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Welcome to the Special Page "Global IMAGINE" at KAT0 Tetsuro's International Exchange Center of "Global Netizen College" !

We desire Peace and Justice for ever, Not Retaliation! If You do also, Please go to ZNN, Alter Net, Z NET, The Nation, Independent Media Center, September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, my "Global IMAGINE" page and Tokyo Progressive.

IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE SHARING ALL THE WORLD!　

★An Urgent Appeal! Academic Freedom Statement by American Scholars!

Please sign, ★"CALL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE, NOT REVENGE!" , go to the ★Z NET, ★Common Dreams News Center,★Peace Protest Net,★Independent Media Center,★INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER,★The Nation, Perspectives on Sept. 11,★The Objective Center,★Concerned Students for Peace and Justice,★Korean Policy & Information Center for International Solidarity (PICIS), ★Alter Net,★Tokyo Progressive,★WISDOM

see,★Afghanistan has already been destroyed by bombs. No more killing!

★Kevin Moore"ZNET TOONS" & ★Luke Powell, "The Afghan Folio"

★"Osama bin Laden, No where to run-no where to hide"

★Ryuichi SAKAMOTO's "Non Violence" & "debris of prayer"

★Steven Lyons Peace Posters

★ A Peace Flower from Korean "Peace-Mother"

★Posters for Peace: Respond to the September 11th tragedy!

★Tom Tomorrow's cartoon "This Modern World"

★Al-Ahram Weekly Online's Cartoon

hear, ★"Chomsky Talk at MIT" (audio),

and pray with ★"Sol Tierra Y Viento"!

What Do You Imagine Now?

Who Lives in the "Global Village?"

"If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.

　

There would be:

　

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south

8 Africans

　

52 would be female

48 would be male

　

70 would be non-white

30 would be white

　

70 would be non-Christian

30 would be Christian

　

89 would be heterosexual

11 would be homosexual

　

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and

all 6 would be from the United States

　

80 would live in substandard housing

　

70 would be unable to read

　

50 would suffer from malnutrition

　

1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth

　

1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education

　

1 would own a computer

　

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for both acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent."

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Imagine

I hope someday you'll join us　　And the world will be as one

●Wanted! Information about Missing Japanese in the USSR in the 1930s!　

We, the Japanese citizens opposed to the participation of the Japanese military forces

to the illegal attack on the people of Iraq by the United States and Great Britain,

wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Iraq Ulama Committee

for having succeeded in liberating our five comrades.

We are also grateful to Aljazeera for having transmitted faithfully our appeals to free our comrades,

and especially for enabling the families of the three first hostages to appeal directly

to the people of Iraq showing their sorrow and plight to the many viewers of Aljazeera.

We will continue to oppose the illegal, unjust and destructive occupation of your great Country,

and put an end to the Japanese collusion with the occupiers.

We affirm our solidarity with the people of Fallujia,

and demand the immediate lifting of the siege by the forces of occupation,

and of the massacre of the citizens of this city including women and children.

Message for Iraq colleagues

　

　On April 14, two Japanese freelance journalists, Junpei Yasuda and

Nobutaka Watanabe, were abducted in Iraq.　

　Mr. Yasuda, a former reporter at a Japanese daily, has opposed the

American bombing risking his life, as is clear from the fact that he

joinedthe "Human Shield" in Iraq last February and March.　

　Mr. Watanabe has acted against the dispatch of Japan's Self Defense Forces

( SDF ) to Iraq, appealing specifically to the SDF troops that

theythemselves should oppose the dispatch.　

　Those two people are not the member of JVJA, but our friends.　

　Japan Visual Journalists Association ( JVJA ) would like to make the point

that they are important friends for Iraqipeople, as well as the three Japanese kidnapped earlier.　

　We have high hopes of that the five abducted Japanese be released immediately.

　　

April 15, 2004

　

Japan Visual Journalists Association (JVJA) President Ryuichi Hirokawa

E-mail to : mail@hiropress.net　

AS the occupation of Iraq enters its second year, the demands of the Iraqis grow clearer every day: an immediate end to the Occupation and free elections, free for all Iraqis to participate and free of US interference.

In the present situation, Iraqis are hostage to the Occupying Forces. They are unable to meet and organize freely and they are denied the right to shape their own future. Furthermore, the political transition process proposed by the US administration is designed to install a tame regime, friendly to US interests and their continued presence inside Iraq.

We - the undersigned activists for peace, religious leaders, intellectuals and academics, writers and journalists, parliamentarians, trade unionists and citizens -- insist on the right of the Iraqis to be free of occupation and free to decide the course of their own history.

We support the call for free elections: free for all Iraqis to participate and free from interference of the Occupying Forces.

We support the call of the Jakarta Peace Consensus which was affirmed at the European Social Forum in Paris in 2003 and at the Anti-War Assembly at the World Social Forum in Mumbai in 2004 -- for an urgent and independent Assembly of Iraqis, where all sectors of Iraqi society can freely debate and propose the future shape of their State, completely free of interference from the Occupying Forces. This can be the start of a process of building the New Iraq, and a vital first step towards free elections, democracy and sovereignty.

This Assembly must be held in Iraq. However, if this possibility is denied by the Occupying Forces, a Preparatory Conference must be convened outside Iraq.

We guarantee all our efforts to protect the integrity and openness of such a meeting through our support and presence.

We demand an end to the Occupation and we support the Iraqi peoples right to sovereignty and self-determination.

　

The Japanese citizens opposed to the participation of the Japanese Armed Forces

in the occupation of Iraq who send to Aljazeera their concern about the fate of the three Japanese hostages,

want to express their heartfelt gratitude to Aljazeera

for having reported their plights including the voice of the families of the hostages.

We are deeply moved by the humanitarian act

of the Association of Ulamah of Iraq to convince the Saraya al-Mujahideen to release our comrades.

We reaffirm our resolve to convince our Government to retreat the Japanese Armed Forces from Iraq.

Now that the hostages have been iberated, we can demand the retreat from Iraq of the Japanese military Forces,

not under outside pressure but as an expression of the free will of the Japanese people.　

It goes without saying that we will continue our fight to end the occupation of Iraq by foreign Forces allied to the United States,

which is causing so many precious lives of the people of Iraq as well as the desacretion of holy places.

---

Appeal to Saraya al-Mujahideen

(This statement is being signed by a number of Japanese groups and

individuals and is being sent into various channels so that it will

reach right persons; please disseminate it. This statement has been sent to Al-Jazeera).

　

We, the Japanese citizens opposed to the participation of the Japanese

military forces to the illegal attack on the people of Iraq by the

United States and Great Britain, call upon Saraya al-Mujahideen not to kill

the three comrades who share with us the same resolution to stop the

Japanese collusion. We do not accept your terrorist activities which only provide

fuel to state terrorism, but we want you to know that quite a number of

Japanese citizens are also opposed to sending the Japanese military to

support the occupation of your Country. The three Japanese under your

control share with us this belief, and to kill them will only create

hatred against you among the well intentioned citizens of Japan. We, Japanese

citizens feel solidary with the people of Iraq. Be patient, and give us

time to convince our Government. We call upon your patriotism to avoid

breaking the historical friendship between the Japanese and the Arab People.

　

Iraq Hostage crisis and Japanese troops withdrawal

by Asian Peace Alliance Japan

　

Friends,　

As you may have known through media, Arab satellite television station

Al-Jazeera reported Thursday night that an Iraqi group named Saraya

al-Mujahideen took 3 young Japanese civilians hostages, two men and one

woman, and is demanding that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces troops be

withdrawn within three days or else they would kill the hostages.

　

We, Asian Peace Alliance-Japan, has issued a statement stating our

positionon this matter (attached below). We wish that you would read, endorse, and disseminate it.

　

We urgently request friends all over the world to join us in urging the

Japanese government to withdraw the Japanese troops from Iraq. We also

ask you to issue your own statement on this matter.

　

In the past few months Japanese peace movement has been concentrating on

campaigns and demonstrations all over the country to prevent the

government’s deployment of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq as part of

theU.S. war efforts. But despite opposition by the majority of the Japanese

people, the Koizumi government carried its plan out and now stations

fully armed ground troops in a newly constructed base at Samawah in southern

Iraq, ostensibly for “humanitarian reconstruction aid.” The capture of

the three Japanese civilians came as a response to the Japanese

government’s complicity with the American war.

　

This news shocked us as the hostages all happen to be activists in peace

movement opposing the American war against Iraq. Many of us are their

friends in peace activities. Mr. Noriaki Imai, 18, belongs to a peace

group Hokkaido Peace Net working energetically in the ‘NO-DU Campaign,’

a movement that exposes the nuclear hazards wrought on the Iraqi people by

the U.S. use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons. This time, he was

planning to visit hospitals to investigate child cancer caused by DU weapons.

Ms.Nahoko Takato, 34, has been independently providing emergency support in

Baghdad from last April. She was supplying local children, particularly

street children, with blankets and clothes. Mr. Soichiro Koriyama, 32,

is a freelance photographer and journalist writing about the damage done to

Iraqi people by U.S. bombing. All of them are friends of Iraq people,

but they were captured and their lives are in peril because of the Koizumi

government’s commitment to the Bush Empire.

