Asian Peoples Condemn Spate of Sexual Assault by U.S. Soldiers
Joint Statement
Asian Peoples Condemn Spate of Sexual Assault by U.S. Soldiers
March 10, 2008
We, members of different progressive organizations for the defense of the rights of our people and the sovereignty of our nations come together to condemn in the most vigorous term the recent spate of sexual assault committed by US soldiers against Asian women.. In October 2007, a 19-year-old Japanese girl was gang-raped in Hiroshima by U.S. soldiers from the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni. Then, on February 10, 2008, a 14 year-old junior high school student was sexually assaulted by a US soldier in Okinawa. A week later, on February 18, a Filipina contract worker was also raped by a US army serviceman just three days after she arrived in Okinawa. These heinous crimes are deplorable and any attempt to deny justice to the victims is an affront against women, in particular, and our people, in general.
The Japan and U.S. government is working on the U.S. military transformation to consolidate the military alliance between the two countries. They are integrating the both troops, and trying to build or expand military bases in Okinawa, Iwakuni and Kanagawa on a huge scale. The Japan-U.S. military alliance is being transformed to cover the whole of Asia and the world. This move is the biggest threat to the people in Asia than ever. The military alliance is putting women around the bases in Okinawa and Japan under ceaseless threat of sexual violence by the U.S. military.
Sexual assaults committed by abusive US soldiers stationed in various US military bases in Asia are actually not new to us. We recall for example 97 cases of sexual assault on Filipino women from 1981 to 1988 when the Philippines was host to Clark Airbase and Subic Naval Base then considered as two of the largest US military facilities outside America. Also fresh in our minds is the rape of a 22 year-old Filipina by four US marines in November 2005 when US soldiers made a well-orchestrated return to the Philippines courtesy of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) signed by the Philippines and US governments. The said agreement has paved the way for the deployment of US soldiers from US bases in Japan to the Philippines through Balikatan exercises or under the pretext of joint military exercises to fight terrorism.
The U.S. is transforming and reinforcing the bases in South Korea as well, and Korean women have been suffering from sexual violence. Moreover, two junior high school students were run over to death by an armed truck of the U.S. in 2002. Korean people have kept on their fight to kick out the U.S. bases.
What we deplore most is the fact that almost all of cases of sexual assault have not reached the court and the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against women in Okinawa, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines have all gone unpunished.
The most recent cases of sexual assault in Japan, although they have been widely publicized in media, might suffer the same fate. Right now, we deplore the snail-paced and piecemeal action taken by the US government to solve these crimes. For instance, the announcement made by the Bush administration calling for tighter disciplines on US military personnel stationed in Japan is nothing but empty rhetoric meant to douse the growing anger of the people. Equally deplorable is the insensitivity of the US government to the rights and wellbeing of the victims. The Japanese government, on the other hand, has always been quick at downplaying these crimes obviously for fear that these can harm Japan’s goal of further reinforcing US military bases around the country and damage Japan’s military alliance with the US.
The Japan-US military alliance is a hegemonic design to control Asia and the world. It is the biggest threat to our democracy, justice, peace and national sovereignty. The presence of US military bases in the region as symbols of US superiority and domination not only place women under ceaseless threat of sexual violence. but also endanger the life and security of our people.
The list of crimes committed by US soldiers stationed in military bases in Okinawa, Japan, south Korea, and the Philippines is too long and too serious to ignore. We cannot allow these crimes to continue, much less allow the perpetrators to go unpunished. We demand justice for all the victims and that, we believe, can only be realized by dismantling all US military bases and withdrawing all US military troops in the region.
We call on peoples in Asia to unite in solidarity with other peoples of the world to advance the struggle towards the immediate dismantling of all US military bases and other facilities in the region and elsewhere in the world, to rally behind victims of sexual assaults, and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Justice for all victims of sexual assault by U.S. soldiers!
Bring the perpetrators to justice!
Revise SOFA in Japan and South Korea!
Abrogate the Japan-US and South Korea-US military alliance!
Repeal RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement!
Withdraw all U.S. troops in Asia!
ENDORSERS:
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) -the Philippines
GABLIERA –the Philippines
MIGRANTE-Japan
AWC-Korean Committee
Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea (SPARK) -Korea
Korean council for women drafted for military sexual slavery by Japan
Women Making Peace (WMP) -Korea
Ewha Woman’s Democratic Alumni Association –Korea
Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities -Korea
Korea Association of Methodist Women in Ministry
Korea Association of Christian Women for Women Minjung
Labor Right Association –China, Taiwan
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition -U.S.
AWC-Japan