Please go to HERE for sign.
The signs are collected by 9 October 6pm(GMT +9, South Korea time), and will be published on the 10th.
Endorsement for the international statement
“NO ROK Navy 2018 International Fleet Review in Jeju Naval Base”
Save Jeju Now
No War Base on the Island of Peace
Category: Featured
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[URGENT] “No Fleet Review” Endorsement for the international statement
Text on a capture from the ROK navy’s promotion on the fleet review/ Work by the Gangjeong Peace Activity Network Text on a capture from the ROK navy’s promotion on the fleet review/ Work by the Gangjeong Peace Activity Network
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Gangjeong Village Story: August/ September 2018 Issue
In this August/ September 2018 Edition :US Nuclear Aircraft Carrier, Japanese Imperial Rising Sun Flag in Jeju naval base?/ Bringing 100 year conflict to the villagers/ Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of the Sea Camp & Jeju Grand March for Life and Peace, 2018/ Interconnections between Korea and Yemen/ Okinawa Carries On Onaga’s Legacy/ RIMPAC, New PTA Commander and Hawai’i County Council War Crimes Inquiry/ USA is coming back to Taiwan/ Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding/ Following the shadow of Seodal Oreum/ Seongju is still at war with THAAD missile deployment/ Blue House directly involved with human rights violations/ Arms sales and President Moon’s Peace through Strength /2018 Asia Peace Education Workshop/ Story of Bijarim/No Space Force: Keep Space for Peace and more
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The Jeju Grand March and international fleet review
Photo by an event participant The Jeju Grand March(July 30 to Aug. 4) and international fleet review(Oct. 10 to 14, 2018)On Aug. 4, the Jeju Grand March for Life and Peace 2018 which started on July 30 made a big finish with a statement for peace and solidarity. This year’s theme was “From Gangjeong to Seongsan: Peace, Let’s Walk Together.” Unlike most marches of last years in which we walked through the coast of whole Island in the two groups of eastward and westward teams starting from Gangjeong and finishing in Jeju City, this year’s march focused on the two spots of Jeju: Gangjeong where the Jeju navy base was built in 2016 and Seongsan where the 2nd Jeju airport(air base) is planned. Another difference was that we shortened march from a week into three days while instead having three days’ camp in Seongsan.For more photos of march, see hereWe were blessed to have many special friends from overseas: Hawaii, Hongkong, Okinawa, Taiwan and United States etc.. Many of them had also joined inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of Sea camp in Jeju from July 25 to 29. We also had great guests-the grandmothers and activists of Soseong-ri, Seongsan where the anti-THAAD campaign is constantly and daily going on.However, the march and camp were done also with the heavy heart because of the issue of fleet review.On July 31, the next day of beginning of march, the chief of naval operation, South Korea, declared to have a fleet review in Jeju in coming October. Despite villagers’ decision to oppose a fleet review in Jeju on March 30, this year, the navy has intervened to change villagers’ opinion. And in July, the President Moon Jae-in’s Presidential House openly intervened to change villagers’ opinion by sending Presidential House Secretaries and top navies at least four times to the village. As a result, the Gangjeong village association who had made March 30 decision but was ready to be deceived by sugar-coting words of government officers and navies held another general meeting on July 29 to ask villagers’ opinion on fleet review again. The result was overwhelmingly in favor of fleet review as the participants for the meeting were mostly those who are ready to compromise to the navy with false prmises. On the day, the anti-base villagers’ association boycotted the meeting and vote, saying the July 29 meeting is in violation of a village principle of ‘not deliberating the same measure twice.’ Instead its representatives filed a lawsuit claiming the procedure of another vote for same issue is wrong and the vote itself should be cancelled. The same group strongly criticized the Presidential House! Yes. It is the same government who made the April 27 inter-Korean Summit meeting but emphasized the US-led ‘alliance’ in July!(It was last December that Kang Hee-bong, a navy-compromising villager won over Go Gwon-il, an anti-baser and former vice-mayor of village association. On the day’s vote, Kang had mobilized lots of people in the village who have never appeared in the anti-base movement).The Island Council is also complicit to the deeds of Presidential House and navy. Originally, its whole 43 council members had unanimously signed to submit the draft for the resolution against the fleet review in Jeju. However, later on July 19, it abruptly postponed to submit the draft. It was the next day of July 18 when Lee Yong-seon, a secretary of Presidential House visited Jeju and met Kang and other villagers to deliver the opinion of Presidential House. For centuries, the central government in Korea made a colony of Jeju. For me, these whole current scenes just remind such painful and oppressed history of Jeju.Moreover, the navy says there would be a US nuclear aircraft carrier during the international fleet review in Jeju from Oct. 10 to 14! And around 100 warships including 30 foreign warships would join for military show on the Jeju Sea during the time destroying already suffering ocean environmet! For whom, this disastrous fleet review is held, especially upon the 70th year of Jeju April 3rd when at least 30,000 Islanders were killed under the order of US Army military government? Who are the beneficiaries? What is the meaning of this anachronistic militarism? We will not give up! The fleet review, a parade of warships, should be stopped! Please say to your government. Jeju doesn’t want warships from your country! And Hawaii friends are right to say they don’t want warships from South Korea during the RIMPAC which is now being held in Hawaii for two months! We should not exchange warships but friendship for peace and life!