　

The Japanese government, though politically shocked, shows little

concern about the fate of the captured. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda

told a news conference Thursday night that the government is demanding the

hostages' “immediate release.” Fukuda added, “There is no reason to

withdraw the SDF troops from Iraq because the SDF personnel are carrying

out humanitarian activities.” On 9th noon, Prime Minister Junichiro

Koizumi also announced “we will not withdraw the troops. We should not yield to despicable terror.’

　

Peace movement is quickly responding. In 9th morning, demonstration by

peace groups and civil people held in front of the Lower House and prime

minister’s official residence, and 600 people gathered. They appealed

that the three civilians were a sacrificial victim of the Government’s

policy of flattering the U.S. and demanded that the Japanese Government

immediately withdraw the Self-Defense Forces to save the lives of the captured.

　

Please send your message urging the Japanese government to immediately

withdraw the Japanese Self-Defense Forces troops from Iraq:

　

-Email to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

-Email to Mr. Shigeru Ishiba (Director-General of the Defense Agency)

　

-Email to Foreign Ministry

　

Send your cc to APA-J

---

Emergency Statement Concerning the Hostage Situation in Iraq

　

We Demand the Immediate Withdrawal of Japanese Military Troops From Iraq

and the Immediate Release of the Hostages

-----------------------------

April 9, 2004

Asia Peace Alliance Japan

　

On April 8, three Japanese were taken hostage by a group of Iraqi

resistance fighters, who are threatening to kill them unless the

Japanesemilitary troops (Self-Defense Forces) are withdrawn from Iraq within

three days. We are especially shocked that the three are people who are

against the Iraqi war, and who have been working actively to stand on the side of the Iraqi people.

　

This incident, coming after the bombardment of the SDF encampment

at Samawah, makes it clear beyond any doubt that Japan has become an

accomplice to the invasion of Iraq and, like the USA, an enemy to the

Iraqi people. On the 8th, the Japanese government held a press conference on

this incident. Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda announced that the government

would refuse to withdraw the SDF, and that the ruling Liberal Democratic

and Komei Parties supported this refusal. U.S. Secretary of Defense

Rumsfeld has praised this stand as “appropriate.” To maintain their

allegiance to the U.S. and to save their political interests the members

of the Koizumi government are thus ready to coolly sacrifice the lives of

the three young people. We find this unforgivable.

　

Asia Peace Alliance-Japan once again demands that the government

immediately withdraw the SDF forces from Iraq. At the same time we

appeal to the organization that has taken these three hostages to recognize

that Japan is not a monolithic society, that many Japanese have been fighting

against the U.S. invasion of Iraq and Japan’s support of it, and that

the people who have been taken hostage are also against the war and have

been seeking to act on the side of the Iraqi people. Do not take their lives!

We believe in the possibility of solidarity between the people of Iraq and the people of Japan.

　

This situation is the direct result of the Japanese government’s

support for and participation in the invasion of Iraq, and specifically

of the dispatch of SDF troops there. If the SDF had not been dispatched,

this never would have happened. This dispatch, besides trampling on the

Japanese Constitution, has made Japan a participant in the,

under international law illegal, U.S. invasion of Iraq.

　

Moreover, from the end of March this year all of Iraq has fallen

into a state of war. The U.S. military has surrounded the city of Falluja and

launched a full-scale attack on it supported by tanks and helicopters,

and has even bombarded a mosque, killing countless Iraqi people. The

situation is turning into a direct confrontation between the occupying forces and

the vast majority of the Iraqi people. The U.S. and its allies have now

turned the whole of Iraq into a war theater. To keep the SDF in Iraq in this

situation is a clear violation of the Iraq Special Measures Law, which

the Koizumi government itself made, that permits SDF operations only in

areas that are not combat zones. The Koizumi government’s claim that SDF

dispatch is for humanitarian support for reconstruction for the sake of

Iraqi people is only a smokescreen to hide the fact that it was

militarily taking sides in this war. The present incident, taken together with the

SDF base-targeted bombardment the previous day, has revealed this claim to

be an empty fabrication for domestic consumption. Of what possible use is

it to the Iraqi people to send troops with armored vehicles and heavy

weapons to deliver water and repair roads? NGO workers in Iraq warned time and

again that dispatch of SDF troops would make humanitarian work there

more difficult. The present incident has, unhappily, proved them right.

　

We do not wish to save only Japanese lives. Our hearts are pained

by the deaths of the many Iraqi people who would not have lost their lives

hadnot the U.S. and its allies invaded, and the people being killed and

wounded now, every day. We cannot forget that the SDF, as part of the

U.S. occupation force, also presents a threat to the lives of the Iraqi

people.We demand the withdrawal of the SDF in the hope that this will open

the　way for the withdrawal of all the troops from other countries,

and finally　of the U.S. military itself.

　

We appeal to the Koizumi government. The time to withdraw is now!

　

Asia Peace Alliance-Japan

Tel/Fax: +81-3- 5273- 8362

Email:ppsg@jca.apc.org

　

　Withdraw the Japanese Self-Defense Forces from Iraq immediately!

Save three restrained civilians’ lives!

April 8, 2004

Hokkaido Peace Net

　

Prime Minister Mr. Junichiro Koizumi,

　

Three Japanese civilians were captured by an Iraqi group named Saraya

al-Mujahideen on April 8 in Iraq. According to the media reports, the

group issued a statement saying that the three persons would be killed if

Japan did not withdraw its troops from the country within three-days. Mr.

Noriaki Imai one of the three persons in custody is a member of our Hokkaido

Peace Net. Another, Ms. Naoko Takato visited us to report on the current Iraqi

people’s situation when she returned to Hokkaido recently. If the

Self-Defense Forces of Japan had not been dispatched to Iraq, this

situation would not have happened. Now it is clear that in Iraq there is

no "the non-combatant area" which is the words repeatedly used by the

Japanese government to justify the dispatch of Japanese Self-Defense Forces to

Iraq.(The law for troops dispatch states that the Self-Defense Forces shall

operate in non-combatant area’ of Iraq.) The Government should take the

responsibility for this situation and withdraw the troops immediately as

this was caused by its policy of following in U.S.-British government's footsteps.

　

At the press conference on 8th night, Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda

said the Japanese government was trying its best to investigate facts. We

believe the top government priority is not investigation, but immediately withdraw the Self-Defense Forces.

　

We strongly demand that Japanese government immediately withdraw the

Self-Defense Forces to save the lives of the captured.

　

Hokkaido Peace Net

Mr. Kiyokazu Koshida +81-90-7519-1731(mobile)

Ms. Hisako Nanao +81-70-5115-7037(mobile)

URGENT APPEAL

Release the three Japanese hostages!

Withdraw the Self Defense Force from Iraq immediately!

　

by World Peace Now, Japan

　

On 8th of April, a group of registers against the occupation of Iraq captured

three Japanese civilians. We deeply regret that the worst ever thing that we could have imagined has happened.

　

Those three Japanese civilians have been working for Iraq people, especially

for poor children and the victims of the depleted uranium. They are against

the occupation of Iraq and the dispatch of Japanese Self Defense Force to

Iraq. They are friends of Iraq people. We don’t understand why they have to

be captured and their lives threatened. It is such a tragic affair.

　

We strongly demand those who captured them not to take their lives. The captives

are the very people who try to stop the Japanese government from committing more crimes.

We of the Japanese peace movement promise to continue our consistent efforts

to end the occupation of Iraq and end Japanese government involvement in the occupation of Iraq.

　

We strongly demand the Prime Minister, Mr. Koizumi Junichiro, to withdraw the

SDF from Iraq immediately. He should already know that sending the SDF to Iraq

only undermines lives and dignity of people both in Iraq and Japan. He should

take the responsibility for his policy of being a mere follower of George Bush.

　

Save the precious life of everyone!　

---

　 　IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE SHARING ALL THE WORLD!　Another World Is Possible -- and Necessary ! VISIT "Global IMAGINE" !

A CITIZENS' DECLARATION　(As a US-led invasion of Iraq begins, we, the undersigned citizens of many countries, reaffirm our commitment to addressing international conflicts through the rule of law and the United Nations. By joining together across countries and continents, we have emerged as a new force for peace. As we grieve for the victims of this war, we pledge to redouble our efforts to put an end to the Bush Administration's doctrine of pre-emptive attack and the reckless use of military power. )

Urgent Protest Statement Opposing the Attack on Iraq and Japan's Support Again from Concerned Scholars in Japan!

April 5, 2003 I have traveled in India and Malaysia just from the beginning of the US-UK attack on Iraq through yesterday. There were strong protest rallies against the US-UK coalition attacks on Iraq. One photo impressed me. This is from the top page of "New Straits Times," a quality business newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, on April 2,2003. The explanation of picture said, "Butchered in Babylon: Razzaq al-Khafaj weeps over the coffins of his mother in Hilla. a town in the southem Iraqi province of Babylon. Razzaq lost 15 members of his family, including six children, when his car was bombed by coalition helicopters while fleeing the town of al-Haidariyeh. The bodies of an Iraqi women and her child lie in a coffin after the US bombed a residential quarter yesterday." The title of this article was "Civilians killed at checkpoint. Arab anger fuelled: Blow to hopes that Iraqis would welcome invasion."

