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Tuesday, August 17, 2004
To Have a Seat, You Must Support War?
From the BBC, found on www.thepoliticaljunkies.net.
TO HAVE A SEAT, YOU MUST SUPPORT WAR?
The Japanese Constitution approved by America as an occupying power after WWII renounces war to resolve conflicts.
Japan wants a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Colin Powell tells the Japanese that if they want a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Japan will have to review their constitutional prohibition against armed conflict. The Secretary:
Mr Powell told Japan's Kyodo news agency that the US supported Tokyo's quest for a permanent seat at the Security Council. But he added that: "If Japan is going to play a full role on the world stage and become a full active participating member of the Security Council, and have the kind of obligations that it would pick up as a member of the Security Council, Article Nine would have to be examined in that light." --BBC
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Of course, the national American media have let this story just blow by without a whisper. I did a Google search for "Security Council" + "Article Nine" + Japan. I found stories by the BBC, the Daily Times (Pakistani), Yahoo! news, Reuters (the UK branch), Channel New Asia, Jang Group (Pakistan), Al Jazeera, Kuwait Times, Reuters (the US edition... but clicking on it brought me to a blank page), and United Nations News. I looked at the first 50 stories, and not a single one of them (they are arranged in order of how popular the link is) was from a national American news outlet. Unless you want to count Yahoo, which got its story from Reuters International.
John McAndrew
Democracy for Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM
P.S. If you'd like to complain about the lack of coverage of this story by US media, contact them. CapWiz makes it easy. Here's a link to their media page:
And you can read the Japanese Constitution with its eloquent renunciation of war at:
August 17, 2004 at 05:41 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink
Comments
I remember when Jimmy Carter made Human Rights the plumb line for American foreign policy. The Bush regime has made bellicosity and militarism their plumb line, along with toeing the lines they have drawn in the sands.
And still millions of Americans profess their support of this regime in America. If 9-11 revealed nothing else to us about ourselves, it revealed a deep vein of anger that was spoiling for a fight: any justification will do, no matter how absurd and ham-handed. We have been bullies before - Nicaragua and El Salvador come to mind - so there's no need to give George W. Bush credit for being original. But previous bullies in the White House have always had the minimal decency to attempt to be covert in their bullying. This regime issues press releases about it and brags about it from behind God's skirts.
And now we have the gall to tell Japan, whose economy was the envy of America in the 80's and early 90's, who has been an upstanding world citizen since leaving behind the belief that their emperor and his commands were divine in origin, we have the gall to tell them to arm up and get with our program if'n they want a seat at the UN Security Council, which we now seem determined to manage. Clearly, our leaders have no shame.
When we begin to dictate other, peaceful nations' constitutions to them, we are megalomaniacal. This form of Republicanism ought not to be merely turned out of office. It should be crushed. and ridiculed.
Posted by: John McAndrew | Aug 18, 2004 7:03:54 AM
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution: Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.
Well, I can see where that would make Secretary powell nervous. Imagine if we had such a provision in our constitution. Yes, imagine.
Posted by: John McAndrew | Aug 18, 2004 7:09:09 AM
WOW John.....great information although really and truly disturbing. Sometimes I have to just remember how this country was founded....just to think of destroying all those natives and buffalos, it is still going on from then..all i can think is extreme bad karma for us!
And then the religious part...the taking of land, the massive genocide of the witch trials...where what like 6 mil mostly women were killed..bad bad karma!!
Posted by: mary ellen | Aug 19, 2004 10:17:49 AM