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Gangjeong Village Story: June/ July 2018 Issue
In this June/July 2018 Edition :
Resolute Opposition to International Fleet Review! / Do we still need THAAD and Jeju navy base?/ Visiting Oxford and Croughton AFB, UK/Henoko Base Resistance Photo Exhibition/ Yemen, We Welcome You/ The ‘Trial Deal’ Exposed/ 20 Year Struggle Against Gunsan US Base/ US Forces Korea Open New Headquarters in Pyeongtaek/ Won Re-elected Jeju Governor/ Green Party Campaign at Local Election/ Stop RIMPAC/ Re-opening of Peace Center/ Hot Pink Dolphins Center in Construction/ Friendship Recital/ 2018 Jeju Peace Tour etc.
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No to International Fleet Review in Jeju
We absolutely oppose international fleet review in Jeju!
On March 30, this year, Gangjeong villagers have already expressed their strong opposition against International Fleet Review in Jeju navy base in coming October 10 (Wed.) to 14 (Sun). The navy who lies to people that they would not hold the review in Jeju navy base if villagers oppose to it, has not given up its desire to hold the review in Jeju navy base. It is not 100% ceratin yet on the venue of it. (It could be Jeju or Busan or somewhere else). But we expect the navy would make public on the venue sooner or later.
What we would see in the ‘review’ will be a parade/show of warships and weapons including US nuclear aircraft carrier/submarine. The navy is planning to invite 70 nations including 17 NATO member countries. The ‘review’ would not only waste people’ s tax (planned of around 3million USD) but instigate war culture. Above all, it will be very likely that Jeju navy base would be nailed both nominally and virtually as a strategic war base. That already contradicts with the spirits of non-nuclearization of Korean peninsula and peace & disarmament shown in April 27 inter-Korean Summit meeting. We oppose international fleet review to be held in any place of Korea, too.
Former vice-mayor Go Gwon-il concerns about, saying “For tens of warships and fighter planes to line up, they may need all ports of Seogwipo area (wider area than Gangjeong village). The navy intends to expand its facilities into Seogwipo area.” ( http://www.ijejutoday.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=210403 )
Photo by Pang Eunmi Here are lists of nations that South Korea navy plans to invite. Please say your government to refuse ROK navy/ government’s invitation to international fleet revie in Jeju or somewhere else in Korea. Please remind them April 27 Inter-Korean Summit meeting: Non-nuclearization of Korean peninsula. Peace and disarmament!
Asia(20) Japan, China, Indonesia, India*, Thailand, Malaysia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh*, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Singapore,, Pakistan, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine
Middle East(8) Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar
Europe(20) Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, United Kingdom*, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Poland, France, Finland, Hungary
America(9) Mexico*, United States, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Canada, Colombia, Peru*
Oceania(4) New Zealand, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Australia
Africa(8) Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Ethiopia, Uganda, Egypt, Djibouti, Kenya
(Image: Text on the ROK navy image on 2015 inetrnational fleet review in Busan)
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Gangjeong Village Story: Aprily/ May 2018 Issue
In this April/May 2018 Edition :Gangjeong Struggle Reached 4,000 Days & Beyond/ A New Era. No THAAD Base Construction! No Naval Review!/ The Night for the Memories of Vietnam and Jeju/ Kings Bay Plowshares/ Gangjeong Villagers Join Annual Okinawa Peace March/ Women of the Philippines & Jeju Talk Militarization / Gangjeong is April 3rd/ Sewol Ferry Tragedy Remembrance/ No SMA! No Money for USFK!/ Ann Wright Visits Gangjeong Village/ Mang-gi Chose Prison in Refusal to Pay Fines/ Poetry Night: No Jeju 2nd Airport/ Nullify the 2nd Jeju Airport(Air Base) Project!/ International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament/ad. On Inter-Island Solidarity Peace for the Sea Camp in Jeju 2018 etc.
