Reckless Government Usage of Military To Suppress Protests

Published in Tokyo Shimbun
(Japan) on
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Michelle Bisson.
U.S. President Donald Trump deployed state National Guard troops, without the governor's consent, to suppress protests against immigration crackdowns [seen as] illegal in Los Angeles, California. Furthermore, the administration went so far as to station U.S. Marines. The administration's response to the protests is clearly excessive and an abuse of its legal authority.

The protests arose because of the Trump administration’s abnormally xenophobic doctrines, and the added dimension of deploying the military against the demonstrations has made the situation more extreme. Trump should immediately withdraw the troops and strive to calm the situation.

The National Guard that Trump deployed is generally under the command of the state's governor. In exceptional situations, such as when there is danger of foreign invasion or insurrection, the president can dispatch the Guard, but even in such cases, it is at the governor’s request.

But Trump deployed the forces without the governor's approval, and moreover, the Department of Defense dispatched the Marines.

Currently, California has a strong Democratic electoral base, and sitting Gov. Gavin Newsom is also noted as a leading contender to be the Democratic nominee in the 2028 presidential election.

The likely context for Trump's deployment of the National Guard without Newsom's consent is that, along with justifying his administration's xenophobic policies, in an ostentatious display of his own authority, he aims to shake up voters in the state, which is seen to have a large liberal electoral base.

The Trump administration has hinted at arresting Newsom, who has filed suit on the grounds that sending in the National Guard without the governor's consent is illegal.

An elected head of state who would turn the gun on his fellow countrymen and recklessly bully political opponents can no longer be said to be leading a democratic nation and is nothing more than a stain on American history.

While during his first term, Trump used military force to subjugate the anti-discrimination activist movement Black Lives Matter, he made no moves to quell the assault on the federal government carried out by his supporters in anger over his election loss, and when his second term began, he pardoned about 1,500 of the attackers.

On June 14, Trump's 79th birthday, a large-scale military parade will take place. In large cities with many Democratic supporters, such as New York City and Chicago, protest movements against presidential misappropriation and political use of the military are spreading. Anxiety about the future of the deeply divided U.S. cannot be suppressed.


<社説>抗議デモ鎮圧 軍を政治利用する暴挙

米西部カリフォルニア州ロサンゼルスで起きている不法移民取り締まりへの抗議デモを鎮圧するため、トランプ大統領が州知事の同意を得ずに同州の州兵を投入。さらに政権側は連邦の海兵隊まで配置した。トランプ政権の対応は明らかに過剰であり、越権行為だ。
 デモの発端はトランプ政権による異常な排外主義であり、軍の投入がデモを過激化させた側面もある。トランプ氏は軍隊を早急に撤退させ、沈静化を図るべきだ。
 トランプ氏が最初に投入した州兵は原則州知事の指揮下にある。大統領は外国の侵略や反乱の恐れがある場合などに例外的に国内に配置できるが、その場合でも州知事の要請によることが慣例だ。
 しかし、トランプ氏は州知事の同意なく州兵を展開し、さらに国防総省は海兵隊まで配置した。
 カリフォルニア州は現在、民主党の強い選挙地盤であり、ニューサム州知事は2028年の次期大統領選で民主党の有力候補とも目されている。
 トランプ氏が州知事の同意を得ずに州兵を派遣した背景には、政権の排外政策を正当化するとともに、自らの権力を誇示し、リベラル派が多いとされる同州の有権者を揺さぶる意図があるのだろう。
 政権側は、知事を通さない州兵投入は違法だとして提訴したニューサム氏の逮捕もほのめかす。
 選挙で選ばれた国家元首が自国民に銃を向け、政敵を脅す暴挙はもはや民主主義国家とは言えず、米国史の汚点にほかならない。
 トランプ氏は1期目に、反差別運動「ブラック・ライブズ・マター(黒人の命も大事だ)」の鎮圧に軍を投入しようとする一方、自身の大統領選敗北に怒った支持者が連邦議会を襲撃した際には鎮圧に動かず、2期目に入ると襲撃犯ら約1500人を恩赦した。
 トランプ氏79歳の誕生日となる14日には大規模な軍事パレードが行われるという。軍組織を私物化し、政治利用する大統領に抗議する動きはニューヨークやシカゴなど民主党支持者が多い大都市に広がる勢いだ。分断を深める米国の行く末に、不安を禁じ得ない。
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