UPDATE: As of Tuesday, March 4th, we've been freed. Zilmer relieved family members & civilians from the restrictions & modified things for the active duty folks to only between 10pm & 5am along with a 24-hour prohibition of alcohol consumption off-base, unless in the home of a SOFA-status person. Thankfully, reason has finally returned to the situation, despite reports of an idiot airman breaking into a business with alcohol on his breath just 2 days before the revised order.
If you want to get a realistic idea of the crime rate as perpetrated by people living on Okinawa under the US-Japan SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement), please analyze the data presented at the following link:
SOFA crime on Okinawa
This is definitely the most over-hyped situation that I have experienced in my 30+ years of life, thus far. The military community on Okinawa is, without challenge (that I'm aware of), committing crimes at a LOWER rate than the rest of the population, including rapes & other sexual crimes (of which experts purport that the majority are not reported in Japanese society). The initial suspect of rape against the 14 year old girl was immediately turned over to local police & has not even been CHARGED with rape (no substantial evidence of the girl's claim has yet been revealed). He HAS admitted to forcing her to kiss him, which is deplorable & criminal (I assume & hope). HE should be punished for that. The Filipino adult female who more recently accused an Army sergeant of rape in a hotel room has not yet pressed formal charges, reportedly (the following is hearsay, I admit) due in large part to the fact that she is a professional “comfort woman” living here in Okinawa on an “entertainment” visa. In other words, she uses her body to entice men for a living (whether she engages in intercourse for money is not yet clear). If that man indeed forced sexual contact with her against her will, HE should be punished, according to the terms of the law. But there is NO WAY that such a crime would NORMALLY be noticed & covered by so many international news media sources, whether or not it should be. The other few crimes that are involved in recent media coverage of "the situation" include:
(a) DWI charges against a Marine (a MUCH bigger problem among the local Okinawan population that relies on personal vehicles, due to inadequate public transportation options) &
(b) an intoxicated Marine entering the wrong unlocked residence & falling asleep (nothing was damaged & no one was harmed).
These crimes are, just like all crimes everywhere, regrettable & deserve punishment TO THOSE THAT COMMITTED THEM.
Is it really so HARD for those in "charge" here to recognize these facts & react accordingly, rather than making HASTY & UNFAIR orders that punish those that have never agreed to give up their rights & freedoms without just cause? Apparently so!!
For over a week now (& for at least another to come), none of the approximately 45,000 people living on Okinawa under the SOFA are allowed to CHOOSE to pursue activities of leisure & happiness, as granted to all other free peoples on the island. They may NOT CHOOSE where they spend their law-abiding, personal, "free" time, whether along the street they live on or in the stores where they normally purchase their food. They may NOT CHOOSE to join in the very obvious intentions of "leadership" to effect an unofficial boycott of the local economy, in order to prove that the US military IS wanted here (as if that was every a real question mark in ANYONE'S mind). In other words, these "orders" are directed not ONLY at the 22,000 military personnel (that are being compensated in so many ways for their willing cooperation with every order & whim of their commanding leadership, regardless of just cause or dessert), which is the common verbiage in so much news coverage (the "troops" are on lockdown in Okinawa). But they are also aimed at wives & children and at the many CIVILIAN Americans who came here to SUPPORT the military's mandate of preserving FREEDOM & civil LIBERTIES. Civilians work here as teachers & counselors & therapists in DoD schools. They provide medical expertise & care to supplement the military's own resources, as needed. Most came here as eager representatives of the American spirit of independence & freedom. Some of us (perhaps many) sacrificed high paying jobs to come to Okinawa to provide these needed expert services, during this time of intense military conflict around the globe. In exchange for our sacrifice, we desired ONLY to be able to get to know a new & beautiful culture, AFTER working for the 40 hours per week for which we are only compensated. Apparently that was expecting too much. Apparently these leaders believe that we "enlisted" & gave up our rights & freedoms, willingly following orders whether or not they infringe on our rights. Without so much as an "I'm sorry & I realize this is unjust, but please cooperate for the following good reasons... x, y & z" they imposed a ridiculous order, effectively removing us of all reason to work for them any longer. We consider that to be hey are WRONG!!
