 Peace groups and labor unions oppose U.S. destroyer's port call In Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, local peace organizations and labor unions on February 7 protested the planned visit by the U.S. Aegis destroyer Fitzgerald to Maizuru Port. The action came in connection with a report that the U.S. forces plan to have the destroyer enter the port on February 10 for the purpose of obtaining "supplies and rest for the crew" in preparation for the U.S. plan to deploy missile destroyers in the Japan Sea. The local trade union council, the New Women's Association of Japan, the Peace Committee, and the Japan Council against A and H Bombs demanded that Kyoto Prefecture, Maizuru City, and the Maritime Self-Defense Force refuse to allow the entry of the Fitzgerald. Maizuru, a city on the Japan Sea, has declared itself to be a "city for nuclear weapons abolition and peace." But, the U.S. combat ready ship "Cushing" came in August 1999 by ignoring the prefecture and city governments' request for information. The ship, after entering the port, even carried out intelligence gathering at the port and its facilities. (end) |