(In Front of the Gate)
Hot days continue. On the same day when Mr. Takara Tetsumi won the House of Councilors election in Okinawa, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Suga Yoshihide publicly stated that “the construction of the new base would proceed”. Since the last year’s gubernatorial election, in the consecutive elections that followed, all 5 candidates who opposed to the new base construction and were supported by All Okinawa won the elections. In spite of such facts, the Administration proceeds on the construction work. Are they qualified to be involved in democracy and local governance?
At 9:00 a.m., approximately 20 people resumed the sit-in in front of the Gate, but were surrounded by the riot police force and removed in 20 minutes. Ms. Takasato Suzuyo, the leader of the day talked to the Defense Bureau staff.
“The will of Okinawa was strongly declared again. We, Uchinunchu, will not falter on our conviction that no base is needed for our children and grandchildren. We, including you, inherited the conviction from our parents who experienced the horrible war, didn’t we?”
It seemed that her speech reached the heart of the Defense Bureau staff, and the voice of warning through a loud speaker got smaller for a while.
Three times the day, 101 truckloads in total were delivered.
(In front of Ryukyu Cement Pier in Awa)
The protestors rallied on the land and on the sea. One boat and 17 canoes tied themselves to the anchor ropes of the just-loaded cargo ships to prevent them from leaving the pier. In the heat, they drunk water and ate lunch on the sea to keep rallying until 2:00 p. m.
In front of the gate of the pier, approximately 20 people took turns and rallied to delay the deliveries of earth and sand by trucks. Ten members of GoGo Drive Campaign came with their cars to delay the deliveries.
A care package of cold fruit compote was delivered for us.
By the early evening, 2 cargo ships left for Oura Bay.
(Shiokawa Pier of Motobu Port)
Within 2.5 hours by 10:00 a.m., the operation at the site was finished for the reasons unknown, and the earth and sand equivalent to 183 truckloads were loaded to the cargo ships. The number of protestors was about 10 vs. 50 security guards dispatched from a civilian security service company. Is the Administration going to continue the construction of the new base in this fashion for the next 10-20 years?
The recent public data indicates that the cost for the security guard service for the new base construction is JPY 17 million per day. It is so unreasonable to provide our land for the construction of a military base for the US forces and spend so much tax money.
The picture shows the status of the construction in the mid May when the rules for flying drones were not yet established. The landfill was completed only a few percent of the total planned area.
