Everyone says, “The construction work proceeds in extremely slow tempo.” The number of the trucks delivering construction material to the Camp Schwab has been decreased greatly as well as to Awa and Shiokawa piers. Occasionally there is no transport by cargo ships at all. In reality, only a few percent of the planned land reclamation is completed; it is obvious that construction work is being delayed.
The Abe Administration may be intentionally working slowly along the shallow water of Henoko to kill the time because it requires at least 13 years by the Defense Bureau’s estimate to stabilize the soft seabed in the Oura Bay. However, engineering experts estimate that it will take 20 years.
A revision to the original construction plan requires an approval by the Okinawa Prefectural Government, but the current Governor will not granted the approval.
It is most likely that the Administration is putting up an appearance that the construction work is proceeding steadily in order to foster Okinawans’ sentiment to give up fighting.
Okinawans can only fight in solidarity against the Abe Administration that does not know when to “stop”. We must unite sharing the principle that “without victory we will not give up”. We launch now on a 20-year long battle.
(In front of the Camp Schwab Gate)
Protestors from different lives come to the Gate. Today, Ms. Shimabukuro, a dancer from Miyako Island, participated in the sit-in protest. Just before the riot police started removing the protesters, she invited everyone to join her for a dance. 13 people got on their feet and enjoyed themselves with a traditional dance of Miyako Island. The riot police was stunned for a short while. After the dance, Ms. Shimabukuro spoke for ten minutes in Uchināguchi (Okinawan dialect) about the irrationality of construction of the base. The commander of the police unit who understood Uchināguchi spoke up and expressed his gratitude for the reasons unknown. The atmosphere in front of the Gate got momentarily relaxed. The Okinawan dialect could serve as a good communication tool evoking deep feelings. From the morning through the afternoon, 140 truckloads with raw material got delivered in three shifts.
(In Front of the Ryukyu Cement Pier in Awa)
Close to 40 dump trucks with earth and sand occupied half of the highway. We learned that only ten protestors could slow down the truck traffic. Even though we were small in the number, we cannot stop protesting in front of the trucks. Taking turns, we kept standing in front of the Gate throughout the day. The total of 467 loads which is equivalent to 2 cargo ships of earth and sand got delivered.
Eight canoes surrounded the cargo ships and delayed their departure for about an hour. On the Intensive Action Day scheduled to be held on the next Tuesday, the 3th of December, we aim to gather 100 boats and to create a large-scale hindrance.
(In front of the Shiokawa Pier in Motobu)
No delivery was made in the morning. In the afternoon, dump trucks appeared unexpectedly. But 15 of us got to the gate and delayed the deliveries. After making 91 deliveres, the truck transport operation for the day was over.
