The 1st International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong (IPFFIG) will be held on April 23rd through April 26th in Gangjeong village hall, Peace Centre and Seogwipo Art Centre, Seogwipo city.
In the wake of the completion of Jeju naval base, we are working on to hold an international peace film festival here in Gangjeong village.
The idea of the film festival is to surround the navy base with the power of culture. Military tension is increasing in the region as the countries are driven by arms race. However, we believe culture is mightier than the sword.
There will be screenings of 34 films from 10 different countries, which include the films dealing with the issues of war bases in Gangjeong and Okinawa. The festival theme is “Everyone Together for Peace”. The central values of the festival are peace, environment, life, human rights, and feminism.In order to remain independent while embracing these values, IPFFIG is a non-competitive and non-commercial festival open to participation by all.
The Sections of the film festival are named after endangered species that represent the nature of Gangjeong:
1.Lives on the verge (Clithon retropictus)
2.The meaning of war for women (Rosa wichuraiana Crep.)
3.Lives, resisting (Cladium chinense Nees)
4. Islands, connecting peace (Soft coral communities)
5.April, rising from the sadness(Gureombi).
The International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong invites films that explore in-depth and progressive interpretations of peace, environment, human rights, feminism, life, workers’ movement, immigration, and queer. Our vision is to create a vital space for lively communication with forward-thinking contemporary filmmakers. Also, a series of special programs – the Peace Film School and three sessions of the Peace Forum – will occur throughout the festival, contributing to our vision for fostering the next generation of socially engaged filmmakers.
• You can check more about the film festival here: www.ipffig.org,
Image by Oum Mun-Hee/For more photos, see here. Villagers’ press conference in front of the Island government hall on March 30 to demand the navy to drop down the unjust suit on reimbursement against people.
The Navy’s damage claim against Gangjeong residents is a declaration of war against its own citizens
By Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun)
The ROK Navy is claiming a sum of 3.4 billion won [approximately 3 million US dollars] in damages against 116 individuals including residents and clergy and 5 organizations. The Navy is demanding this money in compensation for the losses incurred by the construction company due to a 14-month delay in construction in the naval base due to residents, etc. obstructing the work. We (Minbyun) found that this case is an unjustified declaration of war against the people.
If the state suffered property loss, would it be fair to take individual citizens to trial to claim reparations? In pursuing its objective, the state has the power to seek criminal punishment and to take many steps including administrative measures, fines, penalties, non-compliance charges, etc. and the imposition of various administrative monetary sanctions. If such a state were to suffer financial losses due to a delay in construction and were to claim compensation from individual citizens, this could be used as a weapon to block all those who are critical of any state policy in the future. In this kind of situation, who would be able to oppose state policy?
When ominous heavy equipment destroys the foundation of life with no hesitation, citizens have no other power but to use their own bodies to stand in front of it. Before carrying out so-called ‘state policy’, the state should listen carefully to its citizens’ voices. When the reckless development of the state and large construction companies threaten the right of citizens to a peaceful existence, the right of citizens to oppose this must be guaranteed as their natural and constitutional right since sovereignty rests with the people. To condemn this action as illegal is to delegitimize the foundation of democracy.
The insistence that the construction delay was caused by residents is groundless. There are multiple complex reasons for the delay in the construction schedule.The principal reasons include disputes and controversy over the legality of the work, suspension orders issued over illegal construction work, losses and damage to structures caused by the natural environment, the strong wind and waves of Gangjeong’s coastline, Typhoon Bolaven, Typhoon Neoguri, etc. It is sophistry and exaggeration to claim that the residents blocking construction vehicles from entering and leaving the base for only a few minutes at a time caused the delay.
The responsibility lies solely with the state for threatening citizens’ right to a peaceful existence and causing their pain by enforcing this wrongful government policy. There is no one else as responsible for this as the government. The state rather than the residents bears the responsibility. Without mentioning a word about their own responsibility, it is the height of irresponsibility for the state to shift the blame for the delays in the construction onto individual citizens. The state that should be protecting the basic rights of its citizens is instead declaring war against them.
