2013年12月24日火曜日

We Oppose the State Secrets Protection Bill and Demand Its Immediate Withdrawal (December 6, 2013)

We Oppose the State Secrets Protection Bill and Demand Its Immediate Withdrawal (December 6, 2013)

We oppose and demand the immediate withdrawal of the state secrets protection bill, which aims to restrict the human rights of we the sovereign people of Japan, including the right to seek and receive information, the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the freedom of association. This bill was abruptly proposed in this diet session and was repeatedly forced through legislative process without adequate debate, disregarding democratic procedure. As pastors of Christian churches, we stand upon the following words of the Bible—“the truth shall make you free”—and preach the importance of faith, strive for true freedom and peace, and live a lifelong mission to love and serve God and our neighbors. On the other hand, this bill, in the name of national security, restricts the freedom of the people, creates a nation of secrecy that sows distrust among ourselves, pushes people towards a nation that wages war, tramples upon on our consciences, and opens up a way to eliminate people that hold specific thoughts and faiths. We, who inherit the legacy of those who experienced religious persecution under the Peace Preservation Law of 1925, are greatly alarmed by this bill and are dismayed and angered by the bill’s legislative process, in which the government and ruling parties employed methods that defied democratic procedure. Under such an immature concept of democracy, which neglects the voice of minorities and holds the force of numbers to be absolute, we Christians, who live as a minority, are compelled to feel great apprehension towards the times that are to come. Because of these reasons, we oppose this bill, which may be passed today, and demand its immediate withdrawal.

December 6, 2013 Pastors Against the State Secrets Protection Bill