One of my British friends sent me a statement, "NO TO SADAMU! NO TO WAR!"

This war is not about the brutality of Saddam and his despotic regime.When we were fighting to get rid of Saddam, the US and British governments kept him in power. They armed him with the chemical weapons that he used against us and the people of Halabja.

This war is not about the liberation of the Iraqi people. Killing and maiming people in their tens of thousands and destroying their homes, schools, hospitals and workplaces is a sick way of trying to `liberate' them.

This war is not about fighting terrorism. Terrorism will only increase as a result of this war. This war and its aftermath will provide another grievance and another excuse for Islamic terrorists to exploit for many years to come for their own horrific and reactionary ends just as they have been doing with the injustices against the Palestinian people.

This war is not about Weapons of Mass Destruction. The biggest stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are held by the US and British governments themselves. USA is the only state in the world to have actually used nuclear weapons against hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. Twelve years of economic sanctions have killed up to half a million people in Iraq, while strengthening the regime of Saddam. Economic sanctions have been one of the biggest Weapons of Mass Destruction.

With this war, the US and British governments are following their own inhuman political agenda. This war is the pretext for the USA to assert its unquestioning world supremacy as the biggest military and economic power in the world at the cost of tens of thousands of lives and mass destruction. The British government is playing the role of a junior partner in this bloody campaign to share in the spoils and strengthen its position vis-a-vis its rivals.

The reactionary opposition groupings in Iraq, the monarchists, Islamists, Kurdish nationalist gangs and former army officers and secret service agents of the Iraqi regime, are not the representatives of the Iraqi people. They are warlords and self-appointed rulers who already have a dark and bloody record of repression against the people of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. They are not the `liberators' of the people of Iraq. They are, rather, the new Iraqi Contras - armed and financed by the CIA and Pentagon and/or various repressive regional states such as the Islamic regime in Iran. A devastating war and the unleashing of these forces is the grim future being planned by Bush and Blair for the Iraqi people.

The people of Iraq do not want a bloody war that will kill and maim hundreds of thousands, destroy people's homes, strengthen terrorists, nationalists, Islamists and other reactionary forces, and make Iraqi people's struggle for freedom and civil liberties that much harder. Genuine freedom in Iraq will only come when the people of Iraq are able to conduct their struggles against the regime of Saddam or any other repressive regime without the threat of war, without the murderous economic sanctions and without intimidation by US and British militarism.

Stop playing with the lives of the Iraqi people! No war!

　

International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (UK) (Contact Dashty Jamal: d.jamal@ukonline.co.uk 07734 704742)

Middle East Centre for Women's Rights (Contact Nadia Mahmoud nadia64uk@yahoo.com 07890 065933)

Independent Women's Organisation in Iraqi Kurdistan Committee to Defend Women's Rights in Iraqi Kurdistan (Contact Sawsan Salim: sawsan.s@ukonline.co.uk 07748 851125)

SUPPORT the "War Victims Solidarity Fund"(http://www.freewebs.com/tcfactory/peace/iraqfund.html)　

　

My German friend, Dr. Jasim Ahmed, sent his friends the following statement.

　

Gegen den imperokapitalistischen Krieg

　

Dieses Blatt ist lediglich ein kleiner Beitrag zur Verbreitung des Verstaednisses fuer die Logik gegen die Selbstverstaendlichkeit eines Krieges. Es ist weder ein Krieg der Kulturen oder Religionen, noch ein Krieg fuer den Frieden, der zur Zeit die Welt plagt, sondern ein Krieg um die Weltherrschaft unter grober Miｧachtung des V嗟kerrechts und zur Unterdr歡kung anderer V嗟ker ﾐ ein imperokapitalistischer Krieg.

　

1. Dieser habgierige Krieg ist den USA billliger als die freie Konkurrenz im Weltmarkt.

Der verlockende, angeblich schnell zu erledigende High-Tech-Warfare ohne eigenen Verlust hat den Krieg 縢殤schenswerterﾒ gemacht als je zuvor ﾐ 縉nvermeidlicherﾒ, 縢ahrscheinlicherﾒ und den Menschen 綸er Weltﾒ zunehmend annehmbarer, mit Zuhilfenahme von Medienkonzernen und verf獲schten Propagandadossiers. (Nicht nur Diktatoren l殀en, sondern auch andere Kreigstreiber).

2. Dieser Krieg bringt keinen Frieden sondern parzelliert sich selbst, sein Schauplatz wird von der

sichtbaren 絎akroﾒ-Ebene auf eine heimt歡kische 絎ikroﾒ-Ebene verschoben, zerstreut in kleine bewegliche Schlachtfelder (sowohl von Terroristen als auch Groｧm劃hten) und so werden die Imperokapitalisten noch kriegslustiger, aber auch der Kampf gegen sie mit terroristischen Mitteln unkontrollerbarer. Dies geht auf Kosten friedlicher Nationen.

3. Dieser Krieg dient der Wiederbelebung des Kolonialisamus ﾐ dem Neokolonialismus

W撹rend in der Kolonialepoche diejenige Kolonialmacht die Welt regierte, die die Ozeane zu kontrollieren imstande war, ist nun der einzigen Supermacht unserer Zeit bewuｧt geworden, daｧ, wem die Lufthoheit (All-Hoheit) 歟er alle Nationen mittels Satellitenkrieg gelingt, dem geh嗷t die Welt. Der gerechte Kampf der unterdr歡kten und gedem殳igten V嗟ker gegen diese Supermacht und seine befreundeten Okkupationsregimes wird eine terroristische Koalition zwischen den gerechten K確pfern und religi嘖en oder politischen Fudamentalisten erm喩lichen. Dies wird wiederum die Imperokapitalisten dazu treiben, auf Kosten der friedlichen Nationen Kriege zu f殄ren und kolonial撹nliche Okkupationen in ressourcenreichen Gebieten fortzusetzen.

3. Den Imperokapitalisten ist es leichter geworden als je zuvor, mit ihren Medienmonopolverbunden

die Motive ihrer Handlungen und Kriege zu vertuschen und deren Folgen zu besch嗜igen. Der Gestank des Kriegs wird verdr穫gt, sein Ergebnis mediengerecht pr郭entiert. Krieg wird in umenschlicher Art verherrlicht.

4. Der Fundamentalismus ist nicht dem Islam ureigen

Die Konzentration der Kriege auf Regionen mit �lquellen, die verst較kt in 緤slamischen Gebietenﾒ vorkommen, erweckt oft in Diskussionen den Verdacht, der Islam sei terroristisch, sch殲e Fundamentalismus. Aber der Kampf gegen Okkupation und Ausbeutung mit bewaffneten Mitteln gab es und gibt es auch in anderen Regionen. Fundamentalismus und politischer Terror gehen auch durch alle Religionen und politische Bewegungen. Denn wer hat sonst Mahatma Gandhi ermordet? Ein fundamentalistischer Hinduaktivist. Premierminister Itzak Rabin? Ein zionistischer Siedlungsfanatiker. Premierministerin Indira Gandhi? Und ihren Sohn, ebenfalls Premierminister? Und Martin Luther King in den USA? Wer ver歟t Anschl拡e gegen �rtzte, die in den USA Abtreibung durchf殄ren? Im 歟rigen hatte auch die englische Kolonialmacht die bewaffneten Freiheitk確pfer der indischen Befreiungsbewegung juristisch als Terroristen deklariert (die weiｧ Gott keine Fundamentalisten waren, sondern um ihre gerechte Freiheit k確pften).

5. Es stecken imperokapitalische Ziele dahinter, wenn die einzige Supermacht sich von vornherein darauf festgelgt hatte, Saddam mit Krieg zu entwaffnen.

Saddam ist ein widerlicher Gewaltherrscher. Aber gab es und gibt es nicht genug Beispiele von Diktaturen, die von den USA errichtet oder aufrechterhalten wurden? Aber eine Aktion gegen Diktatur und Menschenrechtverletzung muｧte immer im Sinne des Imperokapitalismus sein. Wo war sonst die Welt w撹rend der Massent嗾ung und Menschenrechtverletzung in Bangladesh (1971), Vietnam (60er, 70er Jahre), Ruanda, Chile und auch jetzt in vielen Gebieten auｧerhalb wirtschaftlich interessanter Gebiete?

　

Deshalb, arrgumentieren Sie, handeln Sie gegen Terrorismus und sein Gegenst歡k, den Imperokapitalismus. Boykottieren Sie Kreigstreiber und habgierige Weltm劃hte, meiden Sie Waren aus deren H穫den. Wenn dies nicht m喩lich ist, 隔ｧern Sie sich kritisch 歟er sie, und wenn dies nicht m喩lich ist, verachten Sie innerlich Kriegslust, Habgier, Fundamentalismus und Diktatur in all ihren Formen und Tendenzen. Denn Verachtung und Widerstand der Menschheit werden auf kurz oder lang bestimmt jeden Diktator zugrunde richten, den Diktator einer Nation ebenso wie globalmarktpolitische Diktatoren.

