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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=696550206-17112011>...you tell them
Jimmy...Viva Ainu!!!!</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV align=left>-------</DIV>
<DIV align=left>wahjeh</DIV>
<DIV align=left>rolland nadjiwon</DIV>
<DIV align=left>___________________________________________</DIV>
<DIV align=left>One is never too old to learn something stupid....</DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><BR>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left>
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<FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><B>From:</B> Indigenous Languages and Technology
[mailto:ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Huang,Chun<BR><B>Sent:</B> November-16-11 4:52 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [ILAT] Ainu to form new
political party<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<P>Thanks, Jen! and Go Ainu!!</P>
<P>Jimmy</P>
<P> </P>
<P>On Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:59:54 +0900, Jennifer Teeter wrote:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"
type="cite"><!-- html ignored --><!-- head ignored --><!-- meta ignored -->
<DIV>Hello everyone,</DIV>
<DIV>I thought this news from Ainu Mosir might interest you.</DIV>
<DIV>In solidarity,</DIV>
<DIV>Jennifer</DIV><A
href="http://tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/ainu-political-party.html">http://tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/ainu-political-party.html</A>
<H3
style="POSITION: relative; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 13px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba; -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba"
class="post-title entry-title">"We are not right-wing, we are not left-wing~
We are Ainu": First ever Ainu political party to be launched</H3>
<DIV
style="POSITION: relative; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.4; WIDTH: 586px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 13px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba; -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba"
id=post-body-5119931667508282256 class="post-body entry-content">Saturday,
October 29th, 2011 marks a revolution in Japanese politics: the first time in
Japanese history a minority group has announced it will form its own political
party. After witnessing the success of minority and indigenous political
parties around the world, members of the Ainu community in Hokkaido decided to
create their own party to campaign for their issues.<BR><BR>Led by Shiro
Kayano, the President of the Kayano Shigeru's Nibutani Ainu Museum (named
after his late father), Hokkaido Ainu Association Board Member Hideo Akibe,
Hokkaido Ainu Association Ebetsu City-branch head Yuji Shimizu and their
supporters made the announcement at the<SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Symposium on Multicultural Education in
Japan</SPAN>hosted by the <A
style="COLOR: #0b5394; TEXT-DECORATION: none"
href="http://www.win-ainu.com/">World Indigenous People's
Network-Ainu</A> in Sapporo. The party is not affiliated with the
Hokkaido Ainu Association and will start functioning in January.<BR><BR>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">(Photo)</DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Flyer for
Symposium on Multicultural Education with photos of Shiro Kayano (top left),
Yuji Shimizu (center left), Hideo Akibe (center right), and Nomoto Hiroyuki
(bottom left)</SPAN></DIV><BR>Shiro Kayano stated at the symposium:
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #cccccc 3px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ebedde; MARGIN: 15px 40px; PADDING-LEFT: 15px; PADDING-RIGHT: 15px; PADDING-TOP: 15px">What
is needed for the Ainu people is unity. We need to unite the Ainu people and
our supporters. Some people say that because we were traditionally hunters
and gathers so we can not unite as one. However, we also practiced fishing
and small-scale agriculture, so this argument holds no ground. We can
unite.</BLOCKQUOTE>The Ainu people have been no stranger to politics. Kayano's
father, Shigeru Kayano, served as a House of Councilor's member from 1994
until 1998. While Shigeru Kayano was the only Ainu person that won a seat in
parliament, other Ainu people have campaigned for seats including Kaori
Tahara, a former member of the New Party Daichi.<BR><BR>Hideo Akibe added:
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #cccccc 3px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ebedde; MARGIN: 15px 40px; PADDING-LEFT: 15px; PADDING-RIGHT: 15px; PADDING-TOP: 15px">Having
Shigeru Kayano in the parliament played a huge role in the enactment of the
Ainu Culture Law in 1997. I feel it may be destiny, after the passing of the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and us
holding the 2008 Indigenous Summit in Hokkaido, that this move to form a
political party has come about.</BLOCKQUOTE>Shiro Kayano further elaborated on
the necessity for Ainu people to have their own political party where their
issues are not overshadowed or ignored:
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #cccccc 3px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ebedde; MARGIN: 15px 40px; PADDING-LEFT: 15px; PADDING-RIGHT: 15px; PADDING-TOP: 15px">Ainu
issues are put on the back burner while other issues gain more attention in
Japan. Many people believe that the 1997 Ainu Cultural Law and 2008
parliament resolution to recognize Ainu as indigenous people solved the
issues that Ainu people have faced, but in reality, they have not not. So,
we need to rise up! Similar to the Arab Spring, maybe this marks the
beginning of an Ainu Spring!</BLOCKQUOTE>A member of the Planning Committee
for the Ainu Party who wished to remain nameless explained that current
governmental policies, laws, and panels on Ainu policy do not take adequate
steps to realize any of the inherent indigenous rights to which the Ainu are
entitled, nor any other priorities that Ainu have, including issues related to
poverty and education. He also noted:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #cccccc 3px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ebedde; MARGIN: 15px 40px; PADDING-LEFT: 15px; PADDING-RIGHT: 15px; PADDING-TOP: 15px">We
hope that with an Ainu political party, not only can we push for policies
that realize Ainu rights, but we can draw attention to the multicultural
nature of Japan while pushing for policies that address a variety of Ainu
issues.</BLOCKQUOTE>Hiroyuki Nomoto, Tokyo Metropolitan University associate
professor and member of the Planning Committee for the Ainu Party explained
that although the policy stances of the party have not been decided,
discussions have revolved around the following points:<BR>
<UL
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.4; LIST-STYLE-TYPE: disc; MARGIN: 0.5em 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 2.5em; PADDING-RIGHT: 2.5em; PADDING-TOP: 0px">
<LI
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: transparent 1px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.25em; BORDER-TOP-COLOR: ; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.25em; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; COLOR: #333333; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; PADDING-TOP: 0.25em">the
restoration of Ainu rights
<LI
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: transparent 1px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.25em; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.25em; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: #333333; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP: #cccccc 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0.25em">the
realization of the coexistence of multicultural groups in Japanese society
<LI
style="BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: ; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.25em; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.25em; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: #333333; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-TOP: #cccccc 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0.25em">the
creation of a sustainable society based on harmony with Nature </LI></UL>The
Ainu Party which is aiming to bring at least ten candidates to parliament in
2013, will help bring Ainu issues to the forefront of Japanese policy
deliberations. It may also provide a platform for other minority groups, such
as Zainichi Koreans in Japan to raise their voices against violations of their
rights. Currently, Zaiinichi Korean organizations are campaigning for their
schools to become accredited by the government. At present, with
"international" English schools as an exception, any school that does not use
Japanese as its main language cannot become accredited, forcing its students
to jump through countless hurdles to matriculate into universities.<BR><BR>The
idea behind the Ainu party is for Ainu people to unite to promote their own
issues, while taking steps towards a multicultural Japan where all minorities
can live in harmony. As Hideo Akibe explained: "We are not right-wing, we are
not left-wing~ We are Ainu."</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P> </P>
<DIV> </DIV>
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