Save Jeju Now

No War Base on the Island of Peace

Category: IUCN

  • Collection of Global Solidarity Messages Writing in Protest for the Navy to Drop Its Wrongful Lawsuit

    Since the navy filed a lawsuit on the rights to indemnity against  116 anti-base individuals and 5 groups including Gangjeong Village Association,  some internationals were willing to send  protest letters to the South Korean government. Following an April 24 appeal for protest to the South Korean navy lawsuit (See here), many more peace activists in the world have joined them. They thoughtfully sent us their solidarity messages  to Gangjeong and/or forwarded us their protest letters to the South Korean government/ embassies. We are updating this site, as well as sharing the original and translated messages with Koreans. Thanks so much to the friends who took their precious time for Gangjeong. We appeal  other friends in the world again to please help us by paying attention to the appeal for protest in the site.  The name of senders are listed here by alphabet order of family name.

    Christine and Gloria Steinem(May 30)/ Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea (ASCK) Steering Committee (on April 29)/ Antonio (on April 26)/ Catherine Christie (on April 25)/ Nick Deane (on April 26)/ Ulrich Duchrow (on April 29)/ Catherine Fontanazza  (on April 26)/ Bruce K. Gagnon (on April 5)/ Boyette Jurceles Jr. (on April 24)/ Natasha Mayers (on April 29)/ Rachael Berman Melville (on April 25)/ MIGRANTE International (on April 26)/ Missionary Society of St. Columban (on April 14)/ Nogawa Mio (on April 9)/ J. Narayana Rao (on April 28)/ Stuart Rees (on April 25)/ Arnie Saiki (on April 29)/ Veterans for Peace (on April 19)/ Russell Wray (on April 26-27)/  Angie Zelter (on April 24)

    ………………………………………………………………………………

    Gloria Steinem and Christine Ahn ( on May 30)

    Dear Gangjeong Villagers,
    We send our greetings, respect and gratitude for the superhuman courage, peacefulness and tenacity you have shown in opposing the construction of a naval base on your home of Jeju Island.

    Like millions of people around the world who fight against ecological damage and global warming, we support you who are on the frontline of resistance on behalf of us in every country who value the unique natural and cultural heritage of Jeju Island. Peace movements around the world join in thanking you for resisting a U.S. and South Korean naval installation that would militarize and endanger the safety and peacefulness of the people JeJu Island and our world.

    We write now because we are shocked to learn that, not only have you been forced to endure violence and imprisonment for your actions in the service of peace and environmental justice, but the South Korean Navy is now demanding $2.9 million in damages from 117 Jeju island residents, activists and local citizens for exercising a human right to nonviolent protest and free speech.

    This is in direct contradiction to Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression. We urge the South Korean Navy and government to immediately drop demands for this unlawful penalty that would negate an inalienable right to free speech and assembly, and send the anti-democratic message that all who oppose state actions are subject to ruinous fines.

    Your actions have inspired all who value democracy, peace, and the environment. Your courage is contagious. We thank you, and we stand with you.

    In love and in peace,
    Gloria Steinem and Christine Ahn

     

    Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea (ASCK) Steering Committee (on April 29)

    “We stand wholeheartedly with the residents of Gangjeong Village. Since 2007, the people of Gangjeong have used every democratic measure and every non-violent means of protest in order to oppose the construction of the new naval base there and to challenge the re-militarization of Jeju Island. Gangjeong residents and peace advocates have a right to freedom of expression‎ by protesting the base, which jeopardizes peace in the wider region by rendering Northeast Asia far more vulnerable to the risk of future military conflict.

    “We now call upon the ROK Navy to withdraw its unfounded US$2.9-million lawsuit against the residents and peace advocates in Gangjeong Village. There must be an end to the anti-democratic procedural- and human-rights violations that led to the building of the new naval base on Jeju. The wrongful lawsuit against Gangjeong must be dropped immediately.”

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

     

    Antonio (on April 26)

    DON’T GIVE UP!!!

    YOUR FIGHT IS OUR FIGHT!!!

    Regards,

    Antonio

    @Ilprescelto77

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

     

    Catherine Christie (on April 25)

    Gangjeong Village, the small rural farming-fishing village on Jeju Island which has had a naval base built on its waterfront, destroying the marine environment, destroying the community spirit of the village. They are enduring a lot of stress, and all of a sudden the Navy has decided the village should pay for the days it took over to build the base. A suit has been brought against the village and its members, that mean all municipal assets would be forfeit. What a ridiculous move by the Navy! I ask all to call on the Korean government to withdraw this dangerous and foolish action. My association, IRCA, said I could write in their name to support this rural village of faithful and hardworking people. Below is the letter, challenging the government, I hope, to move on thi [..]

    International Rural Churches Association
    Voice of the Voiceless

    ………………………………………………..

