On Dec 6, Director of the civil engineering and construction department of the Prefectural office stated in response to a question in an Okinawa Prefectural assembly session that the prefecture office estimates the quantity of earth already thrown in for the landfill in Henoko is approximately 1 % of the required volume for the entire work. One year has passed since the reclamation was forcibly started last December. Although 400 or 500 truckloads of earth are delivered every day, only 1 % has been accomplished. The strategy of the government is to generate a false impression that reclamation is in progress rapidly by preceding the landfill at the shallow and easy area on the Henoko side. However, the landfill work is actually still at the very beginning stage. If they accomplish 1% a year, it should take 100 years to finish it. With that being said, we can’t ignore the fact that the sea is being destroyed every day. It would be a mistake to feel overly relieved. We have to stop the construction as soon as we can. Sharing with such urgency, people kept protesting at 4 sites today.
(In front of the gate)
Hiroji Yamashiro, aka “Mr. Geito-Mae (Mr. in front of the gate)” showed up at the gate after being away for a while. He has voluntarily stationed himself in Miyako Island to organize the people’s protest against the fortification of the entire island by the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Until now, he did the similar thing at Ginowan, Takae, Camp Schwab Gate, and Awa, to help to empower each movement. People here and abroad knows that Hiroji is present everywhere when people have a fight in Okinawa. Around 9 am, nearly 70 people gathered in front of the Camp Schwab gate. Sit-in people were encouraged by a burst of Yamashiro’s uniquely tuned speech. They also enjoyed songs and dances enthusiastically. Even at 3pm more than 60 people remained at the site and kept raising their voice to protest. 205 truckloads of the construction materials were delivered.
(On the sea at Oura Bay)
Two protest boats ad 6 canoes went out to sea for protest. As 1 year has passed since the landfill was forcibly started, media crew of newspapers and TV got onboard to inspect the site. Corals and seagrass beds were checked on the damage by divers. Canoe team members challenged against the reinstallation of floats which had been removed in preparation to stormy weather. Each one tied the canoe to the float with rope to slow down the installation work. Eventually everyone was detained by coastal guards and brought back to the beach. At K8 seawall earth and sand were unloaded from a cargo ship, transported by dump trucks and thrown in to the landfill area.
(In front of the Ryukyu Cement Pier at Awa)
10 cars of GoGo drive members determinedly interrupted the dump trucks trying to come out to the street from the pier after unloading earth and sand. They successfully slowed down the transport. For a long time nearly 40 trucks were always trapped on a premise. However, within the pier, 6 trucks loaded with earth and sand shuttled from the stock yard to the belt conveyer for dozens of times. Eventually 312 truckloads of earth and sands were delivered to 2 cargo ship. Also, at the entrance of the pier, 10 people or so stood in front of the trucks and kept protesting. There was no delivery of earth and sand at Shiokawa on Monday.
