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2024 August 28 - September 3 TOP3 [JCP]

Shii speaks at Rosa Luxemburg Foundation-hosted international peace conference in Berlin

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo spoke at an international conference entitled “Diplomacy Now!” which was held on August 31 in Berlin by Germany’s progressive think tank, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.

Along with representatives of peace organizations and political parties from 15 countries, Shii was invited as a guest speaker at the conference. Shii in his speech first talked about ways to help successfully end the Russia-Ukraine war. He next spoke about the need to put a stop to genocide in Gaza and build solidarity to oppose the strengthening of military blocs between East and West and promote the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. He also introduced the JCP proposals for peace creation in East Asia.

The conference adopted a resolution entitled, “Diplomacy Now!”, calling for preventing a “new bloc confrontation” and creating peace through diplomacy.

The full text of Shii’s speech is as follows:

Call for Solidarity between Asia and Europe to Create Peace

Dear Chairperson, dear friends. Thank you for inviting me to this conference. On behalf of the Japanese Communist Party, I would like to make a statement entitled “Call for Solidarity between Asia and Europe to Create Peace.”

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the crisis in Gaza have resulted in horrendous loss and damage, threatening the global peace order established by the UN Charter. The looming threat of nuclear weapons has shaken the international community. The protracted war also has serious implications for the climate crisis.

Under these circumstances, I strongly support the initiative that encourages the international community to “make every effort now to pave the way for peace negotiations” with the aim of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine.

I would like to highlight four specific points in the hope that this initiative will be successful.

I
Firstly, we need to determine the goal of the peace talks.

Peace should be a just peace, grounded in the UN Charter, international law, and the four UN General Assembly resolutions that condemn Russia's aggression and call for its immediate withdrawal. The path to ending this war is for the overwhelming majority of the world's nations to unite behind the principle of “Upholding the UN Charter.”

Although achieving a just peace may require time and multiple steps, we believe it is essential to steadfastly seek the restoration of peace order under the UN Charter as the primary goal of the peace talks.

II
Secondly, it is essential to identify the specific obstacle that has hindered the achievement of a just peace.

The main problem with the G7 countries, including the U.S., is the damage caused by their “double standards.” They condemn Russia but defend Israel. This contradiction represents the biggest hurdle to international unity. If the world values the lives of Ukrainians, Palestinians, and Israelis differently, how can we achieve unity?

The UN Charter and international law must be applied equally to all. I strongly appeal to all of you to unite the whole world to end the Russian aggression, free the hostages held by Hamas, and stop the genocidal attack by Israel in Gaza.

III
Third, we must not allow the invasion of Ukraine to be used as an excuse for strengthening military alliances.

Under the excuse of “integrated deterrence,” the U.S. is strengthening its military alliances in both eastern and western Eurasia, with the aim of integrating them into one entity.

The expansion and strengthening of NATO in Europe is frightening from the Japanese point of view. At the same time, I would like to tell you that the strengthening of the military alliance we have never seen is also underway in Japan. Despite significant opposition from many Japanese citizens, the Japanese Government has implemented the following measures. The authorization to exercise the right of collective self-defense. The deployment of long-range missiles that can reach deep into the Asian continent. The huge expansion of the military budget to 2% of GDP. And the lifting of the ban on arms exports. All of them are previously considered “impossible” under Article 9 of Japan's pacifist constitution. The increasing military collaboration between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the military forces of NATO member countries is also a matter of grave concern.

The strengthening of military alliances has created a cycle of military-to-military reaction and escalation, dividing the world into conflicting blocs. Peace can never be achieved in this way.

I send a message of passionate solidarity to the European Left which is bravely raising the banner of opposition to military blocs under challenging circumstances. I earnestly call on you to join the effort against the strengthening of military alliances across both the eastern and western parts of the Eurasian continent.

As a political party from a country that endured the unspeakable and inhumane horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we sincerely call for global solidarity to strongly reject the concept of “nuclear deterrence” that underpins military alliances, and call on every nation to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

IV
Fourth, we must develop an alternative security policy for strengthening peace.

One organization we value for its peace efforts in East Asia is the ASEAN. ASEAN has changed Southeast Asia into a community of peace through a series of thorough dialogues based on the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), which mandates the peaceful settlement of disputes.

ASEAN has extended its peace efforts beyond the region. Its most recent achievement is the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP), which was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in 2019. This grand vision is to utilize the TAC as a guideline. It aims to strengthen the East Asia Summit as a platform for dialogue and cooperation. This summit framework consists of the 10 ASEAN countries plus eight other countries including Japan, China, the U.S., and Russia. The AOIP will eventually reach an East Asia-wide amity and cooperation treaty.

We fully support this concept. We believe that the primary importance of this initiative is to create a peace architecture that is inclusive of all countries in the region, instead of an exclusive framework.

The Japanese Communist Party has promoted the “Proposals for Peace Creation in East Asia” as a fundamental alternative to the massive military buildup. What Japan needs to do now is not to strengthen its military response, but to engage in diplomacy. This should be based on the pacifism of the Japanese Constitution, especially Article 9. Our proposal is to work hand in hand with the ASEAN countries to achieve the objectives of the AOIP as a shared goal to make East Asia a region free from fears of war. I firmly believe that dialogue, not military action, and inclusion, not exclusion, are the keys to creating a lasting peace in East Asia.

While Europe and East Asia face different conditions, I understand that there are ongoing discussions in Europe about establishing an inclusive peace framework, such as revitalizing the OSCE. To ensure peace and stability in Europe, it would be necessary to create a peace framework that somehow includes all European countries.

I would like to conclude my remarks by making a strong appeal to all of you for solidarity between Asia and Europe to create peace. Thank you very much.