John Manning Reports

“The international struggle to end terrorism is aimed at capturing thesuspect terrorist group and bringing them to justice. This cannot beachieved by overthrowing a regime, by waging military attacks, or by seizinga few terrorist leaders.”

The report from the first full-length top-level meeting of the Japanese Communist Party since the September 11 events reflects the serious thinking of the whole organization on the situation which, as JCP Central Committee Chair Fuwa says, affects the future of humanity.

The JCP position is not identical to the position of U.S. and Western progressives  -  which is not to say that we are necessarily wrong, or vice versa.  The US is the country which is doing all this, and, for myself and American readers,  that is our special responsibility.

The difference is, that those of us who are aware, are aware that what has been being done to the Palestinians with U.S. blessing for the last 50 years is the cause of this particular terrorism, and say that has to be ended to stop it.  The JCP puts ending terrorism first and says it doesn't have to wait until the Palestinians get their country.

This seemingly coldblooded position is not here explained in detail, but it comes from an evaluation of the destructive effect terrorism has on the entire progressive movement.  If terrorism and repression (state terrorism) leads to more of each, we may never get out of this and the Palestinians may never get their country.

Terrorism is a ruling class weapon.  Public torture and executions have been used in all history to put fear into the working people. Our system is an adversarial society and striking back is glorified at the same time as it is prohibited and punished. A country which bullies and orders about the lives of so many billions of people as the United States has been doing arouses resentment which is cheered by harm coming to it.

This not-so-very-underground approval of terrorist acts is the worst enemy of the progressive, necessarily peaceful struggle for a better world in which people can. At long last be friends.  From window bashing and car burning up- to the Trade Towers terrorism is a ruling class weapon and empowers the oppressors to use all the enormous punitive and destructive powers they have assembled for just this purpose.

But they exist only by consent of the people. They are a tiny minority and with runaway accumulating, becoming tinier every year. By standing together the people have the power to resist, change the course of history and bring these self-styled great ones down to a normal human level.   Gandhi proved this in one of the poorest countries of the world (poor because robbed).  Martin Luther King proved it.  Both were assassinated. Their lives and struggles can be learned from.

Right now, under the double oppression of the U.S. military and the Japanese zaibatrsu, forgiven their war guilt and set on their feet as helpers by their US counterparts, the peaceful and growingly powerful democratic movement in Japan demonstrates massivelyagainst the war and against restructuring. And unlike those in the rest of the world, the demonstrations do no violence and the police bash no heads.  Because under the leadership which has won the allegiance of the progressive movement in Japan the demonstrators do not destroy property  - because it is the people’s, and one day they will regain control of it.  The fight is to advance by the rule of law and agreed reason, eliminating the bad laws.

What the JCP is urging is that the world use the laws which exist, which have been set up to resolve differences between nations and so compel the United States to abide by them, rather than throw out all agreements and rule by means of its enormous pile of weapons, which would put the military in power on one side, and individual terrorists on the other  -  and the mass of the people terrorized and ground up between them.

If the people of the world will insist on using the laws and agreements which exist, the war will have to stop before it becomes a way oflife, like the hundred years war in Europe.

Please look over carefully Tetsuzo Fuwa's summation of the situation and problem and think about it.

"Struggle against international terrorism needs wisdom and effective efforts" JCP Central Committee 3rd Plenum (October 19, JCP head office, Tokyo)

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo used his speech at the JCP Central Committee 3rd plenary meeting on October 19 to emphasize the need to use wisdom and efforts to effectively fight international terrorism.

In the speech, Fuwa also expounded on other key issues raised by the Executive Committee report, including the struggle against corporate restructuring and social service cuts.

Wisdom and universal efforts should be summoned to effectively deal with international terrorism.

Fuwa said it is necessary to summon universal wisdom and efforts to deal with the question that has a bearing on the survival of humanity in the 21st century. He said, "This is the standpoint from which Executive Committee Chair Shii and I together sent two letters to national government leaders."

Fuwa expanded on the following two points:

(1) The world is confronting terrorist groups, and no country has the right to force the people of a country that is suspected of harboring terrorists to fall victim to war.

The present Afghan situation shows the people suffering not only from the immediate damage of air strikes but also from hunger and land mines placed during the 20-years of foreign invasion and civil war.

The war has suspended international aid work. A UN official responsible for international aid work criticized the US for carrying out air strikes while dropping food bags, which makes people suspicious about the neutrality of all organizations in the world engaged in food aid and impairs people's trust in them.

(2) The international struggle to end terrorism is aimed at capturing the suspect terrorist group and bringing them to justice. This cannot be achieved by overthrowing a regime, by waging military attacks, or by seizing a few terrorist leaders.

Fuwa said that it is imperative to build up a unity in public opinion, including the Islamic community to isolate the terrorist forces, using the strength of international public opinion. He stressed the importance of giving the United Nations a role to play in behalf of reason and the unity of the international community.

Steps beyond economic measures may have to be adopted to corner the terrorist forces and the government protecting them, but even if that is the case, they should be a kind of police work, he pointed out.

Fuwa said that Japan is not in a position to take part in UN military activities. On the other hand, Japan’s Constitution makes it the most appropriate country to take the initiative in calling for UN-led measures.

He stressed that this should be the centerpiece of Japan's international contribution and criticized the Koizumi Cabinet for taking the oppositecourse of tying to send the Self-Defense Forces abroad without restrictions.

JCP view on the Middle East question shows foresight

Fuwa referred to the Middle East question. He stressed that the JCP is not of the opinion that the terrorist issue cannot be settled unless the political question in the Middle East is settled. He said that from the early stages of the Palestine question, the JCP has maintained that no terrorist activity can be tolerated, that the Palestinian people have the right to establish an independent state, and that Israel as a nation state has the right to exist. Fuwa explained this by referring to his talks with PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 1981.