4,200 people at the Nago protest rally and governor determined to remove Ospreys 2016/12/23

December 23, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

Participants raising their spirits by shouting “Ganbaro!” three times, demanding the removal of Ospreys on the evening of December 22 at the 21st Century Forest Park Gymnasium in Nago City (Photograph by Masatoshi Moromizato).

[Nago] On December 22, the Emergency Protest Rally Demanding the Removal of the Defective Aircraft Osprey took place following the crash-landing accident of the U.S. military vertical takeoff and landing transport aircraft MV-22 Osprey at the coast of Abu of Nago City. The rally was held at the 21st Century Forest Park Gymnasium in Nago, and about 4,200 Okinawans attended. Participants appealed to the public during the rally. They said that Okinawa will work with Governor Takeshi Onaga to prevent leaving behind a seed of chaos for the next generation. Okinawans will also continue to fight with the governor until: Ospreys are removed, the Futenma Air Station is closed and removed, and the construction on the new base in Henoko is abandoned.

During the rally, Governor Onaga spoke in Shimakutuba, an endangered Ryukyuan language, for part of his speech. He said, “If we don’t let them construct the new Henoko base, then we can also remove the Ospreys. We must not let them construct the base.” He also touched on the construction of the helicopter landing strips, or helipads, in the Northern Training Area (NTA), and criticized the situation. He said, “The Ospreys operating close to Takae of Higashi Village is a grave issue. The government forcing through with the land return ceremony does not make them seem at all considerate of Okinawans.”

Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine also spoke in Shimakutuba, and opposed the construction of the helipads in the U.S. military NTA. He said, “The new base in Henoko and the helipads in Takae – no means no.” He also severely criticized the Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) for merely repeating what the U.S. military says regarding the Osprey crash accident. He said, “(The ODB) has zero ability to serve as the party in charge. We’d be better off if they weren’t involved at all.”

Suzuyo Takazato, joint-representative of the All-Okinawa Council, which hosted the protest rally, also made a comment. She pointed out, “The Japanese government permitted the operations of the Ospreys to resume without conducting a strict investigation. You could say that this accident was caused by the Japanese government.”

During the rally, one speaker said, “Conservatives and reformists must work as one to stop the construction of the new base in Henoko and Ospreys from flying.” Another said, “Okinawan people’s anger has reached a boiling point, and they can no longer be patient. We must join forces to confront both the Japanese and U.S. governments” Yet another said, “We will continue to fight as long as the bases exist.” Participants showed their determination toward the battle that is to come in removing the Ospreys and preventing the construction of the new base in Henoko of Nago.

Six Diet members elected by Okinawa from the opposing party of the government also participated in the rally.
The rally was arranged to take place around the same time as the Northern Training Area Land Return Ceremony, which was held at the Bankoku Shintryokan Okinawa Resort MICE Facility in Nago..

4,200 people at the Nago protest rally and governor determined to remove Ospreys

December 23, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo


(English translation by T&CC and Chelsea Ashimine)

Go to Japanese

オスプレイ撤去を　名護抗議集会４２００人、知事と決意

琉球新報　2016年12月23日 05:00 

【名護】名護市安部海岸への米軍垂直離着陸輸送機ＭＶ２２オスプレイ墜落事故を受けた「欠陥機オスプレイ撤去を求める緊急抗議集会」（オール沖縄会議主催）が２２日、名護市の２１世紀の森屋内運動場で開かれ、約４２００人（主催者発表）の県民が駆け付けた。集会では「翁長雄志知事と共に、次代に禍根を残さないために島ぐるみ、県民総ぐるみでオスプレイの撤去、普天間基地の閉鎖・撤去、辺野古新基地建設断念を成し遂げるまで奮闘し闘い抜く」などとするアピールを採択した。 　集会で翁長知事は一部、しまくとぅばであいさつし「新辺野古基地を造らせなければオスプレイも配備撤回できる。必ず造らせないよう頑張ろう」と呼び掛けた。米軍北部訓練場のヘリコプター着陸帯（ヘリパッド）建設についても触れ、「オスプレイが東村高江に近い着陸帯で運用されるのは極めて問題だ。政府の返還式典強行は県民に寄り添う姿勢が全く見えない」と強く批判した。

　稲嶺進名護市長もしまくとうばで「辺野古の新基地、高江のヘリパッド。駄目なものは駄目だ」と述べ、米軍北部訓練場のヘリパッド建設についても反対の声を上げた。さらに墜落事故に関して米軍の説明をそのまま繰り返す沖縄防衛局に対して「当事者能力ゼロだ。いない方がいい」と痛烈に批判した。

　主催したオール沖縄会議の高里鈴代共同代表は「日本政府は厳しい追及をせず、飛行再開を許した。この事故は日本政府によって起こされたと言ってもいい」と指摘した。

　その他の登壇者からは「保守も革新も一体となって辺野古新基地建設、オスプレイの飛行を止めよう」「県民の怒りは飽和状態で、我慢の限界だ。総ぐるみの力を結集して日米両政府に対峙（たいじ）していこう」「基地がある限り、闘い続ける」など、オスプレイの配備撤回や名護市辺野古の新基地建設阻止に向けた今後の闘いへの決意が示された。

　集会には国政野党の県選出国会議員６氏も参加した。

　集会は名護市の万国津梁館で開かれた「北部訓練場返還式典」の開催に合わせて企画された。

英文へ→4,200 people at the Nago protest rally and governor determined to remove Ospreys