Rumsfeld gets an earful from Okinawa official
By Monica Moorehead
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's trip to
Okinawa took an unexpected, humiliating turn on Nov. 16.
Dispensing with the usual protocol of airing any complaints in
private, the governor of Oki nawa, Keiichi Inamine, presented
war criminal Rumsfeld with a petition of grievances regarding
the oppressive behavior of the U.S. military, which has
occupied the island of Okinawa since the end of World War
II.
Rumsfeld was forced to endure a humi liating 40-minute
session in which Inamine highlighted some of the deplor able
acts carried out by U.S. forces against Okinawans and their
right to sovereignty. This was done in full view of the
Japanese and foreign press. The session would have gone on
longer if the very uncomfortable Rumsfeld had not asked Inamine
to stop.
Inamine told Rumsfeld and the invited press that "incidents
and accidents caused by U.S. military personnel, and
environmental problems stemming from the bases, have created
enormous impacts on people's lives, while the facilities became
the outstanding hindrance to urban development and economic
promotion." (New York Times, Nov. 17)
The petition reportedly states that 5,157 crimes were
committed between 1972 and last December by U.S. troops,
including the Pentagon's civilian employees and their
dependents. According to the petition, these crimes include
murder, robbery and sexual assault. In one of the few cases of
atrocities brought to the light of day, in 1995, U.S. soldiers
kidnapped and raped an Okinawan schoolgirl. The petition also
includes concerns about noise pollution caused by the
warplanes, the level of U.S. military training on the island
and the U.S. Navy's disregard for marine wildlife.
Okinawa was totally controlled by the U.S. until 1972, when
the island was reverted back to Japanese rule. About 58,000
U.S. troops are based throughout Japan, with the largest
concentration stationed in Okinawa, including Marines.
Rumsfeld is visiting a number of Asian governments hoping to
get their commitment to send troops to Iraq to bolster besieged
U.S. forces bogged down by the growing resistance to colonial
occupation there. Japan was to have sent troops, but announced
a delay after major casualties were inflicted on Italian
military police stationed in southern Iraq.
Due to a growing, militant, anti-occupation movement at
home, the South Korean government has reduced the number of
troops it plans to send to Iraq.
Reprinted from the Nov. 27, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
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