タイの「FRSN」＝「4地域スラムネットワーク」から10.31集会へのメッセージ
We held a rally on 31 October to win the Musashino Olympic Games suppression trial.
We received a message from the Four Regions Slum Network (FRSN) in Thailand.
Thank you very much!
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
25 October 2021
We, the Four Regions Slum Network (FRSN), are an organization of urban poor slum dwellers and the homeless from around Thailand who are working to resolve issues of land and housing, as well as to obtain other basic human rights of the urban poor.
We wish to declare our support for and solidarity with Mr. Kuroiwa, who was unjustly arrested on 16 July 2021 and subsequently indicted on 30 July 2021 for carrying out an act of peaceful protest in front of Musashino Athletic Stadium against a torch event prior to the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games. We are particularly disturbed to know that Mr. Kuroiwa has been held in detention and deprived of his freedom for over three months now, despite the fact that his actions on 16 July harmed no one and were carried out in the public interest.
Through his non-violent protest, Mr. Kuroiwa drew attention to the unacceptable public health risks involved in hosting the Olympic Games during the Covid-19 global pandemic. In this regard, he actually stood with the large majority of Japanese public opinion, which also disapproved of hosting the Games. Moreover, the scandals and massive budget overruns associated with the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games also justify the widespread public skepticism about, and Mr. Kuroiwa’s act of opposition to, hosting the mega-event, especially in light of the extremely meager concrete benefits that it produced for the Japanese people. Indeed, Japanese society would have likely benefited a great deal more if the government had used the budget to address the very real pressing needs of society’s most vulnerable members rather than blindly pursuing the imaginary prestige and glory resulting from hosting the Olympics.
Aside from failing to heed the will of the majority by ignoring the opposition and pushing forward with the Games, the Japanese government, as Mr. Kuroiwa’s case highlights, has also sadly closed down spaces for the free expression of citizens’ dissent. The manifestly disproportionate punishment so far meted out to Mr. Kuroiwa, namely continuous detention for over three months while awaiting trial, just for conducting a non-violent protest, can only be understood as an intentional threat, designed to deter others from daring to speak out in protest against the poor choices made by the government.
What is happening to Mr. Kuroiwa is a blatant injustice that is unacceptable. In a truly democratic and humane society, no one should be deprived of their liberty simply for exercising freedom of expression through non-violent means. FRSN therefore calls for the immediate release of Mr. Kuroiwa and for all charges against him to be dropped.
Sincerely,
Somsak Boonmalert
Chairperson
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