The Navy read and copied an enormous amount of criminal case records in the prosecution office in order to prepare this civil case. Individual criminal case files contain very important personal information so they only can be provided to a third party based on legal grounds. For example, in cases where the parties have applied for a trial or where the need to conduct an investigation is recognized, it is possible through a decision of the court. Even before the Navy can properly file a lawsuit on legal grounds, it must reveal whether it copied individual criminal case records.
Minbyun defines this claim for reimbursement not as one simple trial but as a provisional seizure used to strangle workers. Like this, it has a historical connection to the suppression of labor. It has a dishonest intention to extend dangerous statism to the judiciary. Minbyun will organize a legal team to fight for the 121 people and will make efforts and take measures to inform the public both domestically and internationally about the unconstitutionality and illegality of this case. The state should stop threatening citizens with this case. It should get out from behind this case and get down on its knees in front of its citizens and apologize for causing them pain.
Take Action: Please call the South Korean embassy or consulate nearest you and complain about this outrageous action to destroy Gangjeong village. Here is the link to find the ROK consulate nearest you in the US. Do it today!
…………………………
To see the original Korean commentary by MINBYUN, see here. The translation above was done in collaboration by the members of the Gangjeong Village International team and posted here under the permission of the MINBYUN.
A photo by Gangjeong Village/ Press conference by Gangjeong villagers held in front of the Jeju Island provincial government building (South Korea). The banner said “Navy killed all the Gangjeong villagers and then just take away the property! You have already taken away our land, destroyed our community and now even try to take all our property away!”
Activists, civic and religious groups accused of causing loss of taxpayer money for delaying construction in Gangjeong Village
The South Korean Navy is demanding damages from local groups and residents in Jeju Island for “taxpayer losses” incurred by their opposition to the construction of a new naval base.
The groups targeted include the village association of Gangjeong in the city of Seogwipo.
“On Mar. 28, we filed a suit with Seoul Central District Court for the exercise of indemnity rights for the Jeju multi-purpose port complex,” the Navy announced in a press release on Mar. 29.
“The purpose of this exercise of indemnity rights is to hold those responsible accountable for losses in taxpayer money from among the additional costs of 27.5 billion won (US $23.8 million) incurred due to the [14-month] delay in the port’s construction period owing to illegal obstruction of operations,” it added.
The total compensation claim amounted to 3.4 billion won (US$2.9 million) of the additional costs, with the Gangjeong village association listed among the defendants alongside five groups and 117 residents and activities who took action to oppose the naval base construction.
Last year, Samsung C&T demanded 36 billion won (US$31.2 million) in compensation from the Navy for delays in the construction schedule; a figure of 27.5 billion won (US$23.8 million) was finally settled on after mediation by the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board. Mediation is currently under way for Daelim Construction’s claim for 23 billion won (US$19.9 million) in compensation.
The Navy called the claim a “legitimate measure for legal responsibility for causing construction delays and losses in taxpayer money through their illegal obstruction of a state effort undertaken according to lawful procedures.”
In addition to holding residents and activists accountable for the additional costs incurred by their opposition, the Navy‘s decision to pursue the claim following the base’s completion on Feb. 26 appears intended to send the message that those who oppose state efforts in general will face legal action.
The Gangjeong village association responded with indignation.
“We intend to discuss this with residents at the village level,” said association head Cho Gyeong-cheol, adding that legal professionals were being consulted on a response.
“The same Navy that said it would be ‘working with residents’ is now demanding compensation, and it hasn’t even been that long since they finished. It’s shameful to see the Navy going on about the ‘shared benefits for residents,’” Cho said.
Hong Gi-ryong, the head of the provincial countermeasures committee‘s executive committee, said it “makes no sense for the Navy to demand compensation when resident lives have been devastated.”
Hong went on to say residents and groups planned a joint legal response with the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society.
In 2007, the administration selected Gangjeong as the site of its naval base construction despite procedural objections over an ad hoc general village association meeting attended only by a portion of residents. The construction went ahead despite the objections of local residents, activists, and religious workers, and was finally completed in February. Around 600 people were prosecuted over obstruction, with some 400 million won (US $346,000) in total fines to residents and activists.
Take Action: Please call the South Korean embassy or consulate nearest you and complain about this outrageous action to destroy Gangjeong village. Here is the link to find the ROK consulate nearest you in the US. Do it today!
