JCP talks with Organization of the Islamic Conference director

Japanese Communist Party International Bureau director and House of Councilors member Ogata Yasuo and deputy director Morihara Kimitoshi now visiting Saudi Arabia on October 21 had talks with A. Manane Bakhit, ambassador and director of Political Affairs of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), at its main office in Jiddah.

Ogata explained that the JCP tour of the Middle East countries is aimed at exchanging opinions with government officials of these countries and related international organizations to seek a peaceful settlement of the urgent Iraq question.

The JCP international bureau chief said that he is pleased to have made the first JCP visit of the OIC, an influential international organization with a membership of 57 Islamic countries, and asked about the basic position of the OIC on the Iraq question and its activity for settling the question.

Director Bakhit welcomed the visit of the JCP representatives and stressed that further efforts to peacefully settle the Iraq question are required to establish the international peace based on the United Nations Charter and international law.

Referring to the basic position of the OIC of opposing all armed attacks on Islamic countries, Bakhit made the following points in objecting a war against Iraq: (1) The U.S. argument that it has the right to attack another country unilaterally completely violates national sovereignty and the basis of international law; (2) The Middle East region has already suffered from the intolerable pain of two major wars, the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War; (3) If an attack on Iraq takes place at U.S. bidding, an international coalition against terrorism will be untenable in the Middle East.

Ogata spoke about the opinions he heard from leaders during the tour and said that he got a strong impression that Iraq must fully implement United Nations Security Council resolutions, based on the U.N. Charter and within the U.N. framework.

Director Bakhit said he completely agrees with Ogata's impression, and criticized the present atmosphere of seeing the use of force as necessary, particularly since the post-Soviet world should not require any use of force and increases the possibility of settling disputes through negotiations.

Ogata explained that the JCP firmly opposed to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and said that the JCP wants to continue an exchange of opinions with the OIC on the question of peace and perspectives of different civilizations.

Director Bakhit thanked Ogata for the visit, agreed to continued exchanges, and referred to the quadrennial summit meeting of the OIC in October 2003 in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. (end)