This is the letter that a Quaker meeting in Seoul, Korea, wrote to share the dismal situation in Gangjeong village since 2007, which is appeared in FWCC (Friends World Committee for Consultation) March 2013 issue. Please read and share this news. Message from Friends in Korea Dear Friends: Since 2007, the residents of Gangjeong, a small village of mostly farmers and fishermen, on the southernmost Korean island of Jeju have protested and waged nonviolent resistance against the South Korean government’s attempts to construct a naval base on their land. But ignoring democratic process and the majority of the villagers who voted against the base, the government forcibly began the construction work in January 2011 by dynamiting Gurumbi, the one kilometer-long volcanic rock along Gangjeong’s pristine coastline designated by UNESCO as biosphere preserve. The construction site has been fenced off to keep protesters out and police-protected convoys of trucks carry in cement at a furious pace as if to make the naval base an accomplished fact. Every day the residents and anti-base activists try to delay the construction by peacefully lying in front of the site entrance and they are repeatedly overwhelmed by the police. As of December 2012, 649 protesters have been arrested for their participation in peaceful demonstrations. Among those arrested are a Catholic priest, a Protestant pastor, human rights defenders and foreign supporters from countries like the UK and France. In the anti-base resistance, the resident villagers and other Jeju Islanders have been joined by mainland activists, international peace activists, leading figures from various religious communities, women’s rights and environmental organizations, and even opposition politicians, among others. Indiscriminate arrests of protesters by the police and use of hired thugs by construction companies to intimidate and stop the demonstrations have been condemned by international human rights organizations including Amnesty International. And on May 2012, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly and of association sent a joint allegation letter to the South Korean government on the human rights violations regarding the anti-base protesters in Gangjeong. Despite the use of force and arrests, the protesters continue to fight against the naval base construction. They have joined the residents of Gangjeong in sit-in protests, holding up banners, organizing peace marches, holding press conferences, writing petitions, doing 1,000 prostrations per day, and going on hunger strikes to call attention to the struggle for human rights, peace and justice in Gangjeong. The anti-base movement in Gangjeong has a growing support not only in Korea but from the international community, with leading academics and well known figures including Vandana Shiva, Walden Bello, David Suzuki, Noam Chomsky, Gloria Steinam and Robert Redford expressing their solidarity in statements and op-ed articles. The religious communities have been very active as supporters and advocates of anti-base resistance in Gangjeong. Since last year, the Catholic Church has been holding Mass at 10 AM and the Protestant Church worship services at 3 PM everyday in front of the construction site. Korean Quakers have also joined in to support and show our solidarity with the Gangjeong villagers. For 150 days starting in November 14, 2011, Oh Chul-geun, a Seoul Meeting member, participated in the “three-steps-one-prostration” march (participants take three steps and then prostrate once and repeat -the first step signifies repentance of human selfishness and avarice, the second step compassion and consolation for disappearing all living things, the third step a vow to save nature and all living things, and the prostration a prayer to realize the repentance and vow expressed in the three steps). During the march, Chul-geun performed 1,500 prostrations each day. And he is currently participating in a 180 days-long “three steps-one-prostration” march that began in October 23, 2012. The Seoul Meeting has visited the village of Gangjeong on various occasions and joined the residents in demonstrations against the naval base construction. Last December, 12 members of the Seoul Meeting held a meeting for worship at the site where the Protestant Church holds daily services. The residents of Gangjeong want to preserve their land and their way of life, and they want to keep Jeju an “island of world peace” as designated by the Korean government in 2005. This can be done only by stopping the naval base construction that will only destroy the environment and militarize the island. We ask Friends around the world to join us in solidarity with the Gangjeong anti-base protesters. Please show your support for Gangjeong village by sending a petition letter to the Korean governments to stop the Jeju naval base construction project. We would also greatly appreciate your sending words of support and encouragement to the residents of Gangjeong village. For more information visit: savejejunow.org Thank you.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Oct 2013 12:53:11 +0000
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