iraq3

Act now in support of Iraq's self-reliant reconstruction: JCP Fuwa

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo in a speech in Sakai City, Osaka on April 23 called for actions demanding an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the continued deployment of the Self-Defense Forces without delay.

Welcoming the release of the five Japanese hostages taken in Iraq, Fuwa pointed out the following points that have become clearer to the public:

(1) The government's justification of the SDF dispatch to Iraq is no longer tenable;

(2) Contradictions have sharpened between the U.S. occupation and the Iraqi people who are hoping for independence and democracy; and

(3) The U.S. in distress is regarding Japan as the most reliable ally, and there is a growing possibility that if Japan continues deploying the SDF in Iraq, the Iraqi people as well as the Arabic and Islamic world in general will condemn Japan for being integrated with the U.S.," Fuwa said.

Fuwa criticized the argument demanding that the former hostages reimburse the state for costs incurred in their release, quoting overseas comments saying that Japan should be proud of the humanitarian actions taken by the released hostages.

Fuwa said, "There are two things that we are proud of in Japan. One is public opinion and actions calling for opposition to the SDF Iraq dispatch, and the other, volunteers who are engaging in genuine humanitarian assistance overseas.

Fuwa called for vigorous actions, first, to urge the U.S. to end its occupation and that it be replaced with a U.N.-led reconstruction of Iraq aiming at self-reliance, and second, to urge the Japanese government to withdraw the SDF from Iraq.

He said, "The Koizumi Cabinet, the promoter of the SDF dispatch, clearly does not represent the Japanese people's wishes, so we must pluck up our courage and tell the rest of the world that many Japanese people are wishing for Iraq's peaceful reconstruction and genuine independence and that the Koizumi Cabinet does not represent the Japanese people's wishes." (end)