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2009/04/10
Okada meets with Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Nobel Peace Prize winning NGO Human Rights Watch
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On April 10, DPJ Vice President Katsuya Okada met with Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of international NGO Human Rights Watch, and discussed the human rights situation of people around the world and in particular in Asia. The meeting was also attended by Vice Director General of the International Department Yukihisa Fujita.
Human Rights Watch is a leading member of the International Campaign to ban landmines, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. The organisation celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, and its Tokyo office opened this month.
During the meeting, Roth explained that the organisation was currently particularly concerned about the human rights problems occurring in the three Asian countries of Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Philippines. With regard to the situation in Sri Lanka, he said that while the government was succeeding in suppressing the anti-government organisation the Liberation of Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers), many ordinary citizens had been caught up in the process of this armed suppression, and with approximately 150 000 civilians coming under attack together with several hundred Tamil Tigers every day, he urged that it was vital for a “halt” to the attacks by government forces to be called as soon as possible. He called on Japan, from this year a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to take the initiative in brokering a “halt” to the conflict so as to allow innocent civilians to evacuate to a safe place.
In response, Okada said, “Here in Japan, there is in general a certain degree of recognition of the state of affairs in Myanmar, but the critical situation facing Sri Lanka is not very well known. If Japan was to take serious action, I think we might see some movement [in this situation]. The DPJ is still in opposition, but we will put pressure on the government.”
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