We oppose 'Iraq Law' because it is aimed at assisting in military occupation that is product of lawless war: JCP Chair

The three-party ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party plans to use the 40-day extension of the Ordinary Diet Session, which expired on June 18, to railroad through a number of undemocratic bills.

The most constroversial item is the bill on special measures to assist in Iraq's reconstruction. Other important bills include changes in the Labor Standards Law that would increase low-paying, long working hour jobs and the transfer of administration of government-run universities to independent agencies that would pave the way for further state intervention in research and education in universities.

In an interview on June 19 with communication satellite television ASAHI NEWSTAR Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo said the Iraq bill has nothing to do with humanitarian assistance to Iraq.

Shii stated: "What's going on in Iraq is the U.S.-British military occupation in the aftermath of a lawless war, the aim being to establish a regime loyal to the United States. Sending the Self-Defense Forces to assist in this occupation is what the bill is all about."

Taking issue with the argument that SDF units would be safe because they operate in non-combat zones, Shii said, "How fictitious the bill's provisions are!" Referring to a U.S. ground force commander's statement that the whole of Iraq is a combat zone, Shii said, "It can't be possible for the SDF to distinguish combat zones from non-combat zones."

Summing up the dangerous points, Shii said: "The SDF will take part in the occupation of Iraq together with the U.S. and British forces and will get bogged down in a quagmire of contradictions and conflicts. The danger is that they may have to pit themselves against all the Iraqi people and even the whole of the Middle East clearly in contravention of the constitutional provisions that prohibit Japan from using military force or exercising the right of belligerency. That's why this bill must not pass." (end)