Correction:
In the article on Kings Bay 7 (page 3), a sentence is corrected to “They pled not guilty and expect a trial date to be set in early August.” (rather than “They pled not guilty and are awaiting trial in early August.” Pre-trial hearings are expected on Aug. 3)
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Gangjeong Village Story: December 2017/January 2018 Issue
In this December 2017/January 2018 Issue Edition :
Withdrawal of Navy Lawsuit, Start of New Year; Rejecting Militarism on the 80th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre; Martha Hennessy’s St. Francis Peace Center Visit; Naval Blockade & Nuclear Posture Review; Nuchi Du Takara (All Life is a Treasure); International Solidarity (Solidarity with Ahed); ‘Sirens normalize the potential for war’; Round 3 of Jeju 2nd Airport Contention; Trial Updates ; “Night & Day” Recital; Peace School Updates; More on The Memory of the 25th Hour; etc
- In this issue, there are many issues that we could not include due to limited space. All they are precious to share. Please check out some links among those:
Vancouver Womens’ Forum on Peace and Security on the Korean Peninsula
Hawaii County Urges U.S. To Find Peaceful Solution To North Korea
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Memorial for the 80th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre
The view from the Japanese fighter plane hangar. (Photo: Song Dong-hyo) At 3 PM on December 13, 2017, People Making Jeju to be a Demilitarized Peace Island and Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of the Sea co-hosted the fourth annual Nanjing Massacre 80th Anniversary Memorial at Alddreu Airfield, in Daejeong, Jeju, remembering and facing the tragedy of war, pledging to eliminate the factors that make war possible, aspiring together for peace in Northeast Asia, and honoring the souls of the victims.
Opening song (Photo: SH) 
Salpuri dance (Photo: Joyakgol) 80 years ago, Japanese fighter planes bombed the city of Nanjing in preparation for their invasion in which 300,000 (mostly Chinese civilians) were killed over the course of 6 weeks. The planes used Alddreu Airfield in Jeju, which was built by the forced labor of over 70,000 local people. Remembering this past, 50 people gathered on December 13 at Alddreu Airfield and declared that Jeju must not be used for making war and causing so much suffering again. With no navy base and no second airport we must make Jeju a real peace island.
Solidarity Message (Photo: SH) 
On the other side of Halla Mountain from here the government wants to build a new airport and air force base at Seongsan (Photo: SH) During the ceremony there was music and dance, poems, a solidarity message sent from Okinawa, short speeches from Daejeong Women Farmers’ Association, from the Seongsan struggle against the second Jeju airport/air force base and from Gangjeong, a presentation of thirty flowers to honor the victims, and a memorial statement.
Offering flowers (Photo: Song Dong-hyo) Memorial Statement:
We remember December 13, 1937, eighty years ago today. The massacre, rape, murder and looting by the Japanese in Nanjing. There was no humanity in that place. For 300,000 lives that cannot be summed up in one figure, we offer a silent prayer for their deaths. We remember this tragedy.
First of all, Jeju was used as a springboard for the massacre. Japan mobilized over 70,000 Jeju residents to build the 198 hectare (490 acre) airfield. Alddreu Airfield was a stronghold for Japan to cross the sea to bomb cities such as Nanjing and Shanghai. With a total of 36 airstrikes, 600 flights and 300 tons of bombs departing from Jeju, countless Nanjing civilians were wounded and killed.
Now, 80 years later US warships and nuclear submarines are frequenting the navy base in Gangjeong. The problem has arisen of air force plans to use the Jeju second airport. Not only is “Island of Peace Jeju” a facetious title, but one cannot help but suspect that the island is an outpost of the US against China. Is Jeju, and is the Korean peninsula, then and now just a place of strategic military importance for powerful countries?
There is surely no peace that came through war. So that there will be no more Nanjing Massacres, we remember that bloody history and how Jeju was mobilized in that day. Jeju must become a demilitarized peace island for the peace of East Asia and the whole world. We must preserve our right to live peacefully.
People Making Jeju a Demilitarized Peace Island, Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of the Sea
There were about 50 participants total in the memorial ceremony. (Photo: Song Dong-hyo) (More photos and event information in Korean at: http://cafe.daum.net/peacekj/496a/1790)
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Gangjeong Village Story: October/November 2017 Issue
In this October/November 2017 Edition :Steady Onslaught of Foreign Warships at the ‘Island of Peace’/Trump is not welcome!/ Please Sign The 4·3 Petition/ Maine Peace Walk for Conversation & Community/The Real Name of ‘Seoul ADEX 2017’ is ‘Murder Weapon Exhibition’/ Remembering Yang Yonbg-chan/ Visits from Okinawa and Japan/ The base’s illegal monitoring and human rights violation/ The SCM and the Jeju navy base/ The Hunger of Kim Kyung-bae: 42 day fast against the 2nd airport/Trial Updates/ A Long Journey to Peace – Two Grandpas’ Story/ Keep Space for Peace Week in Soseong-ri and Gangjeong/Peace Education Update/ Tabling in Seogwipo/ Queer Festival etc.
