Solidarity Statement: Respect the Will of the Okinawan People
The people of Okinawa are calling on the international community for help to stop the desecration of a sacred ocean site, Oura Bay in Henoko, for a new US Marines base. Oura Bay is the home of the dugong (the Okinawan manatee) and other endangered species, including extensive coral reefs.The latest poll shows that 80.2% of Okinawans oppose this construction on environmental, ethical, and economic grounds. They are blockading the construction site from land and sea, and holding prefecture-wide rallies comprising all segments of the population.
We, the undersigned US organizations, support the demands of Okinawan people that this construction be stopped.
We call on our members of Congress to sponsor briefings on Capitol Hill to hear about the highly undemocratic process of deciding on this location, which has been forced on the people of Okinawa by the US and Japanese governments; and to hear about the serious, long-term environmental and social impacts of US bases that Okinawans have been burdened with since 1945.
The US already has 1,000 bases worldwide.
We demand the clean up not build up of overseas bases, and that our money be moved from military spending to human and environmental needs.
Signed
Women for Genuine Security
December 2014
