24日、沖縄生物多様性ネットワークが記者会見を開き、高江の工事の中止を求める声明を発表しました。
以下、QAB報道部のページ「自然保護団体 ヘリパッド工事の中止求め声明」より抜粋します。
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声明では、工事により森の木々が伐採され、やんばるの自然が危機的な状況にあると指摘。2010年に名古屋で開かれた国際会議でも、国内外75のNGOがヘリパッド建設計画の見直しを求める共同宣言を発表しているとして、改めて工事の中止を求めています。
また会見には高江区の住民も同席し「いつ工事が始まるかと心配で気が休まらず、睡眠もとれない」と苦しい現状を話しました。会見した住民は「今頑張らなければ、これが50年，100年と基地被害に苦しめられるのは目に見えている。だから今は少々苦しいけど、頑張る」と話しました。
ネットワークでは、やんばるの森は県民の水がめであり、ヘリパッド建設問題は高江だけでなく、県民みんなの問題だと訴えています。
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
「高江の工事を止めよう！」2.23院内集会
参議院議員会館にて「高江の米軍ヘリパッド建設を中止させよう！」院内集会が23日正午より行われました。WWFジャパンの花輪さんによる高江の現状報告のあと、国内外の環境団体、その他団体からの呼びかけが続き、国会議員からの発言がありました。
「ゆんたく高江」を代表して話していた方が、高江は厳しい状況にあるが、これまで通り何とか「楽しく」抵抗していこうとしている、と話していたのが印象的でした。現地の行動に参加されている高良勉さんからの2月22日の現地報告からは100人、200人の作業員と対峙する本当に厳しい状況ながらも、森の野生生物を気遣う、ご飯を食べてお互いを元気づけるといったような形で、必死で運動が続けられていることが伝わってきます。
「３月からの主役はノグチゲラやヤンバルクイナ、椎の木、イジュの樹たちが主役になります。日本国の天然記念物であるノグチゲラやヤンバルクイナを始めとする野鳥たちの「営巣・産卵・子育て」の時期になりますので、防衛省は工事をすることができません。野鳥たちの、「営巣はすでに始まっている」と言われています。人間が必死になって頑張らないといけないのは、まず２月２８日までです。」
「西表島の石垣金星さんが送って下さった「カマイ＝イノシシ」鍋がＮ４の本部テント前で振る舞われました。高江支援闘争は、西表島の住民をはじめカマイ＝イノシシまで自分の身を挺して連帯・支援しています。」（高良勉さん 2月22日の現地報告より）
最近まで高江現地に行って抗議行動を共にしてきたという、民主党の瑞賢覧議員は発言のなかで、防衛省が当初8歳の子どもを通行妨害の罪で起訴していたことに強い怒りを表し、高江に生きる人びとの「人権」を守ることをとにかく訴えていこう、と強く呼びかけていました。
国がかけてくる基地拡大の圧力に対して抵抗する人々に対し、警察による不当逮捕や起訴が各地で続いています。そして、武力という力でもって、私たちを威圧しています。本日の院内集会で発言したWorld Peace Nowの代表者の方により、大分県の日出生台（ひじゅうだい）において在沖米軍による実弾射撃訓練が開始されてしまったと報告されました。ちなみにこの演習は、恩納村の喜瀬武原区で県道104号線越えに展開していた実弾射撃演習が1997年頃に分散移転したものです。
演習開始については、こちらをご覧ください「在沖海兵隊が訓練公開 大分・日出生台演習場」『産経新聞』（2011.2.9）
現地の行動に思いをよせて、みなそれぞれのいる場所で抵抗していきましょう。
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Call for Your Attention and Action: Protect Yanbaru Forest and Local Community from Helipad Construction
Dear Concerned Citizens and Organizations,
(please help spread this message. Our link is http://bit.ly/ezarzI)
On February 3, 2011, amid local people and their supporters’ protests and calls for dialogue, members of the Okinawa Defense Bureau marched in and began felling trees in the Takae area of the Yanbaru forest in Okinawa, Japan to resume the construction of six new helipads for US military.
