Hundreds join Ainu march in final anti-G8 Protest
Dikirim oleh : IMC
Pada tanggal : 10-07-2008, 17:04
internasional /
globalisasi /
news report
*Hundreds join Ainu march
*International Activists Call for Support for Japanese Prisoners
Today, in the concluding event of ten days of G8 protests, hundreds of activists from three protest camps marched in a demonstration organized by the Ainu, a disenfranchised indigenous population of Hokkaido, the island where the G8 summit is being held. The march was surrounded by several rows of police the entire time. Protesters were holding signs in English and Japanese saying "No G8", and "Japan is a police state".
"The Japanese government's policies towards the Ainu are symbolic of the G8's policies of dominance and oppression throughout the world", said Japanese organizers.
"At some point, my friend and I, frustrated with the police, went across the street where there was a sign welcoming participants to the G8 summit. We started breaking and tearing it," says Jone, a US activist. "Police held us and tried to arrest us, but other demonstrators came to help and managed to take us away from the police."
At 16:00, the following statement, made by international activists from Toyoura camp, was made public in a press conference:
”Three of our friends were arrested on July 5th and have been in state custody for four days. The Japanese criminal justice system allows for inhumane treatment of prisoners. Those detained can be held for 23 days without prosecution, and their families harassed. Furthermore, the Japanese legal system imposes collective punishment; organizers can be punished for activities that others did. Within jail, prisoners` physical movements are greatly restricted: they must ask permission to lie down, sit up, etc. In many other countries, this treatment would be considered torture.”
“The only way for the eight heads of state to maintain their undemocratic and unaccountable control over the world’s six billion people is through force. The oppressive policies of the Japanese state clearly illustrate this. We call on people around the world to show solidarity with the three anti-G8 Japanese prisoners. Demonstrate in front of your Japanese embassies. Help fund legal support for the prisoners. Come next year to protest the G8 in Italy, to make sure oppression does not silence our voices.”
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[Media G8way]
Media G8way is an international press service for individuals, groups, networks and (dis)organizations who understand themselves to be part of an independent radical left movement against the G8.
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