JCP: 'Lawsuit through the U.N. should be U.S. step'

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on October 4 called on the
United States to bring legal action against the prime suspects of the
September 11 terrorist attacks instead of resorting to a military
retaliation.

Shii made this statement at a news conference in relation to the evidence
which the United States says support the claim that Osama bin Laden and his
group Al-Qaida are the prime suspects. The United States has explained the
"evidence" to NATO allies and Japan.

Shii said, "If the U.S. says it has evidence that links bin Laden and his
group to the incident, the U.S. should first accuse the suspects and then
report it to the UNSC.

In explaining the JCP proposal, Shii said, "In my parliamentary questions
on behalf of the JCP, I called for suspects to be brought to justice as the
most reasonable solution. I said that this should be achieved by a concerted
effort of the international community led by the U.N. through three steps:
identify the suspects, place them in custody, and bring them to trial.
Identifying suspects is the starting point of the whole process."

It is necessary for the international community and the UNSC to reach a
common understanding on the basis of a U.S. legal action and its report to
the UNSC, Shii said.

Once the suspects are determined, they would be kept in custody, and
every necessary legal step should be followed.

In this respect, Shii cited an example of the 1998 terrorist incidents in
Kenya and Tanzania. In that case, the U.S. litigated against bin Laden and
sought to take him into custody, and the U.N. made two resolutions on the
case.

As regards the recent Japanese government's moves, Shii said that the
government should take a role in persuading the U.S. into such a legal
action and dissuading it from rushing to military retaliation. (end)