Report on Oura Bay, Okinawa gate blockade

Blocking construction gate at Camp Schwab on Oura Bay today (Monday) in Okinawa - gate closed for 5 hours - hundreds of folks doing the blockade.

It got rough near the end as the Japanese police got tired and angry.  They began to push hard and shove folks around alot.  I got thrown to the ground by some police who were trying to open the path for the dump trucks carrying rocks into the base.  I landed on top of a policeman and it looked to me like his arm got broken as he hit a cement block as he fell.  He was in great pain but he cushioned my fall.  I felt bad for him but it was his fellow police that drove us both into the ground.

After things settled down about 4:00 pm people assembled under the tents across the street from Camp Schwab US Marine base that sits next to Oura Bay where the twin-runways are being built for Pentagon warplanes.  People spoke and sang songs and each of us from VFP were asked to speak.

These folks are very tough and determined - 75% of them are elders and I've hardly seen anyone like them before (except on Jeju Island, South Korea).  Going to be like this all this week as more people are coming to join the blockade.

Their message:  Close US bases, No new base on Oura Bay, No US war with China, North Korea or Russia.  US leave Okinawan people alone!

Bruce