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ARTS COUNCIL OF JAPANESE AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRACY
240 Fifth Avenue
New York 1, N.Y.

Eddie Shimano, Publicity Director
MUrray Hill 4-3090 or MUrray Hill 6-4365

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(TO EDITOR: Complete text of statement is enclosed and may be used as Letter to the Editor. Also enclosed are Preamble and Purposes of the ARTS COUNCIL and a list of officers.)

NEW YORK, February 11.--A public denunciation of "the brutal and depraved acts of the Japanese fascists against every human decency" was issued today by the ARTS COUNCIL OF JAPANESE AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRACY through its chairman, Yasuo Kuniyoshi. The ARTS COUNCIL, comprised of anti-fascist Japanese American artists active in all fields of creative endeavor, states that it is "keenly aware that the atrocities committed against our soldiers by the Japanese imperialists, like every other fascist crime, must be avenged. Every leader of the fascist-imperialist clique must be held accountable, for it is they who have perpetrated these crimes, not only against Americans but also against the people of Japan."
The statement further continues with a denunciation of the "Peace Now" movement, terming it a group which would "sabotage democracy's fight by attempting to succor the enemy, to save fascism by working for a negotiated peace. Any step short of unconditional surrender," the ARTS COUNCIL states, "is contrary to our principle as anti-fascists."
Members of the ARTS COUNCIL, organized last month and headed by leading anti-fascist Japanese American artists, are pledged to make articulate their belief in democracy, both in principle and action, and to add their strenght to the democratic forces. The first purpose of the organization, as listed in its Constitution, reads "To contribute our full support to the United States and the United Nations, and to take an active part in winning this anti-facist war." 
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