2010 January 6 - 12 [
US FORCES]
U.S. military police keep event visitors under surveillance
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January 8, 2010
At the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington’s “open-house event” at the U.S. Naval Yokosuka Base, military police kept Japanese visitors under surveillance. A visitor said he was told by a military police officer to delete some pictures he had taken with his digital camera.
On the George Washington’s “Friendship Day” on December 15, Nakahara Nobuyuki, a Kanagawa Peace Committee member, visited the base to see the aircraft carrier. When he was taking photos of three nearby barges used for repairing the aircraft-carrier, he noticed that he was being followed by military police officers in plain clothes.
In front of the exit of the base, Nakahara was stopped by sailors in uniform. They asked him what pictures he was taking with his camera. After checking his digital camera, they urged him to delete two photos of scenes that included some U.S. crewmembers.
At the baggage inspection at the gate, a member of the Miura Peninsula (where Yokosuka belongs to) Liaison Committee against Homeporting of the U.S. Nuclear Aircraft Carrier George Washington, was ordered to hand over the committee’s leaflets warning how dangerous the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is.
Invited media reporters were asked to not take photos of the No.13 Berth where the dredging had been done to ensure that major nuclear-powered submarines can anchor.
Niikura Yasuo, the committee’s secretary, pointed out, “In this year’s ‘Friendship Day,’ the surveillance of citizens was more intense than in any previous year.
There is a growing suspicion that the U.S. Navy may have begun repairing the GW’s nuclear reactor at the base. Details of this activity must be disclosed to the public and the work must be halted immediately. We are demanding that the aircraft carrier go back to the U.S.”
- Akahata, January 8, 2010
