STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coming several months after then U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen was in Japan to essentially order the government there to abandon its (U.S.-authored) constitutional ban on military deployment abroad, the current prime minister has "expressed irritation" at the "limitations of Japan's war-renouncing Constitution." Following the lead of Germany, which participated in an aggressive military campaign (against Yugoslavia) and stationed its troops abroad for the first time since World War Two, Japan, on the prompting of the US and NATO, is champing at the bit to tear up Article Nine of its constitution - "which renounces the use of force as a tool in settling international disputes" - and play a lead role in the militarization and armed occupation of the globe. As for the fig-leaf employed to discard this, as so many other, results of World War Two - that Japanese armed forces are to be engaged in so-called peacekeeping actions - see the second article to understand whose peace is being kept. _______________________________________________________ The Sydney Morning Herald June 23, 2001 (http://www.smh.com.au/news/0106/23/world/world1.html) Japan mulls peacekeeper position in East Timor by Michael Millett, Herald Correspondent in Tokyo Japan is considering abandoning its longstanding ban on international peacekeeping by contributing a force to East Timor. The director-general of the Defence Agency, Mr Gen Nakatani, told United Nations officials yesterday that his country would give "serious thought" to the idea. The move could necessitate changes to Japan's rigid rules on peacekeeping contributions, such as restricting the use of weapons to protecting its own personnel. The UN's deputy secretary-general, Ms Louise Frechette, told Mr Nakatani that the ground rules were a distinct "negative", preventing Japanese forces coming to the aid of UN officials. Mr Nakatani said he would visit East Timor soon to assess the need for a new peacekeeping effort and would also send members of the Self-Defence Forces to other international peacekeeping exercises. The comments confirm the intention of the Government of Mr Junichiro Koizumi to take a more assertive role in diplomatic and security matters, despite substantial domestic and international resistance. The Prime Minister has expressed irritation that the limitations of Japan's war-renouncing Constitution and the mindset that flows from it are inhibiting the nation's ability to contribute effectively to international peacekeeping operations. While there is growing global support for a renewed Japanese peacekeeping role, the issue has become part of a wider debate over the future of Article Nine in the Constitution, which renounces the use of force as a tool in settling international disputes. Mr Nakatani has sided with Mr Koizumi in calling for a new debate on reinterpreting or altering Article Nine to permit Japan's Self-Defence Forces, among the best-equipped and financed in the world, to play a bigger regional and international role. That suggestion has prompted an angry backlash from Japan's Asian neighbours and from pacifist groups inside the country. Japan shunned international pressure to contribute forces to the initial peacekeeping mission in East Timor two years ago, although it financed much of the exercise. The Government, an unwieldy coalition of right- and left-wing elements, was unwilling to expend political capital in getting the ban lifted, given strict ground rules governing Japanese participation and "five principles", which require a ceasefire to be in operation before troops can be deployed - something not applicable in the East Timor situation. Australia's Foreign Minister, Mr Downer, has been pushing for Japan to ease these self-imposed constraints. In Tokyo last month he argued that the world's second-biggest economy had an obligation to act as more than a "bank" for peacekeeping operations. "It is an issue of burden sharing. Why should Australians take risks the Japanese are not prepared to take?" he said, echoing the argument used by the US when Japan sat on its hands in the Gulf War. Mr Nakatani, the first head of the Defence Agency to come from the defence forces, is understood to be keen to move quickly on the issue. However, he will have to overcome resistance in government ranks, particularly from the populist New Komeito party. ______________________________________________________ The Sydney Morning Herald June 23, 2001 (http://www.smh.com.au/news/0106/23/world/world2.html) Deal on Timor Gap oil stalls as American firm stakes surprise claim By Mark Dodd, Herald Correspondent in Dili Stalled talks between Australia and UN-administered East Timor over shared oil and gas revenue in the Timor Sea were further complicated yesterday when an American company sought recognition of its 25-year-old claim to the same fields. US-based Oceanic Exploration held talks yesterday with East Timor's transitional Cabinet seeking recognition of a Portuguese-granted exploration licence to exploit about 50,000 square kilometres of the Timor Sea. The exploration licence was granted by East Timor's former colonial ruler, Portugal, before Indonesia's 1975 invasion. The Timor Gap Treaty, now under renegotiation, was between Australia and Indonesia in 1989. It carves the Timor Sea into three areas in which Zone A, the middle and richest zone, would be jointly developed with proceeds shared equally. The exploration area covered by the Portuguese concession includes Zones A and C to the north. In talks yesterday the company's wholly owned subsidiary PetroTimor also proposed to build a gas pipeline from the Timor Sea to a production facility in East Timor, an option that cash-strapped East Timor would find attractive. "Obviously we're interested in any credible proposal to bring oil and gas ashore to East Timor," the head UN negotiator, Mr Peter Galbraith, said. "But I am in no position to make any judgment about the credibility of their [Oceanic Exploration] proposal." He expressed concern that hopes of swiftly concluding an agreement had become complicated by the latest claim. The eleventh-hour hold-up foundered over technical details and Australia's refusal to accept East Timor's claim to a revenue split of 90:10 compared to Canberra's offer of 85:15. "Certainly at this late date it makes it very hard to reach an agreement," Mr Galbraith said. Philips Petroleum, the major stakeholder in the Bayu-Undan and Elang/Kakatua projects, has warned that planned investments worth tens of millions of dollars will be jeopardised if both sides fail to reach an agreement by July 15. According to Philips, the Bayu-Undan field in Zone A holds an estimated reserve of 30 million barrels of oil and 175 million barrels of liquified natural gas worth about $A21.3 billion. The Dili-based World Bank head, Ms Sarah Cliffe, said royalties and taxes from the Timor Sea could result in East Timor receiving up to $A600 million a year by mid-decade, six times its current annual budget. The UN administrator, Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello, said yesterday that allegations of sexual misconduct by Jordanian peacekeepers were being investigated by the world body. The announcement coincided with a one-day visit by Jordan's King Abdullah II, who met many of his nation's 800 troops and 120 police officers serving in the UN force, Associated Press reported. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
