In a significant move, the International Peace Bureau (IPB) has issued a statement opposing the establishment of a US military base on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The global response to this declaration has been notable, with influential companies, scientists, public figures, journalists, peace advisors, NGOs, and various influential individuals from around the world rallying behind the cause, Ednews reports.

Among those expressing solidarity with the IPB's stance is the International Eurasian Press Fund (İEPF) and its president, Umud Mirzayev. The İEPF not only joined the statement but also extended its full support to the cause.

It's worth mentioning that İEPF has been a steadfast member of the International Peace Bureau since 2001, underlining its enduring commitment to promoting peace initiatives globally. Further emphasizing İEPF's dedication to international peace, in 2013, Chairman Umud Mirzayev of the Baku-based İEPF participated in a three-year meeting of BSB in Stockholm, Sweden. His active involvement led to his election as a member of the Supreme Council of the IPB.

As a Supreme Council member, Umud Mirzayev represented 18 West Asian countries, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Qatar, Yemen, Palestine, Amman, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Iraq. This marked a significant recognition of Mirzayev's leadership, with his role as a representative being crucial in fostering collaboration and dialogue.

It's noteworthy that the Baku-based İEPF is the first non-governmental organization (NGO) to undertake such a vital mission in Azerbaijan. Since 2015, İEPF has maintained close cooperation with the International Peace Bureau, further solidifying its commitment to global peace initiatives.

The collective support from organizations like İEPF underscores the significance of the international community's united front against the establishment of the US military base in Okinawa. The joint statement by IPB and its supporters sends a powerful message advocating for peace and diplomacy in addressing global concerns.

Ednews reprints the statement:

January 2024

President Joe Biden and the citizens of the United States

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and the citizens of Japan 

One decade ago, 103 international scholars, journalists, artists and peace advocates, including linguist Noam Chomsky and former U.S. Army colonel and diplomat Ann Wright, issued a statement opposing the construction of yet another U.S. Marine Corps base on the Cape of Henoko in the northern part of Okinawa Island. Yet even now, the U.S. and Japanese governments persist with this costly landfill project in the face of opposition by the majority of Okinawans, recklessly damaging the irreplaceable ecosystem. Unfortunately, the Henoko side of the construction, which accounts for about one fourth of the total area to be reclaimed, is almost complete. Now they are about to launch reclamation on the north, the deep and preciously diverse Oura Bay. 

Plans to build the base at Henoko have been on the drawing board since the 1960s. They were revitalized in a 1996 Japan-U.S. agreement (SACO) as a “replacement facility” for the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma situated dangerously in the middle of congested Ginowan City. More than a quarter of a century later, the two governments have not yet returned the land occupied by the Futenma base to the people to whom it belongs, and there have even been reports that the U.S. aims to maintain both bases after the new base is built. 

We, the signatories of this petition, who advocate for Okinawa’s right to self-determination, democracy, and autonomy, hereby renew our support for the Okinawan people who reject further militarization of Okinawa, a de facto military colony of the United States and Japan ever since the end of World War II. 

Okinawa, previously the independent Ryukyu Kingdom, was forcibly annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1879 after three centuries of domination by feudal Japan. The people of the Ryukyu chain of islands were forcefully assimilated into Japan, deprived of their languages, their names, their traditions, and their dignity as sovereign and autonomous peoples, much like many indigenous peoples around the world who were colonized by Western imperial powers. 

Toward the end of the Asia-Pacific War, Japan used Okinawa as a “sacrificial pawn,” keeping the battle there in an effort to protect the “emperor’s land,” and mobilized the entire population of the islands. The war between Japan and the United States killed over 120,000 Okinawan people, which was more than one-fourth of the population. The U.S. military then took control of the islands as a spoil of the war, and almost eight decades later it still occupies Okinawan land, air and sea, causing enormous human rights violations including rape and murder, deadly aircraft and vehicle accidents, and environmental degradations such as PFAS contamination of water. 

On 20 December 2023, the High Court of Fukuoka, Naha Branch ordered Okinawa Prefecture to approve the change in the government’s construction method in order to deal with the “mayonnaise-like” soft ocean bed that would require costly, protracted, and “impossible” (according to experts) ground reinforcement to enable reclamation of the Oura Bay part of the new base. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, who won the 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial elections on a platform of opposition to the Henoko base, rejected the court order on 25 December, and submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court on 27 December. 

On 28 December, the Japanese government approved the plan alteration on behalf of Okinawa Prefecture, in an extraordinary, FIRST EVER exercise of the “execution by proxy” (daishikkō) under the Local Autonomy Law that was revised in 1999. 

In a word, the court has effectively allowed the state to take the law into its own hands and trample on the right to autonomy of the local government. The Japanese government is expected to start reclamation work on Oura Bay on 12 January 2024. 

An Okinawa Times editorial on 28 December argued: 

Execution by proxy under the Local Autonomy Law is unprecedented anywhere in Japan. Under the pretext of “eliminating the danger of the Futenma Air Station as soon as possible,” the Japanese government has resorted to strong-arm tactics that infringe on local autonomy.