The resumption of construction has brought a new intensity to the stand off between the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the local people and their supporters,who have been carrying out a peaceful sit in protest to protect the living environment and the Yanbaru forest.
The Citizens’ Network for Biological Diversity in Okinawa (Okinawa BD) is calling for your attention to this latest development in the Yanbaru forest and is asking for your action to help halt the Okinawa Defense Bureau’s construction work in the forest.
Located in the northern area of Okinawa Island, the Yanbaru forest (about 26, 000 ha)
is one of the richest areas of biodiversity in Japan. It is home to over 1,000 species of high plants and 5,000 species of animals, including numerous indigenous and endemic species such as the endangered Okinawa Woodpecker and Okinawa Rail.
It is also home to people who live in small and isolated communities.
Takae is one of these communities.
The Okinawa prefectural government promotes the Yanbaru forest as a key area in its efforts to get the Ryukyu Islands designated as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
The Japanese government announced its intentions to designate the Yanbaru forest as a
national park during the10th Conference of Parties to the Convention for Biological Diversity(COP10) held recently in Nagoya, Japan.
Since 1957, the US military has been using a large part of the Yanbaru forest for training. Today, 30% of the Yanbaru forest is a US military training area. In this training area, there are already 22 frequently used US helipads, causing various problems to the environment and the nearby local communities. Thus, since the construction plan was revealed in 1999,local people, NGOs, and experts have been opposing to the plan and expressing their concerns that the construction of new helipads in the Takae area will certainly further impact the Yanbaru forest and the Takae community.
After conducting its Environment Impact Assessment for the helipad construction plan, the Okinawa Defense Bureau has concluded that the construction and use of the helipads would have no impact on the environment and the community. While local people, NGOs, and scientists/experts have criticized the EIA for its lack of transparency, accuracy, and reliability, the Okinawa Defense Bureau has been proceeding with the construction plan, based on the EIA’s “no-impact" conclusion.
International voices, meanwhile, have been loud and clear. The International Union of Conservation for Nature (IUCN) has twice called for conservation of the endangered Okinawa Woodpaker and Okinawa Rail in the forest. On the occasion of COP10 in Nagoya, the Guardian newspaper urged the Okinawa Defense Bureau to “consider alternative sites [for helipad construction] that will not impact Okinawa's unique biodiversity.”
This is why the residents of the Takae community and many others have been opposing the construction plan and calling for explanation and dialogue with the Okinawa Defense Bureau.（For info on actions taken by local communities, NGOs, and scientific communities, please see the list below).
So far, the Okinawa Defense Bureau has shown no willingness to resolve the criticism and concerns. Instead, it has reacted to the local opposition by filing a lawsuit against residents of the Takae community for obstruction of traffic in November 2008, who were engaged in a peaceful sit in protest against the helipad construction.
In what many consider a “SLAPP lawsuit,” the court has ordered both the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the local residents to enter negotiation outside of court. Negotiation has not, however, has taken place as the Okinawa Defense Bureau keeps declining to negotiate.
It is in light of these developments that the Okinawa Defense Bureau marched in and began felling trees in the Takae area of the Yambaru forest and the stand off between the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the protesters has intensified.
We of the Okinawa BD ask the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the Japanese government to immediately halt the helipad construction in the forest. We also ask them to enter dialogue with the local people, NGOs, and experts/scientists in order to seek ways to protect the rich biodiversity of the Yanbaru forest and the peaceful living environment for the local people.
We invite you and/or your organization to voice your objection to and/or concern over the resumed construction of helipads in the Yanbaru forest, and to send them to the Okinawa Defense Bureau, the Japanese government, the Okinawa prefectural government, and the US government.
Blog Entry →http://bit.ly/ezarzI
Hideki Yoshikawa
Chief Secretary
Citizens’ Network for Biological Diversity in Okinawa
yhideki@cosmos.ne.jp
(please help spread this message. Our link is http://bit.ly/ezarzI)
On February 3, 2011, amid local people and their supporters’ protests and calls for dialogue, members of the Okinawa Defense Bureau marched in and began felling trees in the Takae area of the Yanbaru forest in Okinawa, Japan to resume the construction of six new helipads for US military.
