News from the Peace For Okinawa Coalition

作家：魏孝昌

有多少琉球人支持独立？


90%的琉球人反对美国/日本军队。
大多数人认定为琉球人（或 Uchinanchu）。
超过 50% 的人公开反对成为日本的一部分。
​
但您还必须考虑其他事实：


1) 1879 年后，日本监禁、折磨和杀害了数千名琉球独立支持者。 结果，琉球人民开始害怕支持独立。 许多独立支持者流亡海外。 今天，他们的后代仍然存在，并建立了琉球侨民的大型社区。大约有 70 万琉球人居住在国外。


2) 1945年冲绳战役期间，日本和美国杀害了约1/3的琉球人口（约20万人）。他们故意杀害琉球人民，尤其是支持独立、亲华的领导人。所以战后琉球独立并没有强大的领导人。


3) 时至今日，日本和美国仍在骚扰支持独立的琉球人民。日本政府保留琉球独立支持者的记录，使我们很难找到工作、申请学校或获得政府服务。因此，公开支持琉球独立受到了严重的污名化。他们还骚扰我。2019 年，当我飞往东京参加日本国会的新闻发布会时，日本政府将我拘留并审问了 2 小时。他们想让我错过新闻发布会。谢天谢地，我被琉球议员救了。但第二天，日本政府派警察到我在琉球的家。 他们采访了我的家人、朋友、邻居。 他们还搜查了我的政府记录。这些事件在琉球和日本成为重大新闻。因此，更多的人开始害怕公开支持独立。但也有不少暗中支持。


4) 美日控制着主流媒体，以及琉球的教育系统。他们不允许琉球学校教授琉球文化、历史、语言或身份。他们只能教授日本和美国的文化、历史、语言和身份。结果，琉球文化、语言、历史、身份正在消亡。年轻一代迷失和困惑。


所以我的组织（琉球和平联盟）致力于教授和推广琉球文化、历史、语言和身份认同。但我们需要帮助。美日是大国强国，而琉球是小国。我们不能独自完成。世界需要帮助我们。

The U.S. military has conducted an investigation determining that the U.S. military did not do anything wrong when they sent a drone strike that killed ten innocent civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

This, of course, is like a murderer conducting an investigation on themselves, determining they are not guilty of murder.

The Peace For Okinawa Coalition urges the United Nations and the international community at large to hold the United States accountable for their warcrimes and crimes against humanity. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison accidentally stated he wants to "tackle China" before correcting himself by saying "tackle climate change" at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Morrison, as well as numerous other U.S. allies, have been heavily critical towards China in recent years as Western powers seek to slow China's rise and prolong Western imperialism. This includes U.S. aggression against Luchu (Okinawa), Hawaii, Guam, and numerous other nations around the world suffering from U.S. militarism. Rather than focusing on the grave threat of climate change, Western nations are more concerned about "containing China."

A historic bell from the Luchu (Ryukyu) Kingdom has been returned to Okinawa after having been stolen by a U.S. soldier during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The soldier was Lieutenant General Roy Geiger, who took advantage of the destruction in Okinawa caused by the U.S. and Japanese war to steal the bell from Luchuans (Ryukyuans). It later came to be possessed by Geiger's granddaughter, Melanie Curtis.

Shizuo Kishaba is chairman of the Ryumai History Study Group and negotiated the return of the bell. Curtis was initially reluctant to return the stolen item, but agreed to do so after learning of the destruction of Shuri Castle in October 2019 that destroyed some historic Luchuan artifacts. 

On November 2, a ceremony was held at Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum to commemorate the bell's return. 

The United States and Japan each owe Luchuans trillions of dollars in reparations for the harm they have caused since 1945 and 1879, respectively. Luchu is recognized by international law as an independent country, and has been under illegal occupation by the U.S. and Japan, both of whom commit major human rights violations against Luchuans on a daily basis.

The United Nations and the international community at large must immediately act to protect the rights of the Luchuan people. 

November 1 has been declared Ryukyu History & Culture Day by the Okinawa Prefectural Government. The celebration this year was largely overshadowed by the recent elections, however, the promotion of history and culture is always important. 

For generations the United States and Japan have oppressed Ryukyuans / Okinawans, preventing us from teaching our history, culture, and languages in schools. As a result, all of these things are in danger of dying out.

The United Nations recognizes Ryukyuans / Okinawans as the Indigenous peoples of the Ryukyu Islands. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples guarantees Indigenous peoples the right to teach our culture, history, and language in schools and media. 