The Ryukyu Shimpo, another Okinawan newspaper, asked in its 27 December editorial:

Would people in other prefectures approve of such a situation befalling their own communities? … are they indifferent because they think that this unprecedented ruling against Okinawa [execution by proxy] couldn't possibly happen elsewhere?

It is colonial indifference. The rest of Japan does not care, and the vast majority of U.S. citizens are unaware of what their government is doing in Okinawa. 

President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida, and citizens of the United States and Japan, we must end the discrimination and military colonization of Okinawa. The first step is to cancel the construction of the new base in Henoko, on Oura Bay, which is expected to cost over 6.5 billion U.S. dollars and take more than 10 years to complete. 

It is high time that we do the right thing. 

1    Mariko     Abe     Chief, Conservation and Education division, The Nature Conservation Society of Japan    Japan 
2    Amy    Antonucci     Small Farmer & Activist    USA
3    Ellen     Barfield    Veterans For Peace, Military Families Speak Out, War Resisters League    USA
4    Walden    Bello    Co-Chair of the Board, Focus on the Global South    Philippines/
Thailand
5    Max    Blumenthal    The Grayzone    USA
6    Jacqueline    Cabasso    Executive Director/Western States Legal Foundation    USA
7    Helen     Caldicott    Founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, 1985 Nobel Peace Prize    Australia
8    Marilyn    Carlisle    Peace Action    USA
9    Sunghee    Choi    Gangjeong peace activist     South Korea
10    Rachel    Clark    Associate Member / Veterans For Peace / Interpreter, Global Coordinator    USA
11    Gerry    Condon    Board of Directors / Veterans For Peace    USA
12    Marie    Cruz Soto    Historian of Vieques, Puerto Rico, and of the U.S.    Puerto Rico/USA
13    Ludo    De Brabander    Vrede vzw - Spokesperson    Belgium
14    Ariel     Dorfman    Author     USA
15    Alexis    Dudden    Professor of History / University of Connecticut    USA
16    Mark    Ealey    Translator     New Zealand 
17    Pat    Elder    Military Poisons    USA
18    Joseph    Essertier    Coordinator, Japan for a World BEYOND War    Japan
19    Corazon    Fabros    Co-President, International Peace Bureau    Philippines
20    Thomas    Fazi    Journalist and writer    Italy
21    John    Feffer    Director, Foreign Policy In Focus    USA
22    Norma    Field    Professor Emerita, East Asian Languages & Civilizations, University of Chicago    USA
23    Margaret     Flowers     Director, Popular Resistance    USA
24    Takashi    Fujitani    Professor, University of Toronto    Canada
25    Bruce    Gagnon    Coordinator of Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space    USA
26    Joseph    Gerson    President, Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security    USA
27    Aaron    Good    Political Scientist, Historian    USA
28    David    Hartsough    San Francisco Friends Meeting    USA
29    Chris    Hedges    Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author    USA
30    Laura    Hein    Professor of History Northwestern University    USA
31    Martha     Hennessy     Catholic Worker     USA
32    Miho    Hiki    Early Childhood Educator    Japan
33    Yunshin    HONG    Okinawa University / Assistant Professor     Japan
34    Peter    Hulm    Deputy Editor, Global Insights    Switzerland
35    Masamichi (Marro)    Inoue    Professor, University of Kentucky    USA
36    Akemi    Johnson    Writer    USA
37    Erin    Jones    Translator / Independent researcher    USA
38    John    Junkerman    Documentary filmmaker    Japan
39    Mariko    Kage    Lillooet Friendship Centre    Canada
40    Kyle    Kajihiro    Assistant Professor, University of Hawai’i at Manoa    Hawaii
41    Kristine    Karch    Int'l No to NATO    Germany
42    Rosemary    Kean    Massachusetts Peace Action Racial Justice Working Group    USA
43    Claudia Junghyun    Kim    City University of Hong Kong    Hong Kong
44    Yeonghwan    Kim    The Center for Historical Truth and Justice    South Korea
45    Ulla    Klötzer    Women for Peace - Finland    Finland
46    Joy    Kogawa    Writer    Canada
47    Ryuko    Kubota    University of British Columbia    Canada
48    Jeremy    Kuzmarov    Managing editor, CovertAction Magazine    USA
49    Peter    Kuznick    Professor of History, American University    USA
50    Heok-Tae    Kwon    Sungkonghoe University    Korea
51    Judith    Lang    Retired coral reef scientist    USA
52    Donald    Lathrop    Berkshire Citizens for Peace and Justice    USA
53    Nydia    Leaf    Retired Educator    USA
54    Andrea    LeBlanc    September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows    USA
55    Steven    Leeper    Peace Culture Village    Japan
56    Jon    Letman    Independent journalist     USA
57    Madeleine    Lewis    Artist    USA
58    Charles Douglas    Lummis    Professor, Tsuda College (retired); Coordinator, Veterans For Peace - Ryukyu/Okinawa Chapter Kokusai (VFP-ROCK)    Japan
59    Catherine    Lutz    Brown University    USA
60    Kyo    Maclear    Writer and Instructor    Canada
61    Kathie    Malley-Morrison    Professor Emerita Boston University, member Mass Peace Action    USA
62    Kazumi    Marthiensen     Artist    Canada
63    Abby    Martin    Journalist, The Empire Files    USA
64    Kevin    Martin    President, Peace Action    USA
65    Wendy    Matsumura     Associate Professor/University of California, San Diego    USA
66    Gavan    McCormack    Emeritus Professor, Australian National University    Australia
67    Mairead    Maguire    Nobel peace laureate, Co-founder of Peace People Ireland    Northern Ireland
68    Nikki    Meith    Zoologist, conservationist, environmental writer, editor, designer    Switzerland
69    Martin    Melkonian    Professor of Economics    USA
70    Susan    Mirsky    Newton Dialogues on Peace and War    USA
71    Yuki    Miyamoto    Professor, DePaul University    USA
72    Haruko    Moritaki    Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (HANWA)    Japan
73    Tessa    Morris-Suzuki    Professor Emerita, Australian National University    Australia
74    Katherine    Muzik    Marine biologist, author    USA
75    Christopher    Nelson    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill    USA
76    KJ    Noh    Pivot to Peace    USA
77    Richard    Ochs    Board member / Maryland Peace Action    USA
78    Midori    Ogasawara    Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria    Canada
79    Satoko    Oka Norimatsu    Director, Peace Philosophy Centre    Canada/Japan
80    Natsu    Onoda Power    Georgetown University     USA
81    Akino    Oshiro    University of Erlangen-Nuremberg    South Korea 
82    Shoko    Oshiro    Lecturer    Okinawa