　

Dr. Jasim Ahmed, Greesgraben 25, 53359 Rheinbach.

　

March 20, 2003

Urgent Protest Statement

Opposing the Attack on Iraq and Japan's Support

Again from Concerned Scholars in Japan!

　

1. We urge United States and Britain to stop the military operation

against Iraq immediately and return to the Security Council of the

United Nations to find the peaceful solution.

　

From all aspects of the affairs, the Charter of the United Nations and

related international laws cannot legitimate this attack. Despite United

States' claim of the self-defense right, Iraqi threat is not

well-founded so as to acquire an international consensus over it. The

chief UN weapon inspector, Mr. Blix reported on March 7 that the

inspection has proceeded despite all limitations and needs a few months

more before its completion. Even if suspected weapons of

mass-destruction remain in Iraq still, their abolition should be pursued

through a stepped-up inspection.

In the meantime United States added the dethroning of Hussein to her

objectives. However, the military action aiming an overthrow of

government clearly violates the 2nd Article 4th Clause of the UN

Charter. We believe that criticism and resistance of the people are the

most effective and ever-lasting ways to oppose the repressive

dictatorship such as Hussein's in Iraq.

After resigning to pursue a fresh resolution at the UN Security

Council, US maintains that the UNSC Resolution 1441 provides the mandate

for the Iraq attack. However, Resolution 1441 prescribes that the UNSC

decides the Iraqi's abolition of the weapons on the grounds of the UN

Inspection Mission. It does not entrust one nation to attack Iraq on an

arbitrary decision.

In case such a military action is permitted in the world,

international order will decay into a state of lawlessness, where power

dominates reason, full of military attacks and overthrows of governments.

In case the UN admits such an arbitrary action of US and Britain, the

mission of the UN is spoiled and its contribution to the world peace

comes to an end. We ask the UN to keep its position firmly on the base

of the mutual understanding of all nations of the world.

　

2. We protest against all inhumanities during the war and demand the

prohibition of nuclear weapons and other large-scale destructive weapons.

　

We are concerned deeply about the use of the newest and large-scale

weapons that supercede those used in the Afghan War in this Iraqi

attack. It's really ridiculous that a war aiming the abolition of

mass-destructive weapons is performed by using similar, even more

destructive weapons. This war brings tragic deaths and injuries,

famine, and environmental disaster to Iraq. Such American-led violence

will only intensify hatred and inspire terror all over the world.

We demand the UN to monitor the use of mass-destructive weapons and

other inhumanities during the war and accuse responsible

persons/organizations for them.

Now, the glass-root protest against the military actions is growing

day by day in the whole world. This protest emerges from the fear and

anger against the war as well as against the repressive dictatorship

such as Hussein's in Iraq. We, the signers of the statement, would like

to stand with those in this world-wide wave of the protesting people.

　

3. We strongly protest the Japanese Government against her supporting

attitude for the US's military action. We urge the Government to stop

immediately any actions that may be related to the war.

　

The support for US's attack violates also the Constitution of Japan

that renounces the war as the "means of settling international

disputes". Japanese government, so far backing the US-Britain-Spain

proposal in the UN Security Council, immediately declared her support of

the US, saying the US's military action is legitimated by the 1441 and

other Resolutions. But this decision of the government has been never

discussed in the Diet, to say nothing of the approval. This offends the

principle of parliament democracy.

Therefore, we urge the Japanese government to stop any actions that

support the war, including the operations of Aegis vessels on the Indian

Ocean, and to refrain from any sharing of the war expenses by the public

fund.

　

March 19, 2003

***********************************

We are the group of researchers of social sciences and humanities in

Japan that published the following Anti-War opinion on THE ASAHI

SHIMBUN, February 27, and the MAINICHI SHIMBUN, March 4, with the names

of 1,473 signers.

We hope you understand our wish for the peace

---

AN APPEAL FROM CONCERNED SCHOLARS IN JAPAN

AGAINST US ATTACK ON IRAQ

AND

AGAINST JAPAN'S SUPPORT OF THE WAR.

　

The United States is preparing to invade Iraq.

(1) If the people of the world cannot stop this attack, international

order will decay into a state of lawlessness, where power dominates reason.

(2) Military action by the US and her allies will bring tragic deaths

and injuries, famine, and environmental disaster to Iraq. Such

American-led violence will only intensify hatred and inspire terror all

over the world.

(3) Most Japanese people wish for a peaceful solution to this conflict.

　

As researchers in social sciences and humanities in Japan, we strongly

urge the Government to respect the wishes of the Japanese people by not

supporting military action in Iraq by the US and her allies.

　

INITIATORS:

Akama Michio (Ehime Univ.), Fukamachi Ikuya (Kyushu Univ., em.),

Fukudome Hisao (Kyushu Univ.), Iida Hiroyasu (Teikyo Univ.), Imura

Kiyoko (Keio Univ., em.), Ishii Kanji (Tokyo Keizai Univ.), Ito

Makoto, Ito Masanao (Univ. of Tokyo), Kitahara Isamu (Keio Univ., em.),

Kobayashi Noboru (Rikkyo Univ., em.), Miyamoto Kenichi (Osaka City

Univ., em.), Mizuta Hiroshi (Nagoya Univ., em.), Mori Hideki (Nagoya

Univ.), Morioka Koji (Kansai Univ.), Nakatani Takeshi (Kobe Univ.),

Nishikawa Masao (Senshu Univ.), Ouchi Tsutomu (Univ. of Tokyo, em.),

Okada Susumu (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies., em.), Otani

Teinosuke (Hosei Univ.), Shibagaki Kazuo (Musashi Univ.), Tairako

Tomonaga (Hitotsubashi Univ.), Tashiro Yoichi (Yokohama National Univ.),

Tsuruta Mitsuhiko (Chuo Univ.), Uehara Nobuhiro (Shizuoka Univ., em.),

Yagi Kiichiro (Kyoto Univ.), Yoshihara Taisuke (Fukushima Univ.)

　

1,473 signers and 49 anonyumous donnators.

Feb.14, 2003Urgent Appeal on Iraq by Scholars of Allied Occupation of Japan！

U.S. PLANS FOR WAR AND OCCUPATION IN IRAQ ARE A HISTORICAL MISTAKE

An Urgent Appeal from Students of the Allied Occupation of Japan

The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has announced plans to occupy Iraq, following "pre-emptive" military strikes, based on the so-called Japanese model -- the post-World War II Allied occupation of Japan. As students of the Japanese occupation, we protest this reckless and self-serving misreading of history and strongly urge the U.S. government to reconsider its ill-conceived project of war and occupation.

A careful look at the Japanese example suggests many reasons why that experience is inapplicable to U.S. plans for a post-invasion Iraq.

The U.S.-led occupation of Japan (1945-52) derived its legitimacy from a broad Allied consensus, as expressed in the Potsdam Proclamation, issued by Britain and the United States on July 26, 1945. Emperor Hirohito and the Japanese government agreed to accept the Potsdam terms, surrender unconditionally, and dismantle the Imperial armed forces. As a result, during the six years and eight months of the Allied presence, there were no armed clashes or serious incidents between American military forces and the Japanese people. The occupation was able to proceed peacefully and in a spirit of relative good will.

　

The Allied army of occupation relied on a staff composed largely of American civilian administrators who induced democratic reform by working indirectly through already existing governmental institutions and agencies. As a result, the emperor, the Japanese government, and the people cooperated in demilitarizing and democratizing the country.

　

The framework proposed for a post-invasion Iraq is radically different. There is no broad legal or moral consensus for the Bush administration's Iraq project, which is opposed by world opinion and by most of America's close allies. An occupation probably would be carried out unilaterally by U.S. armed forces acting solely on Washington's authority. It is difficult to imagine Saddam Hussein doing a volte face and cooperating with the American occupier, as did Emperor Hirohito. Indeed, that is why President Bush is determined to overthrow the Iraqi dictator. The destruction of Hussein's government, however, may also preclude the possibility of a peaceful occupation.

　

Japan's Asian neighbors, victims of Japanese wartime aggression, supported the Allied occupation. Some, such as China and the Philippines, also participated in the Far Eastern Commission, the Allied policy-making body for post-defeat Japan. Iraq's neighbors are Muslim societies sharing a common Islamic culture and history. They are strongly against American plans to topple Saddam Hussein and replace his government with a pro-Western regime and will oppose even more fiercely the presence of a large non-Muslim garrison force. Moreover, a U.S. occupation may further inflame the Palestinian problem, making peace in the Middle East difficult, if not impossible, to attain.

　

If U.S. plans for Iraq bear no resemblance to the Japanese example, why, then, does the Bush administration persist in such a spurious comparison? The Allied occupation of Japan not only reformed the nation's political institutions, insuring the rapid transition from militarism to democracy, but revitalized the economy, laying the foundation for Japan's emergence as an industrial superpower. At the same time, however, it subordinated the new political system and Japan's foreign policy to U.S. strategic interests in Asia, producing, after the return of sovereignty, a long-term "subordinate independence." This appears to be the real significance of the Bush administration's disingenuous effort to resurrect the "Japanese model." The current U.S. occupation project, as conveyed by the media, appears to be a cynical attempt to justify Washington's bellicose Iraq policy and promote its post-invasion plans for the region.

