| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Caution shown on staff dispatch to Iraq |
| 2003-04-15 |
| EFL Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday the government will carefully consider whether to dispatch staff to the U.S.-led administration of occupied Iraq. "We do not have a clear picture of the structure of the body," Fukuda said. "We will decide how we will be involved in it after further study." According to the Foreign Ministry, there are no legal restraints on sending Japanese civilians to assist the organization -- called the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, a unit of the U.S. Defense Department -- as long as it does not engage in military operations. However, the dispatch of Japanese to areas affected by wars is a politically sensitive issue because Japan's Constitution renounces war. Fukuda said the conflict is continuing and that the government will make its decision after watching developments. Foreign Ministry officials have said the ORHA is now a civilian organization, but its structure and activities are still unclear. |
| Posted by:Tadderly |