(In front of the Gate)
At 8:30am, 30 people resumed the sit-in in a sweaty weather. Before 9:00am, they moved to the Gate No.3 to send cheers to the members protesting against the floats placement on the sea. Shouting messages through a megaphone, approximately 60 people rooted, “Cheers from the land to the sea!” “Canoes, don’t give in to the Coast Guard!”
The members on the sea responded through a loud speaker, “Thank you, together we protest!” A feeling of united togetherness boosted our morale.
Min-Iren (a labor union for medical service workers), including 10 youth members in their 20s, joined the meeting at the Tent. By 11:00am, approximately 90 people gathered, and the spirits came high with songs and speeches. A newspaper reported that several months is required to restore the use of Shiokawa Port damaged by a typhoon and that the next March is the earliest when Okinawa Defense Bureau could start using the Port. We must watch out what the next step Abe Administration will take.
(On the Sea)
Two strings of floats and one string of oil fence were going to be in place. At 8:30am, 2 vessels and 12 canoes resumed the protest run on the sea. The protestors in 3 groups chased after the boats setting up the floats and shouted protest slogans. The protesters were at disadvantage against 15 rubber boats from the Coast Guard, but continued the protest run on the sea close to 4:00pm hoping that they could delay the construction work at least by a minute or even a second.
Our camera caught a picture of a small turtle swimming. Please check out YouTube for today’s protest run on the sea.
