DPS readies for protesters

The Department of Public Safety said yesterday that law enforcers involved in the security of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are ready against any protesters who might use the occasion to air grievances.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric David said it would allow the peaceful assembly of protesters, but added that it would be ready “to deal with situations.”

He did not disclose if police would restrict protesters to certain areas, saying that details of security operations are classified.

“We already have plans set. We’re prepared to take care of the protest. Protesters are free to roam around but we are ready to tackle this event,” he said.

Some 300 law enforcers from different agencies would take charge of the imperial couple’s security during their two-day visit on Saipan beginning Monday.

The DPS, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Attorney General’s Investigative Unit, and the Customs and Immigration divisions have pooled manpower to form the security team being spearheaded by DPS commissioner Santiago Tudela.

The DPS has also communicated with Korean Association of Saipan president Seung Baeg Kim. David said Kim assured that the association’s 2,005-strong members would not resort to any violence.

The association, accompanied by Korean journalists, went to Japanese consul Takeo Saito Monday and read a statement that demanded apology from the imperial couple to Koreans and other nationalities over Japan’s aggression during World War II.

Instead of honoring only their war dead at Banzai Cliff, the imperial couple should also pay their respects at the Korean Peace Memorial in Marpi, it added.

The imperial couple will visit the Monument of the War Dead in the Mid-Pacific in Marpi. They will also stop by the Banzai Cliff and the Suicide Cliff.

An official itinerary released by Japan’s Imperial Household Agency stated that the couple would also visit the Marianas Memorial, which honors the Chamorro and Carolinian populations who died during the Battle of Saipan. The couple will then visit the American World War II Memorial and Court of Honor at the American Memorial Park in Garapan.

The agency said the couple would arrive on Saipan on Monday afternoon from Tokyo’s Haneda airport. They will spend a night at the Hotel Nikko Saipan.

The couple also plans to visit Saipan’s Man’amko Center and speak with the elderly, many of whom witnessed the Battle of Saipan during World War II.

Saipan used to be a Japanese territory before American troops took over the island during the war.