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Article: Okinawan vote is expected to recommend ousting U.S. bases.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- September 6, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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KADENA CITY, Okinawa _ The U.S. military says its 23,000 troops based on this emerald island of palm trees and sugar cane are the ``keystone'' of Pacific security. Masao Arina, however, calls them an ``occupying army.''
For nearly 50 years, barbed wire and bayonets have kept Arina from the 500 square yards of land his grandmother once cultivated. Arina says he has never even seen the plot, now part of a housing tract of Kadena Air Base, the largest outside the U.S. mainland. But with the Cold War long over, the white-haired, 66-year-old grandfather says it's time for the troops to get out.
``Personally, I have never signed a contract to give up my land,'' ...