2008-07-08 

Tomorrow 10am all Three camps join Ainu march against G8

[Toyoura Camp Press Group]

Press Release July 8th 2008

• The event concludes ten days of actions worldwide

Today (Thursday) at 10am, hundreds of activists from the three protest camps
will join an Anti-G8 demonstration organized by the Ainu, a marginalized
indigenous population of Hokkaido, where the G8 summit is being held.

The demonstration will start tomorrow at 10am at Shimokubonai, in front of
the bus stop. It is organized by Ainu Moshiri Renraku-Kai. According to Ainu
activists “The Ainu are the most oppressed indigenous community in
Japantoday. The Japanese government acknowledged the Ainu for the
first time just
one month ago, obviously to avoid criticism during the summit – since the
Ainu are the ‘traditional land owners’ of Hokkaido for thousands of years.
The way the Japanese government treats them is a symbol of the way the G8
treats the world”.

For the first time since the beginning of the G8 summit, Japanese and
international activists from all three camps will join one single march.
This action will be the concluding event of the ten days of world wide
actions against the G8. “We will carry signs advocating the shutting of the
G8 summit, calling for the release of our three friends who were arrested on
the 5th of July, and opposing Japanese oppression of political activities”.