    April 25, 2016

    Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jung Ho Sub

    Ministry of National Defense, Minister Han Min Koo cyber@mnd.go.kr
    President of Korea, Honorable Park Geun Hye webmaster@president.go.kr
    Saenuri Party: Rep. Kim Moo Song
    Democratic Party: Rep. Kim Jong In
    Peoples Party: Rep. Ahn Cheol Soo
    Governor, Jeju Province: Governor Won Hee Ryong jujmaster@jeju.go.kr

    Honorable representatives of the Republic of Korea:

    This letter is written to vehemently call for the dropping of the Republic of Korea Navy’s action against the Village of Gangjeong, Jeju Island, in its filing of a lawsuit seeking indemnity rights, or compensation for losses incurred during the construction of the Jeju Naval Base, officially opened in Gangjeong Village on Feb. 26, 2016. The Naval lawsuit demands 3 Million USD in its suit – a suit which will mean the destruction of this village, as it will have to liquidate all municipal assets to cover this, as well as the many citizens who will lose their property. This is an incredibly unjust and arrogant legal action.

    I humbly point out that there were a number time when concerns were raised about this particular construction, not just from the Gangjeong villagers and other related groups. A number of times the Governor of Jeju of the time, Hon. Woo Keum-Min, issued suspension orders stopping construction for hearings on issues like environmental assessment and because the company had neglected to install, or had installed, faulty silt protectors that failed to protect the marine environment. And then there was Dec. 30, 2011, when the National Assembly, in its end of the year deliberations, cut 96% of the 2012 budget for the Naval Base construction. That was amazing, and many people thought the plans would be significantly changed at the time, one editorial suggesting perhaps the construction area would become a coast guard facility. As well a typhoon that struck the area early in the construction period which caused damage to the caissons being installed, necessitating that the job be done again.

    I write on behalf of the International Rural Church Association which is concerned about this rural farming-fishing community in Korea that is struggling to survive in the face of great changes. Often rural communities bear the brunt of development of industrial-military or resource extraction facilities. IRCA stands on behalf of sustainable rural communities throughout the world, and in this regard, we strongly urge the government of Korea to reject this action of the Navy and its lawsuit against Gangjeong village.

    Yours respectfully,

    (Rev.) Catherine Christie,
    Past chairperson, International Rural Churches Association
    Seoul, ROK

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

    Nick Deane (on April 26)

    I sent the message below to the Korean Embassy in Canberra, Australia.

    Thoughts are with you!

    Nick

    ………………………………………

    Unjust measures have been taken against those who are peacefully protesting the construction of naval facilities on Jeju Island.

    The lawsuits taken out against local residents are wrong and should be dropped.

    We neither want nor need more war-waging facilities, on Jeju or anywhere else!

    The whole world is watching!

    Nick Deane.

    (Sydney, Australia)

    (Go to the Korean translation site, here)

    Ulrich Duchrow (on April 29)

    Dear friends,
    thank you for your amazing persistance in the struggle. As I am travelling in Brasil and not at home in Germany I can only send a very short message of solidarity to you. In October/November  2013 I took part in a solidarity mission of “Peace for Life” in resistance against the military base on Jeju Island. So I know the brutal oppression of the people in Gangjeong.
    I wish you full success in your struggle against the lawsuit .

    In solidarity

    Ulrich Duchrow
    Professor at Heidelberg University and Moderator of Kairos Europa

    (Go to translation site, here)

     

    Catherine Fontanazza  (on April 26)

    A note to the protestors :

    Keep up the work, your non violent protest is very important  and I will be writing to President Obama about your situation.

    Power to the people.

    Sincerely,

    Kate Fontanazza

    (Go to the Korean translation site, here)

    Bruce K. Gagnon (on April 5)

    To: South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
    Dear President Park:
    We have learned that your government, the South Korean Navy and Samsung Construction division are currently demanding damages from local groups and residents on Jeju Island for the alleged costs incurred due to the residents’ opposition to the Navy base construction: US $2.9 million.  Your government has listed the Gangjeong village association, five groups and 117 residents and activists as the defendants.

    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 biggest crime of all is that the ROK government and the Navy rejected the will of the Gangjeong villagers and have destroyed a 500-year old community.  In addition the environmental ‘special preservation area’ is being destroyed as well – violating your own government’s environmental protection designation.
    Our international membership stands with Gangjeong villagers and we demand that these outrageous and illegal charges be immediately dropped.
    We eagerly await your positive response.
    In peace,
    Bruce K. Gagnon
    Coordinator
    Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
    Brunswick, ME , United States
    http://www.space4peace.org
    http://space4peace.blogspot.com  (blog)

    Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. – Henry David Thoreau

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

     

    Boyette Jurceles Jr (on April 24)

    Thanks for the updates.  Philippines will surely respond to this. We will also circulate your appeal to our global network.

    In solidarity and more power!

    Boyette Jurceles Jr.

    Ban the Bases!

    And BAYAN

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

     

    Natasha Mayers (on April 29)

    Dear President Park and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon :

    Please drop the charges against the villagers of Gangjeong, Jeju Island, Korea.

     The South Korean government, Navy and Samsung are demanding damages from these villagers for the alleged costs incurred due to their opposition to the Navy base construction.  The Gangjeong village association, five groups and [116] residents and activists have been charged with paying $2.9 million (US dollars). The world has witnessed the brave non-violent resistance of the villagers to the destruction of their community and to the environmental ‘special preservation area’. The State (and typhoons) bear the responsibility for construction delays for rejecting the will of the Gangjeong villagers.

