Tokyo, the Church slams law on State Secrets: an attack on peace
Tokyo (
AsiaNews) - The Special Law on State Secrets "attacks the very concept of
peace , that our Constitution guarantees , and that is the foundation of our
society." This
was written by the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace of the Japanese
Church in an open letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The
text is signed by the President of the Commission, the auxiliary bishop of
Osaka Msgr. Michael
Goro Matsuura, Catholic groups and individual believers.
In
the letter, the Commission writes: "We oppose the draft Special Secret Bill from the standpoint of those who
respect the basic principles of the Constitution of Japan and those who seek a
free and peaceful society where human dignity is protected." According
to the draft , the government can arbitrarily decide which investigation should
be covered by state secrecy : "in the absence of an efficient information disclosure system, a wide
variety of matters can be specified as secrets. In addition, not only
government officials but also civilians who know the secret can be subject to
sanctions. Even Diet members are held to secrecy".
The
law is being debated in Parliament and will be voted on December 6 by members. But
according to the Church is "too dangerous. in the absence of an efficient information
disclosure system, a wide variety of matters can be specified as secrets. In
addition, not only government officials but also civilians who know the secret
can be subject to sanctions. Even Diet members are held to secrecy [which provides for the abandonment of any
warlike activity, with the exception of self- defense operations -ed] . "
According
to the Commission , there are also other problems : "Information about nuclear plants
including the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Accident whose solution is
unforeseeable can be hidden from the public under the pretext of
"anti-terrorism". The Diet, which is defined as the highest organ of state
power by the Constitution, will be positioned below administrative organs. The
activities of mass media will be inhibited, so that the right to know that is
guaranteed to the people by the Constitution will be
extremely limited . "
In
short, the letter concludes, "If this draft is adopted, a variety of matters will be carried out in
secret under the pretext of strengthening the Japan-US alliance. It will shake
the foundation of our resolve for peace announced to the world: "We, the
Japanese people resolved that never again shall we be visited with the horrors
of war through the action of government."
.png)
