help rebuild their communities and ultimately our collective human security.
US Armed Forces invaded Lu Chu (b.k.a. Okinawa) in 1945, and have never left. Taking over and expanding Imperial Japanese airfields built by conscripted Okinawans, US military continued to occupy almost 20% of the island of Okinawa, including Futenma Marine Corps Air Station. Called "the most dangerous airfield" by former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, the Japanese and US governments agreed to Okinawan demands for the reduction of military occupation, including Futenma MCAS, which sits in the middle of urban Ginowan City, surrounded by neighborhoods, schools, hospitals and local business that must live with overhead jets and constant fear of accidents, such as the helicopter crash into Okinawa International University in 2004. In addition to inevitable accidents and the social problems resulting from foreign military occupation, communities around Futenma must endure up to 200 decibel-shrieking flights a day over their neighborhoods and studies have found disproportionate low-weight births and lower academic outcomes in surrounding schools attributed to the noise pollution. Slated for closure by 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama recently announced that complete closure of Futenma is now somehow "impossible."
Among the tired excuses for continued military occupation of Okinawa is the Cold War relic North Korea. For 60 years, militarist strategies have failed to end the war between the Koreas. It is clear that these militant policies don't resolve conflict, but acerbate tensions, suffering and militarism on all fronts. We call for peaceful resolution to such conflicts through diplomatic, cultural and economic exchange towards our collective security, as militaristic approaches have failed. We link our struggles for peace with the people of the Koreas, sisters and brothers divided by failed, archaic politics.
Guahan, better known as the US colony of Guam, has shown widespread opposition to the resettlement of occupational forces from Okinawa to Guam that will overwhelm the fragile ecology of this even smaller island and reef system. Meanwhile, other Micronesian and Mariana islands have been considered for relocation, while islanders disproportionately serve and die as fodder for a foreign commander-in-chief they could never vote for as non-citizens, nor serve as officers in this military poverty draft.
As island cousins, we sound the call to unite for our common defense against all forms of militarism and colonization, and our collective aspirations for international peace through social justice, sustainability, self-determination and mutual support. After WWII, Okinawans in Hawai`i came together to help war-torn Okinawa; it is time we come support again. Supporters include: DMZ-Hawai`i Aloha Aina, AFSC-Hawai`i, Ohana Koa NFIP and Buddhist Peace Fellowship-O`ahu; contact us to add your associations.
Parking is limited to streets, so consider carpooling and bus. Feel free to bring signs, banners, instruments, friends and family to this unity rally committed to non-violence and popular sovereignty.
Yuimaaru/Laulima/Solidarity,
HOA (Hawai`i Okinawa Alliance)
Pete Shimazaki Doktor dok@riseup.net
Jamie Oshiro 808-728-0062
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