Toward the Anti-G8 Struggle 2008 in Toya Lake, Hokkaido Japan
This noon, we, some Japanese activists, will protest the next G8 Summit in Japan, in front of the Neptun Hotel, Warnemuende, where the Japanese governmental delegation is staying.
We appeal for your participation in the project of No! G8 Japan, that will take place from July 7th to 9th 2008 in Toya Lake, Hokkaido. This year we came to G8 2007 Germany for the sake of solidarity and development of collaborative relationships. Hereafter our hope is to develop a network of movements beyond the East-West division, toward the struggle in 2008 Japan.
Preparation for the Japanese anti-G8 movements in 2008
Preparation for the several anti-G8 movements is gradually taking shape in Japan. Groups of anti-authoritarians like us are calling for a large network of movements. Meanwhile in May, at the anti-Asian Development Bank protest, anti-US Base movements, labor unions, ATTAC, and NGOs gathered and made an agreement to develop a coalition for the anti-G8 struggle in 2008.
In Hokkaido, the northern-most island of Japan, a network of local anti-G8 groups is to be established this coming July. For this we all agree to include local issues — such as those concerning the Ainu people which is the indigenous people of Hokkaido, the bankruptcy of the local economy, and free trade — as part of the central initiatives of the entire project. Furthermore, since the branch meetings of G8 will be held in such large cities as Osaka, Yokohama, and Niigata, local groups are planning to organize the protests. At the same time, in Hokkaido as well as other cities, possible facilities for accommodation for foreign activists and convergence centers are being sought.
We came from far away, from the opposite side of the planet, in order to participate in the anti-G8 actions 2007 in Germany. We are the members of NO! G8 Japan, one of the Japanese anti-G8 movements and a group intending to be a broad network of anti-capitalists within and without Japan. It is less a political organization than a network of anti-authoritarian movements. We will be communicating with you through our forthcoming HP (http://a.sanpal.co.jp/no-g8/) as well as Mail List, about the developments of our anti-G8 projects.
Due to the toughness of the Japanese conditions, it might be difficult to attain the same effects by following the same tactics as have been practiced in the past. That said, however, we believe we can beat the obstacles and realize a remarkable project in Japan 2008–this will be thanks to our collaborative efforts and the solidarity among us, the global activist communities, to be nurtured beginning here and now.
Please join us in Hokkaido in 2008!
投稿者 ira_k : June 4, 2007 05:28 AM