　

The success of an American military occupation in Iraq is highly problematic. In Japan, the reform program moved ahead relatively smoothly due to a prewar democratic tradition, the absence of armed conflict, the maintenance of internal social order, and the survival of governing institutions, including the emperor. Iraq does not have a similar history of democratic governance. U.S. plans to kill or overthrow Saddam Hussein and place top Iraqi leaders on trial could lead to protracted fighting and internal disorder. Even Iraqis who hate Hussein may not welcome the destruction of their political and social institutions. In a worst-case scenario, the American attack is expected to kill or maim hundreds of thousands of civilians, ruin the economy, and disrupt food delivery, health services, and sanitation. Far from "democratizing" Iraq, U.S. military rule most likely will intensify tribal, ethnic, and religious conflicts. Lack of popular support and wartime control under conditions of belligerency will necessitate continuing authoritarian governance.

　

Moreover, the Pentagon has recommended the use of nuclear arms against Iraq in a battlefield emergency. Contingency plans for the use of weapons of mass destruction mock any suggestion of legitimacy for a "pre-emptive" war and occupation and further erode America's claims to moral authority. Remembering Japan's experience of atomic holocaust, we deplore such thinking in the strongest possible terms.

　

An occupation of Iraq seems destined to fail for another reason. Whereas Japan possessed few natural resources, Iraq has the world's second largest proven reserves of petroleum. Iraqis may well conclude that the U.S. invasion and occupation are designed mainly to gain unrestricted access to their oil fields. Few are likely to collaborate with an occupation authority that is believed to covet this prime resource for its own use.

　

American occupying forces will encounter yet another obstacle. U.S. policy planning for postwar Japan began three years before the defeat. Thousands of Americans studied Japan's history and language and, in the last year of the war, underwent intensive training in civil administration. The occupation succeeded due in part to the detailed knowledge these administrative experts acquired about Japan's social and political institutions and culture. There is no evidence that the United States is now preparing a similar group of dedicated experts or developing comparable post-invasion policies consonant with Iraq's history, political system, and culture.

　

Another striking difference is the preponderant role played by General Douglas MacArthur in effecting a positive outcome. The charismatic Allied Supreme Commander had an understanding of Japan's history and cultural traditions. He earned the respect of ordinary people, enabling him to wield enormous civil authority effectively and implement liberal reforms quickly. MacArthur also attempted to propagate Christianity in hopes that Japan would become a Christian nation, but not even he was able to challenge traditional religious beliefs. Despite MacArthur's best efforts, the small Christian community failed to grow during the occupation.

　

We see no military figure of comparable moral or intellectual stature in the United States today. With or without such an individual, however, it is absurd to imagine that an American military occupation can, in a short period of time, win the confidence and cooperation of the Iraqi people, bridge ethnic and religious differences, overhaul their national institutions, and bring about a change in thinking based on American political values and ideological beliefs.

　

Japan has a special obligation to warn its American ally against such folly. Yet, instead of offering wise counsel, the Japanese government is at work on a new law that will skirt the Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9 and send Self-Defense Forces to provide "humanitarian support" for American soldiers and sailors in the Persian Gulf. We call on the Japanese people and their elected representatives to remember Japan's own tragic experience of war and occupation and to decide for themselves the most appropriate way to assist the Iraqi people .

　

If history is not to repeat itself, we who have lived through the horrors of this "century of war" have a moral duty to transmit its painful lessons to those who inherit the new century.

　

As students of the Japanese occupation, we believe that the Bush administration's plans for war and occupation in Iraq are a historical mistake and strongly urge the United States to seek a peaceful solution to the present crisis.

　

January 24, 2003

　

AWAYA Kentaro (Professor, St. Paul's University, Japan)　

Hans H. BAERWALD (former Occupation official, Professor Emeritus, UCLA, U.S.)　

Herbert P. BIX (Professor, Binghamton University, U.S.)　

Bruce CUMINGS (Professor, University of Chicago, U.S.)　

John W. DOWER (Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.)　

Norma FIELD (Professor, University of Chicago, U.S.)　

FURUKAWA Atsushi (Professor, Senshu University, Japan)　

Andrew GORDON (Professor, Harvard University, U.S.)　

Laura E. HEIN (Professor, Northwestern University, U.S.)　

Glenn D. HOOK (Professor, University of Sheffield, U.K.)　

HOSOYA Masahiro (Professor, Doshisha University, Japan)

KOSEKI Shoichi (Professor, Dokkyo University, Japan)

J. Victor KOSCHMANN (Professor, Cornell University, U.S.)　

C. Douglas LUMMIS (Political scientist and writer, Okinawa, Japan)

Gavan MCCORMACK (Professor, Australian National University, Australia)　

Richard M. MINEAR (Professor, University of Massachusetts, U.S.)　

MIYAGI Etsujiro (Professor Emeritus, Ryukyu University, Japan)　

Michael MOLASKY (Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, U.S.)　

Joe B. MOORE (Professor, University of Victoria, Canada)　

NAKAMURA Masanori (Professor Emeritus, Hitotsubashi University, Japan)

Robert RICKETTS (Professor, Wako University, Japan)　

Mark SELDEN (Professor, Binghamton University, U.S.)　

SODEI Rinjiro (Professor Emeritus, Hosei University, Japan)　

TAKEMAE Eiji (Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Keizai University, Japan)　

TANAKA Yoshiyuki (Professor, Hiroshima Peace Research Institute, Japan)　

TOYOSHITA Narahiko (Professor, Kansei Gakuin University, Japan)　

YUI Daizaburo (Professor, Tokyo University, Japan)

　

For more information, please contact Robert Ricketts: uh8r-rckt@asahi-net.or.jp

---

Feb.10, 2003World Economic Forum vs. World Social Forum, DAVOS VERSUS PORTO ALEGRE, ROUND THREE

■Other Eyes: Globalization and its effects seen by those who resist 　

■World Social Forum Grows, Diversifies in Third Year

■More than 100,000 expected at `anti-Davos' World Social Forum in Brazil

■India, not Brazil, to Host Next Year's World Social Forum

■World Social Forum: A Shout for Peace and Change

■World Social Forum: A Not So Little Leap Forward

Jan.1, 2003I began a new social movement, a peaceful recovery of Japanese children kidnapped by North Korea.

Please visit,

■"We Want Our People Back!　 The Seven Individuals Protest Against North Korea's Abduction of Japanese Citizens!".

■Tetsuro Kato, "Concentration Camps in the USSR - Their Destructive Social Impact"

■Comparative Analysis of Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany, the Former Soviet Union and North Korea

■The Chosun Journal: Informing, provoking, mobilizing consciences for the sake of human rights in North Korea

■Amnesty International Library

■Koreans Kidnapped by North korea

■US Department of State:�Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices��- 2000

■NKHR(Citizen's Alliance for North Korean Human Rights)

■NK Chosun

■DPRKorea Infobank:Pan-Pacific Economic Development Association of Korean Nationals

■DURIHANA MISSION

■Nknet(Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights)

■NED(The National Endowment for Democracy)

■Labor in the USSR Is a Matter of Honor, Courage, and Heroism (An International Gulag Net)

■Targeting North Korea　By Gregory Elich、

■THINK Their Home Isn't North Korea: Information and Resources on North Korean Abduction of the Japanese

■Abduction of the Japanese by North Korea in the English Media

　

About the War in Iraq,

■About "United for Peace"

■United For Peace! Stop the War in Iraq!

■Don't Attack Iraq; Work Through the U.N. 　A joint campaign of Progressive Portal and Global Exchange

■AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY OPPOSING A U.S. INVASION OF IRAQ

■Health Community Against the War

■Media Workers Against the War：TELL YOUR MP: 'NO TO ATTACKS ON IRAQ'

■rooting out evil! expanding the search for weapons of mass destruction

■Edward Said, "Immediate imperatives"

Oct 20, 2002 One year later, we are still facing a new war to iraq!

■September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

■No War With Iraq

■Al Ahram, "Israel, Iraq, And The US"

■World Wide Peace Demonstration!

■U.S. ANTI-WAR RALLIES photo gallery

■The Iraq Action Coalition

Oct 1, 2002　　I recommend you to visit the sites below and sign the petition!

■AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY OPPOSING A U.S. INVASION OF IRAQ

■Don't Attack Iraq; Work Through the U.N. A joint campaign of Progressive Portal and Global Exchange

■Americans Against War With Iraq (AAWWI)

■Petition to Congress"No War on Iraq"

■Health Community Against the War Petition

■Media Workers Against the War：TELL YOUR MP: 'NO TO ATTACKS ON IRAQ'

■ZNet Open Letter to the UN Secretary General（ZNN、Z NET）

　

■ How many people would die in an Iraqi War?　By Michael O'Hanlon,

■A Dangerous Game by RICHARD FALK

■Oiling the Wheels of War by MICHAEL T. KLARE

■Congress and War by JOHN NICHOLS

■Letters: How 9/11 Changed Our Lives

■The Mantra That Means This Time It's Serious by Robert Fisk

■Chomsky replies about Avoiding American Crimes

■Drain The Swamp And There Will Be No More Mosquitoes by Noam Chomsky

■Anti-War in Iraq 2002

■The Case Against War by STEPHEN ZUNES

■The Legacy of the Battle for Seattle by TOM HAYDEN

■The Left and 9/11 by ADAM SHATZ

■Enemy Aliens and American Freedoms by DAVID COLE

■An Open Letter To America From Chilean Ariel Dorfman

■One Year On A View From The Middle East by Robert Fisk

■What Bush's "war on terror" is really about Arnove Interviews Zinn

■This War Is A Failure by John Pilger

■Doing As The Romans Did by Tariq Ali

■Terrorism Before and After 9-11 by Mark Selden

　

---

Sept.15, 2002One year after 9.11, we can see new possibilities of War and Internet politics.

■The September 11 Digital Archive: Saving the Histories of September 11,2001

■The September 11 Web Archive

■One year later: September 11 and the Internet

■Alter Net Special: 9/11 One Year Later

■Albert Interviews Chomsky on Iraq

■John Pilger," Remembering 9/11"

■Ted Rall,"The Truth About Sept. 11"

■ Robert Fisk,"Be Very Afraid Bush Productions is going into action"

■Lorraine Adams,"Terrorism and the English Language"

■"Generation Interrupted: High School Students On 9/11"

■Howard Zinn,"Looking Back To See The Challenge Ahead"

■Howard Zinn, "What War Looks Like"

■Marty Jezer,"Patriotism and Dissent"

■John Tirman,"One Year Later: Unintended Consequences of 9/11 and the War on Terrorism"

■Katrina vanden Heuvel ,"The Patriotism We Need Now "

■ ♪Gary Margolis ,"Poem: Driving To Nova Scotia On The Maine Turnpike Near Brunswick"、

■♪Steven Rosenfeld ,"Daily Life Interrupted: Prayers and Remembrances"

■♪Shari Garn,"Send Me A Voice"

■Robert F. Drinan,"The American Conscience Obscured"

■Mary Kaldor ,"Containing Terrorism, Spreading Human Rights "

■ Richard Goldstein,"Day of Attunement: Observing 9/11 The Jewish Way"

■David Corn," Impaired Intelligence"

■Norman Solomon,"The Powell Trap -- Easing Us into War"

■Sandy Zipp,"Casualties of Consensus"

■ Michelle Goldberg,"Flag-Draped Voyeurism"

■Marc Cooper,"The "Maybe War" Faction"

■Jason Vest.Coming Soon: "Total War" On the Middle East

■ Doug Ireland,"Not So Fast"

■Anti-War in Iraq 2002

■The Case Against War by STEPHEN ZUNES

■The Legacy of the Battle for Seattle by TOM HAYDEN

■The Left and 9/11 by ADAM SHATZ

■Enemy Aliens and American Freedoms by DAVID COLE

■An Open Letter To America From Chilean Ariel Dorfman

■One Year On A View From The Middle East by Robert Fisk

■What Bush's "war on terror" is really about Arnove Interviews Zinn

■This War Is A Failure by John Pilger

■Doing As The Romans Did by Tariq Ali

■Terrorism Before and After 9-11 by Mark Selden,

■Edward Said ,"Punishment by detail "

■Robert Fisk," Return to Afghanistan: Families of the Disappeared Demand Answers"

■Gila Svirsky, "Coalition of Women for Peace: From the Peace Front in Israel"

■ David Corn,"Leaks and Lies"

■ Richard Falk ,"The Rush to War"

■The Nation,"Bubble Capitalism"

■Tom Hayden,"Dying for Work"

■John Nichols,"No Consensus on Iraq"

■Micah L. Sifry ,"Greens at the Crossroads"

■David Corn,"Cultural Treason?--The Right Targets Musician Steve Earle"

---

August 1, 2002

■Jeffrey Chester & Gary O. Larson, " A 12-Step Program for Media Democracy"

■Bill Berkowitz,　"AmeriSnitchn an era of heightened surveillance"　("Neigborhood Watch" might mean the little old lady next door is a government informant

■Chris Fitzpatrick,"Paranoia over Privacy"

■ David Corn ,"Bush and the Billionaire: How Insider Capitalism Benefited W."

■Bill Berkowitz,"War Toys for Tots"

■The Japan question Could the United States suffer as much as Japan has?

■Base21"Two Korean girls killed by U.S. military vehicle"

---

July 15, 2002I will not stop to talk about the war, with following sites and articles,

■ZNN

■Noam Chomsky, A World Without War

■Noam Chomsky, Questions On Israel」

■Justin Podur interviews Noam Chomsky on Colombia , Cauca: Their Fate Lies in Our Hands

■Noam ChomskyTerror and Just Response、

■Chomsky Interview by Dimitriadis Epaminondas、

■Edward Said, One Way Street

■AN AlterNet Editorial: Give it Back, Mr. President 、

■Paul Krugman, The Insider Game

■Janet McIntosh, What Have the 9/11 Investigators Overlooked?

■Debating September 11

■ Emma Ruby-Sachs & Asa Pittman，Cartooning Terror (good!)、

■Richard Falk, The New Bush Doctrine

■What's on Nuclear Power's Menu?

■Tai Moses, Osama bin Laden: Now You See Him, Now You Don't

■John Pilger, Wasted Freedom

May 15, 2002I met Mr. Paul Arenson, the webmaster of

. We will exchange our new link pages　and connect our US-Japan netizen activities. Thank you , Paul!

---

March 1, 2002

■Project for Excellence in Journalism, "Return to Normalcy? 　How the Media Have Covered the War on Terrorism"

■ERIC SLATER,　"AFGHANISTAN: Emerging evidence of US atrocities"

■Naomi Klein, "Porto Alegre, Brazil: 'Bad Capitalist! No Martini'"

■Mark Weisbrot, "Two World Forums: Ideology vs. Pragmatism? "

■Paul Kingsnorth, "The end of the beginning?"

■ Jennifer BlockToday, "Porto Alegre. Tomorrow ...?"

■ Norman Solomon, "The Porto Alegre Media Blackout"

■ Doug Henwood, " Listening In on the WEF"

■Walter Truett Anderson, "The Anti-globalization Movement Changes Its Tune"

■ Noah Shachtman, "Hacktivists Stage Virtual Sit-In at WEF Web site"

■Jennifer L. Pozner, "Whatever Happened to the Gender Gap?"

■ Nat Hentoff, " FBI Knocking at Your Door"

■Todd Gitlin , "Cranking the 'axis of evil' "

■Derrick Ashong, " Patriotism as a National Decoy"

■Emergency: Terrorism and War ZNet's highlighted essays organized by author and focus

■Noam Chomsky , Stephen R. Shalom Interviews

■ Uwe Parpart, "Japan the Asian Argentina?"

■Michael Moore, "George W. in the Garden of Gethsemane"

■ David Corn, "US Mis-strikes in Afghanistan: Accidents or Possible War Crimes?"

■ R. Barber, "Beyond Jihad Vs. McWorld"

■Nobel Laureates Centennial Appeal

■Mark Crispin Miller, "What's Wrong With This Picture?"

■Jeff Lustig, "Free Speech -- Casualty of War? "

■ Joan Konner, "Media's Patriotism Provides a Shield for Bush"

■ Ira Chernus, "The Big Lie is Bush's Most Powerful Weapon"

■Robert Hunter Wade, "America's Empire Rules an Unbalanced World"

■Professor Marc W. Herold, "A Dossier on Civilian Victims of United States' Aerial　Bombing of Afghanistan: A Comprehensive Accounting"

Jan.1, 2002

■Attack On America: Tuesday 11 September 2001

■Speech & Transcript Center

■Responce to Terrorism

■Adam Mayblum,"The Price We Pay"

■WHY THIS WAR?

■R.C. Longworth,"A Nation Alone: Even Our Friends Don't Share America's Image of Itself"

■ London Observer, "Let This Be a Brave New Year"

■ Molly Ivins, "How We Could Still Lose in Afghanistan"

■ Tamara Straus, "The War for Public Opinion "

■Walden Bello, "THE AMERICAN WAY OF WAR"、

■"A POEM FOR BUSH : YOU SEE NO ONE, YOU HEAR NO ONE", "A SONG FOR EVERYONE: DEMOCRACYIS COMING"

■Rasil Basu, "The Rape of Afghanistan"

■Sara Austin, " Where Are the Women?"

■ Marianne Manilov, "The Right in the Classroom"

■Robert W. McChesney & John Nichols, "The Making of a Movement"

■ Al Franken, Ani DiFranco, et al., "Take This Media...Please!"

