News Friday the thirteenth By Douglas Lummis	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
不吉な「13日の金曜日」 米海兵隊のヘリ墜落事故に対する日本の対応は 地位協定に照らして納得できるものではない。

On Friday, Aug. 13, a huge CH53D transport helicopter from the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station crashed at Okinawa International University.

Before the Okinawan police and firefighters could get to the scene, a hundred or more Marines busted through the fence that separates Futenma Airbase from the campus and occupied the university. They strung yellow tape around the crash site and lined up armed military police (MPs) to keep people out. For this they did not ask permission. The police came to investigate for evidence of criminal negligence, but the Marines wouldn't let them in.

Did you ever hear anything like it? The suspected criminal destroys the evidence that may link him to a crime, while the police "requests permission" to look at it.

Politicians and news commentators mostly gave the same explanation: Well, the U.S. military has the right to do that under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Evidently these people have not read SOFA. The two relevant clauses follow:

Article XVII, 4: The foregoing provisions of this Article shall not imply any right for the military authorities of the United States to exercise jurisdiction over persons who are nationals of or ordinarily resident in Japan, unless they are members of the United States armed forces.

Here "the foregoing provisions" refers to provisions granting U.S. military authorities legal jurisdiction over U.S. military personnel.

Article XVII, 10B: Outside these facilities and areas, such military police shall be employed only subject to arrangements with the authorities of Japan and in liaison with those authorities and in so far as such employment is necessary to maintain discipline and order among the members of the United States armed forces.

Here "these facilities and areas" means U.S. military bases. Nothing could be clearer: U.S. MPs do not have jurisdiction over civilians off base - let alone police and firefighters! Those pistol-packing MPs had no more legal right than any gangster to occupy a university campus and order people to stay out.

What is the U.S. military thinking? That's obvious. The U.S. military still sees Okinawa as its own turf. They took Okinawa in World War II, and they kept it: the spoils of war. Japanese/Okinawan sovereignty over Okinawa is a charade they are willing to put up with so long as it doesn't get too much in their way. But when push comes to shove, they act according to their real belief: They own the place. And that's how they acted on Friday the thirteenth.

That's easy enough to understand. The harder question is: What on earth is the Japanese government thinking?

不吉な「13日の金曜日」

米海兵隊のヘリ墜落事故に対する日本の対応は 地位協定に照らして納得できるものではない。

Shukan ST: Oct. 1, 2004

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