JCP urges prime minister to stop supporting war on Iraq

In the March 20 plenary session of the House of Representatives, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo demanded that Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro change his shameful attitude and stop supporting the U.S. war on Iraq.

The Lower House session started at 9:30 p.m. after Prime Minister Koizumi announced Japan's support for the U.S. use of force against Iraq.

The JCP chair stated that none of the U.N. resolutions which Koizumi used as legal grounds for the U.S. military action can be used to justify this war.

Shii said that by conducting the war, the U.S. government forcibly closed the road to a peaceful resolution which could have been achieved by continuing U.N. weapon inspections.

Referring to the U.S. president stating that the aim of this war is to overthrow Iraq's Hussein government, Shii stressed, "It is clear that such a tyrannical act is nothing less than a violation of national sovereignty and interference in the internal affairs of other countries, both prohibited by the U.N. Charter."

Pointing out that the war will produce an enormous number of innocent victims, Shii demanded that the government call for an immediate halt to the war.

At a similar session in the House of Councilors started at 11:30 p.m., JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi spoke on behalf of his party. (end)