■ Jonathan Schell , "Letter From Ground Zero"

■" Nobel Laureates Centennial Appeal"

■"Parliamentary committee says 11 September was rooted in poverty and injustice"

■David Held , "Violence, Law and Justice in a Global Age"

■Leo Panitch, "The meaning of September 11th for the Left"

■ Noam Chomsky, "The War in Afghanistan Excerpted from Lakdawala lecture (New Delhi , Online version with notes,prepared Dec. 30)

■ Chris Wright, "Predicting 9-11 "

■ Deborah James, "Collateral Damage Made Real"

■Professor Marc W. Herold, "A Dossier on Civilian Victims of United States' Aerial　Bombing of Afghanistan: A Comprehensive Accounting"

■Benjamin R. Barber, "Beyond Jihad Vs. McWorld"

■Nobel Laureates Centennial Appeal

■Mark Crispin Miller, "What's Wrong With This Picture?"

■Jeff Lustig, "Free Speech -- Casualty of War? "

■ Joan Konner, "Media's Patriotism Provides a Shield for Bush"

■ Ira Chernus, "The Big Lie is Bush's Most Powerful Weapon"

■Robert Hunter Wade, "America's Empire Rules an Unbalanced World"

Nov.15, 2001

An important statement is, ★ International Appeal of Nobel Prize Laureates, Poets, Philosophers, Intellectuals and Human Rights Defenders, "FOR AN IMMEDIATE END TO THE WAR AGAINST AFGHANISTAN."

Please see more:

■David Price,"War without End"

■Edward Said,"A vision to lift the spirit"

■Seiji Yamada, "On The Responsibility of Health Workers to Oppose the War"

■Barbara Ehrenreich,"Veiled Threat"

■Zoltan Grossman ,"A CENTURY OF U.S. MILITARY INTERVENTIONS"

■Schoolboy politics : Bush hits the wrong note at the UN

■HOWARD ZINN , "Is This Really a 'Just War'?"

■Robert Fisk, "What Will the Northern Alliance Do in Our Name Now?"、

■Stephanie Salter, "CNN (Becoming) a Shadow of Once-Great Network"、

■Pepe Escobar, "The New Imperialism"

■"New Antiterrorism Law May Affect Booksellers"

■David Corn, "BUSH USES GLOBAL COALITION TO FIGHT TERROR, BUT NOT POLLUTERS"

■Dara Colwell, "SEX INDUSTRY SENT TOPSY-TURVY BY TERROR"

■Nucliear Age Peace Foundation, "Perspectives on Terrorist Attacks"

■John Pilger, "WAR ON TERROR: FALSE VICTORY"

■ Eric Margolis, "A Quick Guide to Afghan Politics"

■Kaizer Nyatsumba: This may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory

■George Monbiot, "Blasting Our Way to Peace：The West's "victory" is a defeat for civilisation"

■ "War: Victories on the economic front "

■Alouetter Mayer, "7.5 Million Starving"

■Michael Albert & Stephen R. Shalom, "More Q & A On Terror and War"

■ Matt Bivens, "The Afghan Humanitarian Crisis"

■"Targeting terror: SOA Watch protests this weekend will ask whether U.S. is training"

■Patrick Healy,"Harvard scholar's '96 book becomes the word on war"

■ ACTION ALERT: Fox: Civilian Casualties Not News

■WHY THIS WAR?

■Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)

■The truth about the U.S. war on Afghanistan

■THE GLOBAL SITE, "JUST PEACE"

■OPEN DEMOCRACY, "After Ground Zero"

■David Held, "Violence and justice in a global age"

■Saskia Sassen, "ENTRAPMENTS RICH COUNTRIES CANNOT ESCAPE:GOVERNANCE HOTSPOTS"

■Kristine M. Holmgren、 Nightmare of Fascism Seems Too Real Since Sept. 11

■Tim Wise, "The Validity of Anti-War Criticism"

■Don Hazen, "The Belligerent Bunch: Rabid Journalists and Pundits Push Bush to Extremes"

■Uwe Parpart," Reconstructing Afghanistan - on oil and gas "

■Katrina vanden Heuvel & Joel Rogers, "What's Left? A New Life for Progressivism"

■Jordan Green & Chris Kromm, "Is the US Training Terrorists?"

■Norman Solomon, A Sweet Message for Americans -- "We Are Family"

■John Pilger, "The truths they never tell us"

■Michelle Chihara, "Tough Love"

■Noam Chomsky, "September 11th and Its Aftermath: Where is the World Heading?"

■Robert Fisk, "We are the war criminals now"

■David A. Love, "Military Tribunals Are a Threat to the Constitution"

■ Patrick Martin, "US planned war in Afghanistan long before September 11"

■Ted Rall, "What Americans Can Learn from Afghans"

■Richard Rapaport, "The American Taliban"

■Eric Margolis, "America's New War: A Progress Report "

■"What is Patriotism?"

■Tamara Straus, "The War for Public Opinion"

■Norman Solomon, "Noam Chomsky, Wartime Media Hero"

Nov.1, 2001

I received one peace flower picture from a Korean reader Son. Dug-soo' s "Peace-Mother".

I will introduce the voices of:

★The Peacemaker's Speak,

★GLOBAL NGO Statement on the attacks on the US,

★International Action Center Statement, "STOP BOMBING AFGHANISTAN! SAY NO TO WAR & RACISM!",

★Noam Chomsky interviewed by John Campbell,

★Immanuel Wallerstein,"September 11, 2001 - Why?",

★Edward W. Said,"The Clash of Ignorance",

★Richard Falk ,"Defining a Just War",

★Danny Schechter,"War of Words",

★Mary Riddell, "Save the Children: The Most Potent Weapon in the West's Arsenal is Aid, Not Armaments",

★Norman Solomon ,"Killing Them Softly",

★Louis Freedberg, "Tough Fight For Anti-War Movement : Why the Old Formulas May Not Work This Time",

★Jonathan Power,"An America Above the Law",

★M. Albert and S. R. Shalom,"The War In Afghanistan: 47 Questions and Answers",

★Kenneth Zapp,"The Naivete in Asking 'Why Do They Hate Us So Much?'"

★Heather Wokusch,"Facing the Enemy Within"

★George Monbiot,"Gagging the Skeptics"

★Jim Wallis,"Deny Them Their Victory"

★William Raspberry,"'With Us or Against Us' is a False Dichotomy"

★Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, "Three Arguments Against the War"

★Rahul Mahajan and Robert Jensen, "Hearts and Minds: Avoiding a New Cold War"

★Morten Rostrup, 'Humanitarian' and 'Military' Don't Go Together

★William D. Hartung ,"New War, Old Weapons"

★War Resisters League,"War Is the Problem, Not the Solution

★Pax Christi USA,"UNLEASHING THE DEMONS OF WAR"

★Victor Navasky,"Profiles in Cowardice"

★Brigitte H. Schulz,"Feeding Military Won't Make Us Safe"

★Stephen F. Cohen,"Second Chance With Russia"

★Betsy Leondar-Wright,"As Economy Tumbles, The Poor Will Suffer Most"

★Norman Solomon,"War and the Televised Greatness of George W. Bush"

★Mushahid Hussain 'Anti-Americanism' Has Roots in U.S. Foreign Policy

★Diana Abu-Jaber,"Seeing Ourselves"

★Eric Margolis,"The Use of Media as a Weapon"

★Jason Burke,"Why This War Will Not Work"

★Mediachannel, "World In Crisis, Media In Conflict"

★George Monbiot,　"America's Pipe Dream "

★Tom Turnipseed,　"War On The Poor And Working Class"

★Robert Fisk ,"Obsession with bin Laden Crosses All Frontiers"

★Matt Bivens, "Nuclear Power and Terrorism"

★John Buell,"Weighing World Trade, Terrorism and Democracy

★Vincent Browne, "Afghans the Victims of US Terrorism"

★Stephanie Salter, "Good News -- Many Deplore Bombing Afghanistan"

★Korea People's Rally : "Stop the War of Retaliation! No to Neo-liberal Globalization!"

★Towards resisting post-terror 'terrorism'

★William Greider, "Pro Patria, Pro Mundus? It's Time to Ask "Borderless" Corporations:Which Side Are You On?"

★John Pilger, "There is no war on terrorism"

★Rohini Hensman, "THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE TO GLOBAL TERROR: AVIEW FROM SOUTH ASIA"

★Sean Healy,"The Empire wants war, not justice"

★Larry Everest, "IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN"

★Andrew Pollack, "Timesﾕ paints rosy picture of Afghani refugeesﾕ situation while aid agencies predict mass starvation"

★Michael Ratner and Jules Lobel, "Creating the Terrorists that Will Visit Terror Upon Our Children: A Response to Richard Falk and His Magic Bullet Fantasy"

★AHMED BOUZID, " If the CIA Had Butted Out ..."

