Newsletter No. 18
June 19, 2005

 

BAGHDAD GOVERNMENT PRAISES THE GSDF MISSION TO SAMAWA

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari visited Samawa on the 16th and had words of praise for the SDF Mission when he gave a speech before 500 people in a sports facility. He expressed his thanks to the people of Japan for their reconstruction activities and paid particular note of the fact that the SDF soldiers were making a serious effort to respect the customs and sensitivities of the local population. Also in attendance during this event were SDF Commander Junji Suzuki and the MOFA representative in Samawa, Hiroyasu Kobayashi.

Meanwhile, a visiting Iraqi parliamentary delegation in Tokyo had much the same message of thanks. The leader of the delegation is the Iraqi Speaker of the National Assembly Hajim al-Hasani. The Iraqi delegation visited the Kantei on the 17th. According to Reiji Yoshida of the Japan Times:

During the meeting, the prime minister presented the delegation with a photo book telling the story of the American Occupation of Japan and encouraged the Iraqi people, who are also trying to recover from war, to rebuild their economy and establish democracy, according to participants. ‘The prime minister said it took Japan 60 years to reach this situation,’ al-Hasani said. ‘I hope it will take us much less than that.’ The speaker said Iraq appreciates the aid work being done by the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq, adding he hoped that they would stay ‘until they complete their mission,’ regardless of the December finish that has been set by Tokyo. The speaker, leading a group of 10 assembly members, arrived in Japan on Thursday to pay a courtesy call on Koizumi and attend a Japanese government-sponsored seminar to study the constitutions of various countries.

We can thus see that this notion that Japan is a model for development in the Islamic world has reappeared once again, as noted previously in Shingetsu Newsletter Nos. 8 and 10. In regard to the seminar on constitutions, I first reported about this event in Shingetsu Newsletter No. 15. Since then, MOFA has published additional details as can be seen in the Index below.

In regard to Japanese activities in Samawa, MOFA has also announced the presentation of electricity generators to the Governorate of al-Muthanna.

Additionally, the Nihon Keizai Shinbun has reported on a Samawa project from Japan’s private sector. The Lion’s Club of Japan has announced a project to build an orphanage in Samawa that can care for up to 260 young people. Motohiro Ono of the Middle East Research Institute of Japan (Shingetsu Member No. 29) was quoted in the Nikkei as follows: “Orphans have sometimes been used in acts of terrorism. By helping them, we also help social stability… In Iraq, the weakest members of society are orphans and victims. In the current unstable situation in Iraq, terrorists have sometimes given money to orphans and recruited them for acts of suicide terrorism. If orphans are in a stronger position, this can help guard against the expansion of terrorism. It can also help provide security for the SDF mission in Samawa.”

Finally, an additional note in regard to the business deal signed between the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the Arabian Oil Company (AOC), as reported in Shingetsu Newsletter No. 15. A Reuters report on piracy near Basra is clearly relevant to the future prospects of the AOC activities in the region

PIRATES RAID SUPERTANKER AT IRAQ’S BASRA
By Stefano Ambrogi

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Armed pirates raided a supertanker anchored close to Iraq's Basra oil export terminal in the early hours of Wednesday, in the latest serious security breach at the facility. Local ship agent Gulf Agency Company (GAC) said the raid comes only two weeks after pirates attacked the crew of a supertanker waiting to load crude oil at the southern deep water terminal where most of Iraq's crude oil is exported. Exports from Basra provide nearly all of Iraq's income.

"The alert was sounded when watchmen found three men carrying long knives, a rifle and a machine gun on board the vessel. The pirates fled in a speed boat and no casualties have been reported," GAC said. The agent said merchant ships should be extremely cautious in and around the deepwater terminals and anchorages. "In light of this latest incident, robust anti-piracy procedures should be adopted," it said.

Security worries have plagued Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in the spring of 2003. Only this week U.S.-led coalition naval forces increased patrols in and around Iraq's Basra oil terminals after two high-profile security scares. The U.S.'s Navy's Fifth Fleet, which helps co-ordinate maritime security in the Gulf, said security measures employed by the crew had foiled the attempted raid. "This was a good example of a ship having sound internal security measures that thwarted an attempt... they had alert watches and that is what we encourage all mariners to do," the U.S. Navy's Lieutenant Commander Charlie Brown told Reuters from Bahrain.

But a maritime secuirty analyst, whose firm provides security in Iraq, said the incident was a serious breach. "The moment they get aboard the vessel you've lost," the analyst who did not want to be identified told Reuters. He said that if terrorists had got on board the outcome would have been far graver. "Because they are gaining control and there intent is absolute: to destroy the vessel, do destroy a target." Brown said there was nothing to indicate that the assailants were anything more than bandits. He said coalition forces took security very seriously and that their presence had increased overtly. Last week, the navy told Reuters coalition forces were only directly responsible for security at the oil terminals and not at the approaches or anchorages.

Security Concerns

Piracy watchdog, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), said the incident once again raised serious questions over security. "It's pretty worrying because of everything that is happening in Iraq. We are monitoring the situation closely," Jayant Abhyankar, deputy director of the IMB, told Reuters.

On May 31, pirates armed with AK-47 assault rifles stormed the Nord Millennium with a capacity of 300,000 tonnes anchored near Basra terminal. They assaulted the crew before making off with thousands of dollars in cash. In late April, security was tightened after an armed gang raided a wheat-carrying ship anchored in the vicinity. Security was stepped up last year at Basra oil terminal after al Qaeda's al-Zarqawi group carried out suicide boat attacks at the terminal.

INDEX

Seminar to Support the Drafting of the Constitution of Iraq
June 14, 2005

The Government of Japan will invite Dr. Hajim Al-Hasani, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Iraqi Transitional Government, some other Members of the National Assembly to Japan from June 17 (Fri) to 22 (Wed) and will hold a Seminar to Support their efforts to draft the Constitution of Iraq.

The participants, from wide-ranging factions in the National Assembly, will share and discuss the experience of Japan in its path toward a democratic state, challenges that it overcame and the basic principles of the Japanese Constitution. They will also visit relevant institutions including the National Diet. Specialists from Islamic countries in Asia will also be invited in order to exchange views, taking into consideration the experiences of these states which possess the common element of Islam.

Sharing Asia's experiences, including those of Japan, through this opportunity is expected to contribute to the investigation of the way towards the progress of the political process in Iraq leading to the drafting of a permanent constitution of Iraq by August this year and the national referendum to be held in October among others from a broader perspective.

This Seminar is being implemented as part of a JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) training project.