(In Front of the Gate)
In the intense heat, several tens of citizens held a protest rally against the Okinawa Defense Bureau and the dump trucks that make deliveries of construction material. Routinely at 9:00 a.m., noon, and 3:00 p.m., loaded trucks came. After having been removed from the protest rally, the citizen protestors walked in protest to appeal their opposition against the new base construction.
Deliveries of 114 truckloads were made.
(On the Sea by the Pier in Awa)
One rubber boat and 12 canoes went out on the sea and went under the Pier to stop the cargo ships leaving the Pier. Since the Coast Guard’s rubber boats cannot come under the Pier, the Guard’s men swam to reach our canoes and remove the canoes one by one, which took several hours and delayed the departure of the cargo ships. This was repeated twice today.
(In Front of the Pier)
All day long, we rallied in front of the Gate of the Pier in Awa to delay the deliveries of earth and sand. The number of protestors changes day to day, depending on the designated groups. Today, Naha rea groups were in charge. Approximately 30 of them came in 2 small buses. Under the stingingly hot sun, they stood in front of the dump trucks to delay the deliveries.
By 6:00 p.m., 607 deliveries were made and loaded on the cargo ships.
At the Shiokawa Pier, approximately 10 people rallied in protest. Deliveries of 119 truckloads of earth and sand were loaded onto the cargo ships.
(Other)
Today, we also rallied in protest in front of the Gate of the North Training Field under construction in Takae where a tent set up by the residents for monitoring was taken away by US soldiers twice in the last 2 months.
It was an obvious theft. We distributed a leaflet and talked to the soldiers going into the base.
Since December 2017 when an area for takeoff and landing for V-22 Osprey was designated, the noise pollution has gotten worse. I can hear the silent distress screams from Takae residents.