In the United States of America, believe it or not, we do not punish or in any way unreasonably restrict those that have neither committed nor been charged with a crime or offense. We do not restrict the civil liberties & rights of a people GROUP based on the offenses of a VERY SMALL FEW within that group. "Jim Crow" laws in the South are no longer in place. Anyone can sit at the front of the bus now. We punish only those that are proven to commit crimes & restrict (pending trial) only those that are suspected. We do not support leaders that move from a reasonable midnight curfew of the group from which every single offender has come (active-duty US Marines) all the way to an unjust & unusual restrictive "order" that includes ALL SOFA-STATUS PEOPLES, including completely righteous ambassadors of American generosity. I'm told that this is the type of "order" used in the past for such events as the reaction to terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001 (which forever altered the perception of global terrorism in the US) & the brutal rape & torture of a 12 year old girl by 3 US Marines on Okinawa in 1995 (which prompted the public protest by over 80,000 citizens who were rightly outraged by such a heinous & undisputed crime).
And yet here we are. Our every waking moment is subject to the very apparently hasty & INEPT decisions of a few (maybe even 1) US military commanders that have displayed little (if any) regard for the people that are being forcibly involved, against all of the reasons for which we agreed to be here and AGAINST the highest ideals that our military is supposed to be instilling in war-torn (not to even mention peaceful, like Okinawa & Japan) places around the planet. The truth, apparently, is that these US military "leaders" cannot or simply will not treat its own people the way that the US constitution & laws mandate. And let me be clear, that is REALLY infuriating & very sad & COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!!! If the US military won't stand up & preserve freedom & basic human rights, who will?
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Update: The 14 yr old girl withdrew her criminal rape charges and the police handed the Marine back over to the US military to handle further. So all of this preemptive CRAP happened in response to an incident that won't even be prosecuted. This just keeps getting more & more ridiculous by the day!
In response to the following: "Is it really so HARD for those in CHARGE here to recognize these facts & point them out, rather than making HASTY & UNFAIR orders that punish those that have never agreed to give up their rights & freedoms without just cause?"
While I agree with a lot of the points that you make, I think you are inaccurate on one critical point that bears repeating. When we came here under command sponsorship, we DID AGREE to give up certain rights and freedoms. We are here on SOFA status. This is not America. Your Constitutional rights do not apply here the way they do in America. That's the bottom line. I do agree though, especially in light of todays revelation regarding the charges against SSgt Hadnott being dropped, that decisions were made in haste. We did agree to certain curtailments of our liberties by coming here, but such curtailment ought never to have come as a result of mere allegations or misdemeanors.
Too easy to 2nd guess the leadership, given the pressure that they are facing, no doubt, but I'm coming to believe that it did not have to be this way.
Sorry, but no, WE did not AGREE to give up basic rights. We did realize that we were at the mercy of the commander's orders (that was the only relevant clause in our paperwork; believe me, we looked), but we assumed that the commander was supposedly working to FURTHER the freedoms & basic rights that the USA espouses. We NEVER agreed to give them up. And we never will. This is the first & last time we'll ever work for this employer, I assure you. And we're pursuing an early termination to the relationship, due to this unfortunate display of disregard for us. I understand that you're saying that we have no constitutionally GUARANTEED rights, or options to turn to, in this situation. And I don't disagree that we are basically HELPLESS to do ANYTHING about this situation we face, but I do NOT agree that we ever AGREED to give up our right to pursue happiness in a law abiding way. I KNOW I didn't, as the spouse of a civilian contractor. I never signed ANYTHING about following any military orders, unless I did so at IPAC the day they gave me my disrespected brown dependent ID, that usually requires me to drag my wife around with me to get anythign accomplished on base (even with general power of attorney in hand).
