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JCP Ichida criticizes government bill to extend MSDF missions in Indian Ocean

The Koizumi Cabinet on October 4 approved a bill to extend the mission of Maritime Self-Defense Force ships engaging in refueling warships of U.S. and other countries in the Indian Ocean as part of the so-called "anti-terror activities."

The bill to extend one-year the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law that expires on November 1 was submitted to the Diet on the same day.

As soon as the bill is enacted, the government will modify the plan for MSDF ships in the Indian Ocean to continue their mission another six months until May 1, 2006.

The Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law was enacted in October 2001 as a temporary two-year term legislation, with the aim of assisting in the U.S.-led "anti-terrorism" retaliatory war, but it was extended two years in October 2003.

The allies' ships received 410,000 kiloliters of oil worth 16.2 billion yen from MSDF oilers. But demands for such oil supply and transportation by the Air SDF has decreased sharply.

It has been revealed that MSDF ships refueled U.S. and other ships engaging in operations other than the "anti-terrorist" war against Afghanistan.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on October 4 issued the following statement:

The special measures law that enabled dispatches of the SDF units abroad with the aim of supporting the U.S.-led retaliatory war violates the war-renouncing Constitution, and any attempt to extend its term is unacceptable.

Acts of terrorism must not be condoned for whatever reason. Also, what took place in the four years teaches us that terrorism cannot be eliminated by war and that war helps increase the hatred. The war must end, and steps must be taken chiefly by international justice and police organizations under the United Nations initiative.

It is serious that the Japanese government has refused to reveal what MSDF ships have done under the Law in the Indian Ocean. Although the government says that the SDF supply is still needed, the amount of their oil supply has drastically decreased. Even some government officials are questioning whether such refueling should continue.

The government is attempting to bulldoze through the bill to extend the special measures law through the Diet without answering any of these questions. The JCP opposes such an attempt to just follow U.S. demands. -- Akahata, October 5, 2005