The resumption of construction has brought a new intensity to the stand off between the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the local people and their supporters,who have been carrying out a peaceful sit in protest to protect the living environment and the Yanbaru forest.
The Citizens’ Network for Biological Diversity in Okinawa (Okinawa BD) is calling for your attention to this latest development in the Yanbaru forest and is asking for your action to help halt the Okinawa Defense Bureau’s construction work in the forest.
Located in the northern area of Okinawa Island, the Yanbaru forest (about 26, 000 ha)
is one of the richest areas of biodiversity in Japan. It is home to over 1,000 species of high plants and 5,000 species of animals, including numerous indigenous and endemic species such as the endangered Okinawa Woodpecker and Okinawa Rail.
It is also home to people who live in small and isolated communities.
Takae is one of these communities.
The Okinawa prefectural government promotes the Yanbaru forest as a key area in its efforts to get the Ryukyu Islands designated as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
The Japanese government announced its intentions to designate the Yanbaru forest as a
national park during the10th Conference of Parties to the Convention for Biological Diversity(COP10) held recently in Nagoya, Japan.
Since 1957, the US military has been using a large part of the Yanbaru forest for training. Today, 30% of the Yanbaru forest is a US military training area. In this training area, there are already 22 frequently used US helipads, causing various problems to the environment and the nearby local communities. Thus, since the construction plan was revealed in 1999,local people, NGOs, and experts have been opposing to the plan and expressing their concerns that the construction of new helipads in the Takae area will certainly further impact the Yanbaru forest and the Takae community.
After conducting its Environment Impact Assessment for the helipad construction plan, the Okinawa Defense Bureau has concluded that the construction and use of the helipads would have no impact on the environment and the community. While local people, NGOs, and scientists/experts have criticized the EIA for its lack of transparency, accuracy, and reliability, the Okinawa Defense Bureau has been proceeding with the construction plan, based on the EIA’s “no-impact" conclusion.
International voices, meanwhile, have been loud and clear. The International Union of Conservation for Nature (IUCN) has twice called for conservation of the endangered Okinawa Woodpaker and Okinawa Rail in the forest. On the occasion of COP10 in Nagoya, the Guardian newspaper urged the Okinawa Defense Bureau to “consider alternative sites [for helipad construction] that will not impact Okinawa's unique biodiversity.”
This is why the residents of the Takae community and many others have been opposing the construction plan and calling for explanation and dialogue with the Okinawa Defense Bureau.（For info on actions taken by local communities, NGOs, and scientific communities, please see the list below).
So far, the Okinawa Defense Bureau has shown no willingness to resolve the criticism and concerns. Instead, it has reacted to the local opposition by filing a lawsuit against residents of the Takae community for obstruction of traffic in November 2008, who were engaged in a peaceful sit in protest against the helipad construction.
In what many consider a “SLAPP lawsuit,” the court has ordered both the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the local residents to enter negotiation outside of court. Negotiation has not, however, has taken place as the Okinawa Defense Bureau keeps declining to negotiate.
It is in light of these developments that the Okinawa Defense Bureau marched in and began felling trees in the Takae area of the Yambaru forest and the stand off between the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the protesters has intensified.
We of the Okinawa BD ask the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the Japanese government to immediately halt the helipad construction in the forest. We also ask them to enter dialogue with the local people, NGOs, and experts/scientists in order to seek ways to protect the rich biodiversity of the Yanbaru forest and the peaceful living environment for the local people.
We invite you and/or your organization to voice your objection to and/or concern over the resumed construction of helipads in the Yanbaru forest, and to send them to the Okinawa Defense Bureau, the Japanese government, the Okinawa prefectural government, and the US government.
Blog Entry →http://bit.ly/ezarzI
Hideki Yoshikawa
Chief Secretary
Citizens’ Network for Biological Diversity in Okinawa
yhideki@cosmos.ne.jp
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