I further disagree that our "leadership" was under such tremendous pressure that it is reasonable that they did what they did. Pressure comes not just from people making a stink (like local gov't bodies did in their resolutions condemning the military on Okinawa) but also from their arguments having some validity & merit (for which they so far have no reasonable support). If the "leadership" wasn't strong enough to compile all the facts relevant to the pressure & situation, then react accordingly, then they are weak & inept. Real leaders aren't those that kiss a lot of backsides & wait their turn to take charge. Real leaders either are strong enough to know & make the right decisions or they're not. I hope the US military agrees with me on that, but I'm definitely not sure about that at this point.
** NOTE: I typically don't publish anonymous comments. I feel that anonymity generally indicates that someone isn't willing to be recognized for their statements & therefore, aren't worth being associated with my blog. I made an exception with this comment, but please, people, don't be anonymous if you really have something constructive & relevant that you really want to say. You don't have to sign up for a Blogger profile, just signing your name is something I'd most likely accept.
No, SOFA doesn't say we give up rights. It says we follow local laws, and with respect to sex crimes you get tried in the host country.
General Zilmer made a gesture - a big sweeping all-inclusive gesture - to make nice with the powers that be in Japan and show them that we feel bad. We're in a country with a very different culture, and we want to keep the peace. It didn't really work.
And I'd agree that it was jumping the gun in that you are innocent until proven guilty. Did a gang rape in 95 warrant a bigger gesture? I think so. It also actually DID happen. Hadnott said from moment one that he didn't do it - as you stated, he should be punished for doing ANYTHING to her, but why everyone?
I don't think anything we could've done would've worked. Japan update quotes that Chatan's Mayor Noguni complained “they need to give strict education to lower ranking young service men,” teaching them “what is a human being? What is moral? They have to learn. Without learning anything,” he says, “they must not end the lockout.”
Please.... there are immoral old Japanese men who look at schoolgirl porn on a daily basis. It's only because we are the foreigners that we're under a magnifying glass. I had read in another article, can't remember where, that an Okinawan man had committed a crime of some sort against an American and we "understand this isn't representative of all Okinawan citizens" - if only they saw us that way too.
It's not fair that I have to worry about my kid being discriminated against. And my husband said, "now we know what middle-easterners felt like in the US after 9/11." But our one Marine didn't kill anyone. He didn't even rape anyone.
As for "anonymous" - DO realize that military personnel aren't really entitled to speak in public forums like this - so if there's a place where an anonymous comment should be accepted, it's with respect to this topic at least.
Stepping off soap box.
Sounds like Mrs Bowman & I basically agree. And she's worded several things quite well. So Zilmer made a "gesture," at the expense of innocent people who trusted him to preserve their freedom & rights rather than sacrifice them. Yep, I agree. Like I've said, he won't see a minute of further service from this couple after our commitment here is completed. It's a shame, because we absolutely LOVE Okinawa.
I'll say it again, this situation is so much unlike ANYTHING it's being compared to, the heinous & brutal rape in 1995 or the terrorism & mass murders of 9/11 or even out-of-control crime by the military. It's just NOT indicative of any of those things. There is NO LARGE-SCALE outrage by local people, no attacks against Americans based on our nationality & instead only a few protesters (at least a significant portion, if not all, of which have come here from OTHER PLACES to protest) & some politicians that realize a public gesture would serve their career well.
On the anonymous posting that I so much prefer, I fully realize that military members are scared &/or beaten into submission when it comes to exercising their rights to free speech (which clearly allow them to post non-violence-suggestive or authority-attacking comments on a blog). In that light, there's a good chance I'd accept something less than a fully identifiable description that would facilitate corporal punishment. Maybe a rank? A branch of service? A nationality? An age? I'd just like some perspective on who's making the comment, because I really do think it makes a LOT of difference.
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