​The international community must act immediately to help protect Ryukyuans from U.S. and Japanese aggression. Please contact us if you are interested in assisting.  

Okinawans are strongly criticizing a video published by Vice about poverty in Okinawa. 

@sherrberry100 tweeted:
​"Vice just came out with a video about poverty in Okinawa, and it's complete trash. It promotes stereotypes about Okinawans while ignoring the root cause of its poverty which is colonialism by Japan and the US. I hate that it got so many likes. This sucks."

Uchinanchu (Indigenous Okinawans) make up the vast majority of Okinawa's 1.4 million people, which includes tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel and their families. 

Western and Japanese mainstream media has an extensive history of misrepresenting Okinawa, while speaking for and over the voices of Okinawans. This, of course, is a major human rights violation on the part of both the U.S. and Japan, who are illegally occupying the Ryukyu Islands against the will of Ryukyuans.

"Around 95% of the articles and videos published in Western mainstream media about Okinawa are terrible," said Rob Kajiwara, president of the Peace For Okinawa Coalition. "They use a very U.S. and Japan-centric view, which they impose onto Ryukyuans / Okinawans. They have little-to-no understanding of Ryukyuan language, culture, history, values, identity, or views. This is why most Ryukyuans don't bother with Western media." 

Ryukyuans are recognized by the United Nations as the Indigenous peoples of the Ryukyu Islands. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People guarantees Ryukyuans the right to "establish their own media in their own languages and to have access to all forms of non-indigenous media without discrimination."

The Peace For Okinawa Coalition urges the international community to take immediate action to ensure the rights of Ryukyuans / Okinawans are protected from U.S. and Japanese aggression. 

Update:

Vice has a history of accepting payment from governments in exchange for promoting propaganda: 

The New York Times has published an article titled "Would Russia or China Help Us if We Were Invaded by Space Aliens?" The article has garnered sharp criticism and mocking from thousands online. When it comes to China, Okinawa, or other members of the Global South, the New York Times has produced a slew of very low-quality articles. 

Reuters has published an article in which they claim that Okinawans are moving in an anti-China direction, using the results of Okinawa's recent election as 'evidence' to support their argument. This strongly contradicts reports from Okinawa, which clearly state that some voters have chosen to support certain candidates due to their economic policies in light of the ongoing pandemic - not due to the so-called 'China threat.' 

The Reuters article entirely omits the recent major victories of the All-Okinawa Coalition, including the election of Seiken Akamine of the Communist Party and Kunio Arakaki of the Social Democratic Party. Reuters quotes a few Okinawans in an attempt to support their 'anti-China' claim, while ignoring the overwhelming majority of Okinawans who oppose the U.S. and Japanese military bases. While the article claims that 'young Okinawans are moving in an anti-China direction,' this also contradicts the factual evidence. The petition started by Rob Kajiwara in December 2018 against the Henoko military base obtained over 212,000 signatures - the vast majority of which were from millennials. Millennials continue to make up around 90% of the Peace For Okinawa Coalition's membership and active participants. Numerous other millennial Okinawans have voiced their opposition to the U.S. / Japanese military bases in a variety of other ways. 

Even the U.S. government has acknowledged that Okinawans do not see China as a threat.

The writer of the article is Ju-min Park, a South Korean journalist who covers Japan and North Korea. The vast majority of articles about Okinawa published in the English language are written by non-Okinawans, almost all of whom have little-to-no understanding of Okinawan culture, history, language, issues, or identity. The inclusion of Okinawan voices regarding Okinawan issues is an essential element in any society claiming to be democratic. 

Additionally, referring to Okinawa as "Japan" is deeply offensive to the majority of Okinawans, and is a major human rights violation. Ryukyuans / Okinawans are recognized by the United Nations as the Indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples guarantees Ryukyuan rights under international law.  

Western and Japanese mainstream media have an extensive history of manipulating and misreporting Okinawan issues in order to advance U.S. and Japanese imperialist propaganda. Superimposing U.S. and Japanese views onto Okinawans is unprofessional, inappropriate, and ​an act of aggression. 

Willing and able to support the rights of Ryukyuans / Okinawans? Support us here.

In 1998 the CIA removed University of Hawaii professor Gary Fuller from a major academic study due to his views on China. The CIA at the time believed that China would break apart within three years, while Fuller believed this was unlikely. Academic freedom is supposed to be a hallmark of democracy, yet the CIA clearly violated this principle. 

Even in 1998, the CIA was predicting the fall of China, and in particular believed that Xinjiang would split off and become an independent nation. More than 20 years later, China is very much still intact and prosperous.