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U.S. Nuclear Submarine, Mississippi, Get Out of Jeju!
Nov. 23 press conference (Photo by Choi Hye-young) It was for the 1st time that a US nuclear submarine came to Jeju . Still, there was no prior media report about the entry of US nuclear submarine into the Jeju navy base which means even the media reporters could get the news at the last minutes. It was peace activists in Gangjeong who discovered it first. And strangely, there was not a TV broadcasting company in the press conference on Nov. 23, which is unusual. We suspect that the navy is really trying to hide the fact of the entry of US nuclear submarine into the Jeju navy base from the eyes of Island people and the world! WHY!
The SSN Mississippi (SSN-782) which entered the Jeju navy base at 10am, Nov. 22 and is known to leave next week is a quite an offensive arm which can penetrate close to the coast of so called enemy country and destroy its big cities in 2 -3 minutes with its 12 Tomahawk cruise missiles and torpedo. It has attacked Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo etc. And known to be one of the most threatening arms to North Korea. It is told to have left Yokohama US base, Japan on Nov. 10 and joined a war exercise near the Jeju sea before coming to Jeju!
In Dec. 1991, the North and South Korea governments made a joint declaration of ‘non-nuclear zone of the Korean Peninsula,’ which prohibits military use of nuclear. The declaration was made effective in Jan. 1992. By the declaration, allowing the port-entry of nuclear submarines is in violation of the joint declaration. (South Korea has no nuclear submarine so far)
North Korea has carried out nuclear tests 6 times since 2006. The government of George Bush Jr had targeted North Korea as one of seven countries in its Nuclear Posture Review. And the US and South Korean militaries have conducted war exercises which includes the scenario of preemptive strike against it and decapitation of its leadership.The joint declaration has already been broken. Still it is important for South Korea not to arm itself with nuclear since non-nulclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a necessary premise for peaceful unification of Korea.
It that sense, the agreement by Presidents Moon Jae-in and Trump to introduce military strategic assets which include acquirement of nuclear submarine by South Korea was already regrettable.
US nuclear submarines have entered the naval ports of Jinhae and Busan in the south of Korean peninsula for more than 10 years with accidents not well known to the public.
However, the significance of Jeju navy base is in its geopolitical location. It is closer to China and was built to ‘ protect southern sea lane.’ which means the ‘South Korean’ base was primarily built to contain China, on behalf of US Strategic flexibility policy.
That is why the visits by US nuclear submarine or any further strategic assets to the Jeju navy base is threat to the stabilization and peace of the region.
We have resisted long time to stop the construction of the Jeju navy base because it would greatly destabilize so endanger the peace of the region. And what about the UNESCO-designated soft corals, dolphins and other unspeakable lives?
How about the possibility of radiations? Who get profits from this endless war exercises and military buildup?
US Nuclear submarine out of Jeju!
All warships, go away!
Close the Jeju navy base!
Stop the militarization of Jeju!
Jeju is not for a garbage and radiation dumping ground by foreign militaries!(The navy says there will be no radiation dumping by the SSN Mississippi. But even if it could be true, how about possible radiation release of radiation during its stay in the Jeju navy base!)
Photo by Joyakgol The status of foreign warships’ visits to the Jeju navy base, 2017
March 25, USS Stethem (DDG-63)
(left on March 26)à the 1st foreign ship which came to the Jeju navy base
June 20, US USS Dewey (DDG-105)
(left on June 20)–> The ship had to unexpectedly leave the port around 6 pm on the same day, cancelling its participation in a joint war exercise with Canada and South Korea, because of discovery of damage in its equipment. Its departure was 10 hours after its docking into the base.
June 22, HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341) and HMCS Winnipeg (FFH 338)
(left on June 23)
Aug. 15 to 31 USNS Henson (T-AGS-63, a pathfinder class oceanographic survey ship) (Not entered the port but worked on the Gangjeong sea)
Sept. 26 USS Chief (MCM-14)
(left on Oct. 2)
Oct. 22 USS Mustin (DDG-89)
(left on Oct. 26)
Nov. 3 HMAS Melbourne (FFG 05) and HMAS Parramatta (FFH 154)
(left on Nov. 6)
Nov. 23 USS Mississippi (SSN-782)
(is known to leave next week)