★Robert Fisk, "Blame Someone Else: It is palpably evident that they are not fleeing the Taliban but our bombs and missiles"

★Rameez Rahman, "War in Afghanistan: Childrenﾕs perspective of the latest imperialist venture"

★John Nichols , "The USA PATRIOT Act"

★Jack Newfield, "The Shame of Boxing"

★Don Hazen, "10 Reasons to Stop Bombing Afghanistan"

★Steve Lopez, "We Need People, Not Propaganda, to Sell America to the World" 、

★Gary Younge, "Peace by Precision: The Time Has Now Come for the Anti-War Movement to Build Its Own Broad-based Coalition"

★Robert Kuttner, "After the War: The Big Questions"

★FOIA Request

　

and one statement from Japanese scholars.(Chinese, Korean and Japanese")

An Urgent Appeal from Japan's Constitutional Scholars

October 9, 2001, Tokyo

With feelings of strong anger, we Japanese constitutional scholars condemn the terrorist assaults of September 11. Our hearts and profound condolences go out to the more than 5,000 victims of those attacks, to their bereaved families, and to all other affected people.

These terrorist attacks, which drew many jet passengers and crew members into the destruction and killed a huge number of citizens, were heinous acts of a kind never before seen, and must be roundly condemned as international crimes against humanity.

However, we also feel a strong sense of crisis over the mobilization of tens of thousands of soldiers for military action led by America's Bush Administration, and the help extended by Japan's Koizumi Cabinet.

Although the US government emphasizes that this action is a response to "a new situation," the use of force cannot avoid victims among the general public no matter how it is restricted to military installations. This use of force is certain to produce several million refugees and starvation victims, which will be added to the more than 5 million already existing refugees. Further, it will not only fail to dismantle the terrorist network that spans the globe, but also presents the danger of provoking more terrorism in response.

1. War in Retaliation Violates International Law

The use of force in Afghanistan is an illegal act with no basis in international law.

1) The United Nations Charter requires that international disputes be resolved by peaceful means. Further, it restricts the right of self-defense to the period of time until the Security Council enacts the necessary measures, and only in situations when having been, or currently being, militarily attacked.

2) Security Council Resolution 1368, adopted on September 12, "Expresses its readiness to take all necessary steps to respond to the terrorist attacks," and stops at confirming the member states' right of self-defense, but does not authorize, request, or approve the use of force against any certain group or state.

3) Furthermore, we should recall that in 1970 the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 2625, "Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations," which imposed on members the duty to refrain from retaliatory actions involving the use of force.

This use of force makes a mockery of the UN Charter and other achievements of the long years of international effort to bring about peace, and it spreads more apprehension throughout 21st-century international society.

Terrorist Acts Must Be Punished as International Crimes

If this wrongful, illegal use of force is continued by the economically and militarily powerful countries spearheaded by the US, it will only bring about an endless chain of one violent act for another, and an expansion of violence.

To deal with these recent terrorists acts, the use of force should be stopped immediately, the suspects identified on the basis of evidence that they committed international crimes, and taken into custody with the cooperation of international society, then tried rigorously and impartially in international court for crimes against humanity.

2. The Bill to Support US Forces ("Terrorism Control Support Bill") Will Let the Self-Defense Forces Go to War

The bill's intent is to conduct "cooperation and support activities" including supply, repairs, servicing, medical care, and the transport of weapons, ammunition, and personnel, but assuming that the use of force is impossible without such help, this support is an essential part of military action, and is therefore clearly participation in war. This would be the first participation in the use of force by Japan's military apparatus in the postwar years, and would clearly violate Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, which states that "the Japanese people forever renounce... the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes." If passed, the bill would surely create a serious impediment to strengthening peaceful relationships of trust between Japan and other East Asian countries.

In addition, there are the following grave constitutional questions about the bill.

1) The bill adds "foreign territory" to the area where the Self-Defense Forces can act, making that area in fact unlimited. SDF activities could be countries and regions near war zones, which means they would be put on the front lines. Even with the limitation that there would be no fighting in places where the SDF go, in fact their activities there would necessarily be integrated into combat actions.

2) The permissible use of weapons would be widened to "defending the lives and physical safety of those under one's charge," and the inclusion of wounded or ill US soldiers would eliminate the distinction of other activities with the use of force.

3) Action would be taken without advance Diet approval, and only a post-action report would be forthcoming. Thus, it is an attempt to create a precedent of sending the SDF to war at the Cabinet's discretion.

Further, the bill to amend the Self-Defense Forces Act, which is not limited-term legislation, presents the following issues.

4) The addition of new provisions for having SDF units guard their own facilities plus those of US forces in Japan, and for information-gathering activities, significantly relaxes the requirements for using the SDF to maintain public order, making it quite possible that the SDF could unjustly infringe the citizens' basic human rights, including the freedom of expression and assembly.

5) SDF use of weapons inside Japan would be virtually unrestricted because the usage requirements, types of weapons that may be used, and concerned geographical areas for guarding and information gathering are excessively broad and ill-defined.

6) Divulging defense secrets would carry significantly more serious criminal penalties than for divulging other secrets, thereby giving things of military value greater importance than those of civilian value, which runs counter to the Japanese Constitution's basic principles.

We therefore oppose these bills.

3. The Urgent Importance of International Cooperation and Help Based on Unarmed Pacifism

We feel compelled to point out that behind this recent terrorist incident are the poverty and social disparity that are becoming increasingly serious under globalization, and the US-led military oppression against the strife that arises out of this situation. It will be impossible to eradicate the worldwide breeding ground for terrorism without surmounting this inequity and strife.

Japan's Constitution declares that the Japanese people "recognize that all peoples of the world have the right to live in peace, free from fear and want," and "have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world." The Constitution also renounces war and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes, denies the state's right of belligerency, and vows not to maintain war potential. World politics has made it increasingly clear that staking out a position which assures human peace without relying on military force is unquestionably necessary if we are to ultimately eradicate terrorism and achieve the "preservation of peace, and the banishment of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance for all time from the earth" (Japanese Constitution) in our globalized world.

Sep.20, 2001 I also signed

Sep.15, 2001 This Homepage (the Japanese Toppage) recorded

I will introduce you a small but cool voice from the USA, the War Resisters League USA statement on the bombing, which I received by e-mail just after the tragedy. I signed the "CALL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE, NOT REVENGE!".

I'm writing this from home - the WRL office email is down, but I was present when this statement was drafted and said I'd take the text home to transmit at once. David McReynolds

　

As we write, Manhattan feels under seige, with all bridges, tunnels, and subways closed, and tens of thousands of people walking slowly north from Lower Manhattan. As we sit in our offices here at War Resisters League, our most immediate thoughts are of the hundreds, if not thousands, of New Yorkers who have lost their lives in the collapse of the World Trade Center. The day is clear, the sky is blue, but vast clouds billow over the ruins where so many have died, including a great many rescue workers who were there when the final collapse occured.

Of course we know our friends and co-workers in Washington D.C. have similar thoughts about the ordinary people who have been trapped in the parts of the Pentagon which were also struck by a jet. And we think of the innocent passengers on the hi-jacked jets who were carried to their doom on this

day.

We do not know at this time from what source the attack came. We do know that Yasser Arafat has condemned the bombing. We hesitate to make an extended analysis until more information is available but some things are clear. For the Bush Administration to talk of spending hundreds of billions on Star Wars is clearly the sham it was from the beginning, when terrorism can so easily strike through more routine means.

We urge Congress and George Bush that whatever response or policy the U.S. develops it will be clear that this nation will no longer target civilians, or accept any policy by any nation which targets civilians. This would mean an end to the sanctions against Iraq, which have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. It would mean not only a condemnation of terrorism by Palestinians but also the policy of assassination against the Palestinian leadership by Israel, and the ruthless repression of the Palestinian population and the continuing occupation by Israel of the West Bank and Gaza.

The policies of militarism pursued by the United States have resulted in millions of deaths, from the historic tragedy of the Indochina war, through the funding of death squads in Central America and Colombia, to the sanctions and air strikes against Iraq. This nation is the largest supplier of "conventional weapons" in the world - and those weapons fuel the starkest kind of terrorism from Indonesia to Africa. The early policy of support for armed resistance in Afghanistan resulted in the victory of the Taliban -and the creation of Osama Bin Laden.

Other nations have also engaged in these policies. We have, in years past, condemned the actions of the Russian government in areas such as Chechnya, the violence on both sides in the Middle East, and in the Balkans. But our nation must take responsibility for its own actions. Up until now we have felt safe within our borders. To wake on a clear cool day to find our largest city under seige reminds us that in a violent world, none are safe.

Let us seek an end of the militarism which has characterized this nation for decades. Let us seek a world in which security is gained through disarmament,international cooperation, and social justice - not through escalation and retaliation. We condemn without reservation attacks such as those which occured today, which strike at thousands of civilians - may these profound tragedies remind us of the impact U.S. policies have had on other civilians in other lands. We are particularly aware of the fear which many people of Middle Eastern descent, living in this country, may feel at this time and urge special consideration for this community.

We are one world. We shall live in a state of fear and terror or we shall move toward a future in which we seek peaceful alternatives to conflict and a more just distribution of the world's resources. As we mourn the many lives lost, our hearts call out for reconciliation, not revenge.

This is not an official statement of the War Resisters League but was drafted immediately after the tragic events occured. Signed and issued by the staff and Executive Committee of War Resisters Leauge in the national office, September 11, 2001.

　

Contact calls: WRL - 212 / 228.0450 also David McReynolds, 212 / 674.7268

E-mail to: katote@ff.iij4u.or.jp

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