Okinawa demands imposition of curfew for U.S. troops
Okinawa demands imposition of curfew for U.S. troops
TOKYO (AFP): Civic leaders in Okinawa on Wednesday urged the U.S. and Japanese governments to impose a midnight curfew and create off-limits areas for U.S. troops on their island after a series of alleged crimes involving servicemen.
Okinawa's court, meanwhile, rejected a plea for bail from a U.S. airman, who was indicted last week on charges of raping a local woman, a case which has rekindled anger towards the huge U.S. military presence on the island.
Presiding judge Midori Takamatsu said there was fear that the suspect, Staff Sergeant Timothy Woodland, 24, would destroy evidence.
But Woodland's Japanese lawyer Tsuyoshi Arakaki told reporters that he would consider filing a complaint with the district court as the reason for the rejection could not be understood.
The 24-strong municipal assembly in Okinawa City, which hosts the sprawling Kadena U.S. Air Base, unanimously approved a draft resolution and sent it to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker.
"People in Okinawa are outraged by crimes committed by U.S. military personnel," said the draft which was worked out after Saturday's arrest of two U.S. military personnel -- an airman and a marine -- for separate cases of vandalism.
"Despite our strong protests, the United States has failed to take effective measures to prevent such a crime from happening again," the draft said.
"Under such a circumstance, we need to take measures for self- defense that include creating off-limits areas and imposing a curfew on U.S. servicemen," it added.
The draft also demanded that the United States compensate victims and reduce its military presence in Okinawa, which hosts 25,000 of the 51,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan.
The alleged vandalism followed Woodland's arrest on July 6 on charges of the June 29 rape in the parking lot of a shopping center outside the Kadena base where he was stationed.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday Washington would try to reduce both the size and the impact of its military presence on Okinawa, but would not withdraw it completely.
Powell told reporters in Tokyo that while U.S. military personnel were occasionally involved in incidents, on the whole they met the highest standards of behavior, although he conceded there was no excuse for any trouble.
Powell, who met with Prime Minister Koizumi during a stopover on a whirlwind Asian tour, said ambassador Baker would visit Okinawa in the next few days for talks with local government officials.
A spokesman for the U.S. military command in Okinawa could not be reached for comment.
But on Monday, Kadena Air Base commander Brigade General Gary North met with Masakazu Nakasone, mayor of Okinawa City, and expressed his concern over the alleged rape and vandalism.
North directed his officers to "re-emphasize expected standards of behavior through commander's calls, briefings, and new tools, such as video and multi media presentations," the U.S. Air Force said in a statement issued Monday.
"We will continue to do whatever is possible to ensure our members live up to the high standards we expect of them," North said in the statement.
But the commander told Okinawan officials that the United States would not support the creation of off-limits areas, according to the Kyodo News agency.
"The vast majority of our service members are law-abiding, contributing members of the community," North said in the statement.
"We need local cooperation to prevent the misdeeds of the few whose poor judgement does all of us a disservice," he said.
Powell and Koizumi agreed to discuss ways to improve implementation of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) dealing with US military personnel suspected of committing crimes in Japan.
Under the agreement, U.S. commanders do not have to hand over servicemen suspected of crimes until they are indicted by Japanese prosecutors.