83 Hideko    Otake    Coordinator, Stand with Okinawa NY    USA

84    Shinako    Oyakawa    ACSILs (The Association of Comprehensive Studies for Independence of the Lew Chewans)    Ryukyu
85    Noriko    Oyama    Okinawa Peace Appeal, VFP Rock    USA 
86    Rosemarie    Pace    Pax Christi    USA
87    Koohan    Paik-Mander    Writer    USA 
88    Tony    Palomba    Steering Committee, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment    USA
89    Thea    Paneth    Arlington United for Justice with Peace (MA)    USA
90    Matthew    Penney    Associate Professor    Canada
91    Margaret    Power    Co-Chair, Historians for Peace and Democracy    USA
92    John    Price    Research Associate, Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria    Canada
93    Mazin    Qumsiyeh    Professor and Director, Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability    Palestine
94    Steve    Rabson    Brown University     USA
95    John    Raby    Co-chair, Peace Action Maine    USA
96    William    Ramsey    Writer    USA
97    Wyatt    Reed    Managing Editor, The Grayzone    USA
98    Jon    Reinsch    Writer    USA
99    Dennis    Riches    Professor, Seijo University     Japan
100    Jun    Sasamoto    Lawyer    Japan
101    Susan    Schnall    President, Veterans For Peace Board of Directors    USA
102    Mark    Selden    Cornell University     USA
103    Tim    Shorrock    Independent journalist    USA
104    Stephen    Slaner    Support Massachusetts Peace Action    USA
105    Steven    Starr    University of Missouri, Assistant Clinical Professor    USA
106    Vicky    Steinitz    Retired faculty, UMass Boston     USA
107    Oliver    Stone    Filmmaker    USA
108    Doug    Strable    Learning Technologist    Japan 
109    David    Swanson    Executive Director, World BEYOND War    USA
110    Hiroko    Takahashi    Professor of History, Nara University     Japan
111    Roy     Tamashiro    Professor Emeritus, Webster University     USA
112    Yuki    Tanaka    Historian     Australia
113    Kaia    Vereide    Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of the Sea Jeju Committee    South Korea / USA
114    Paki    Wieland    CODEPINK    USA
115    Charmaine    Willis    Visiting Assistant Professor, Skidmore College     USA
116    Lawrence    Wittner    Professor of History Emeritus, State University of New York/Albany    USA
117    Ellen     Woodsworth    Co President WILPF Canada / Speaker and intersectional consultant on cities/ Matriarch Women Transforming Cities International SocietyFormer Vancouver City Councilor    Canada
118    Ann    Wright    Retired US Army Colonel and former US diplomat / Veterans For Peace    USA
119    Sho     Yamagushiku    Writer    Canada
120    Lisa    Yoneyama    University of Toronto     Canada
121    Hideki    Yoshikawa    Director, Okinawa Environmental Justice Project    Japan
122    Ayaka    Yoshimizu    Assistant Professor of Teaching, The University of British Columbia    Canada
123    Geoffrey    Young    Candidate for US House of Reps.    USA

124 Umud Mirzayev President of IEPF. Azerbaijan