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2017 April 5 - 11 TOP3 [WORLD]

Shii comments on US military attack on Syria

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on April 7 issued a statement on the U.S. Trump administration’s missile strike in Syria. His statement is as follows:

Following a news report that an alleged chemical weapons attack killed a number of people in northwestern Syria, the U.S. Trump administration on April 6 struck a Syrian air base with dozens of missiles.

The use of chemical weapons, regardless of who uses them, is an impermissible act of brutality that is a crime against humanity and a violation of international law. However, without waiting for a resolution by the UN Security Council, the U.S. unilaterally carried out the military attack, which is a breach of the UN Charter and international law. The JCP condemns the U.S. for carrying out its cruise missile strike in such a way. Military attacks will only escalate the Syrian civil war.

The U.S., Britain, and France on April 5 presented to the UNSC a resolution draft calling for international efforts to investigate the facts concerning Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons. America’s unilateral attack contradicts its own call for investigations. Under the lead of the UN, the world needs to join hands to find out truth behind the allegation of the use of chemical weapons, and impose strict sanctions on those who used such weapons and drastically beef up efforts to prevent a recurrence of their use.

What is particularly worrisome is that the U.S. Trump administration is justifying the latest attack as an act concerning the “vital national security interest” of the United States. President Trump rationalizes the U.S. unilateral act as being part of his “America First” policy. His attitude is extremely dangerous and totally unacceptable.