10-26-05, 7:29 am

In an interview aired by the communication satellite channel Asahi Newstar on October 12, Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Shii Kazuo spoke on the extension of the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, dispatches of Japan's Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, and the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.

International cooperation of justice and police is needed

Q: How do you evaluate the 4-year deployment of Japan's Self-Defense Forces in the Indian Ocean based on the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law?

Shii: The question we must ask is: 'Has the war eradicated terrorism during the last four years?'

The U.S. response to the September 11th terrorist attacks was a retaliatory war against Afghanistan to overturn the Taliban regime. However, Osama bin Laden, who supposedly mastermined the terrorist attacks, has not been captured yet.

The United States extended the war to Iraq, but it further aggravated the situation. The retaliatory war hasn't wiped out terrorism. It has instead provided more justification for international terrorism.

To eradicate terrorism, the cooperation of international law and police, not war, is important. It is also necessary to make serious international efforts to eliminate poverty because it is a breeding ground for terrorism.

The Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law is intended to allow Japan to cooperate in the retaliatory war. Now that it has become clear that the war is not effective, the SDF deployment in the Indian Ocean must end immediately.

Q: What is to be done, then?

Shii: As reported recently by the BBC, the Pakistani government is making serious efforts to isolate terrorist groups from the public. Especially in the mountains and remote areas, the Pakistani government is perseveringly holding discussions with local residents as part of an effort to eliminate poverty and eject terrorists through improving social infrastructure and schools.

The Pakistani government is connecting the problem of poverty with the effort to eliminate the terrorist network by police action. I think this is an important approach.

Diplomatic efforts needed to end Iraq occupation

Q: The term of Japanese Self-Defense Forces deployment will expire shortly.

Shii: It is necessary to settle the accounts of the 2.5 years of the Iraq war.

The situation in Iraq has become very serious. Its main cause is the lawless U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of the country that includes mop-up operations to exterminate local resistance forces. It rouses Iraqi people's hatred and motivates terrorist acts. The cycle of violence and terrorism continues.

It is necessary to set a deadline for the occupation forces to be withdrawn from Iraq in order to break through this Iraqi situation.

The Iraqi situation clearly shows us how harmful and dangerous it is for the Self-Defense Forces to stay in Iraq. Residents of Samawah have animosity toward the SDF, recognizing the troops as part of the occupation forces. Now that many nations have decided to withdraw their troops from Iraq, it will be even more dangerous for the SDF to remain in Iraq. It is necessary for the Japanese government to immediately bring them home and make diplomatic efforts to change the framework of the support system into a U.N.-led one in order to help Iraqis reconstruct their country.

Build people's joint struggle in opposition to strengthening U.S. bases by setting aside political differences

The U.S. government has reportedly put strong pressure on the Japanese government to proceed with Japan-U.S. talks on the U.S. military realignment on the grounds that Japan's coalition government has become stronger after the general election.

The moves to build a new base as an alternative site for the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa and to relocate the U.S. Army I Corps to U.S. Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture have been accelerated. In Okinawa, Kanagawa, and Yamaguchi prefectures, residents and local municipalities are joining forces to block the realignment plan. The JCP will join them in opposing the plans to strengthen the U.S. bases.

The government is attempting to establish a system to allow the SDF to go to war with the U.S. forces. We will make this fact known as much as possible and establish a national struggle against it.

From Akahata