     Respectfully,

     Natasha Mayers

    Whitefield, Maine

     (Go to translation site, here)

     

    Rachael Berman Melville (on April 25)

    I’ve just emailed the letter to President Park via the US and UK embassies and posted via Facebook links to your recent post.  I wanted to send along an image of a painting that I created in 2009 (part of a solo show I had at the Jeju Hallasumokwan).  I believe this image has been used previously in your campaign as I sent it in previously (although years ago).  It is based on a photograph I took at Gangeong Villiage in 2009.  I took the shot through the foreground of an artpiece that was installed on the coast.  A beautiful metal piece.

    GangjeongPort

    I hope it is still there?  Do you know it?  I wonder if you know the name of the artist who created this piece.  I would love to credit them if I use the image in the future.

    I lived on Jeju for a year in 2009 and felt deeply the concerns the residents of Gangeong and Jeju regarding the Naval Base construction.  I have stayed connected through your newsletter and facebook posts.  I always feel I wish I could be in Jeju now to help support this cause.  I hope the small actions I have taken and hope to continue taking in the future will help Jeju reclaim it’s waters, it’s Gangeong Village, and it’s reputation of Peace Island.  There is so much injustice in this world, so much war, destruction, and power struggle.  Jeju is an amazing, inspiring place – they are proud of being ‘Peace Island’ and want to keep it that way. So do I!

    Thank you for keeping those who can’t be present in Jeju up to date with what is happening and continuing to spread the word and get the international community behind the cause.

    All the best and peace,

    Rachael Berman Melville

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

    MIGRANTE International (on April 26)

    To the dear people of Gangjeong Village,

    Migrante International, a global alliance of Filipino overseas organization, salutes the people of your village for its courage and staunch defense of your village and your rights.

    We stand with you in solidarity against the militaristic machinations of the US government.

    Down with Imperialism!

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

    Missionary Society of St. Columban (on April 14)

    Forwarded by Fr. Pat Cunningham

    JEJU-LETTER

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

    Nogawa Mio (on April 9)

    To South Korean President Park Geun-Hye 

    Mio

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

    Stuart Rees (on April 25)

    Dear Friends,

    Military interests in using Jeju as a base is  another expression of violence which should be opposed by every non-violent means.

    The world needs to dismantle military vases not build more.

    Congratulations on your brave stand.

    In Solidarity and with Best Wishes,

    Stuart Rees, former Director,

    Sydney Peace Foundation

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

    Arnie Saiki (on April 29)

    To: South Korean President Park Geun-Hye

    Dear President Park:

    It is a travesty for any country based on the principles of democracy to sue citizens for engaging in their right to peaceful protest.

    This lawsuit lacks courage and wisdom.  Demanding damages from the people of Gangjeong Village reveals the pettiness of a supposed “advanced economy.”  The fact that Samsung—the sixth largest corporation in the world whose revenue was (US) $305 billion in 2014—would seek damages from groups that only sought to protect their community; and that as President you would undermine the will of this community, only shows the world that your vision of Korea cares more about global corporate governance than people.

    I love Korea and am honored to have stood beside Gangjeong Village protesters when I visited Jeju. As much as I lament the loss of Gureombi Rock and the destruction and insecurity that you have brought to the community, I equally object to your anti-democratic values.

    Arnie Saiki
    Coordinator
    Moana Nui Action Alliance
    Los Angeles, CA, USA

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

     

    Veterans for Peace(on April 14)

    “Letter from Veterans For Peace (based on and adapted from Bruce Gagnon’s original letter) hard copies are being sent to the SK Pres. and all consulates in the US and the Embassy. “

    Tarak Kauff

    Veterans For Peace
    Board of Directors
    Managing Editor
    Peace In Our Times

    VfP1

    VfP22

    (Go to the translation site, here)

    Russell Wray (on April 27)

    Dear Friends,

    Like so many others, I am appalled by the news of the lawsuit that you are all facing now. I am appalled, but not surprised, because the ROK government and Navy, and the Samsung Corporation have already made it very, very clear how little they care for democracy, human rights, and the right of humans and non-humans to a healthy, living environment. Still, this latest assault upon you good people leaves me feeling very sad, …and angry!

    I am so glad to have had a chance to spend some time (not enough!) with you in Gangjeong this past December as part of the Veterans For Peace delegation. It was an honor to be there with you. I miss you all and though I am not there with you now physically, I am there in my heart and in solidarity. I wish you all good energy to keep up the fight for what is good and beautiful …

    Peace and Best Wishes,

    Russell

    Russell Wray

    Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats

    Hancock, Maine, United States

    RA

    “Below is a copy of a letter that I sent to the ROK embassy in D.C.  I also sent the same letter, but addressed to the Boston consulate. Also emailed both the embassy and Boston consulate . Have telephoned as well, many times….nobody will speak with me about it, no one will call me back.Very frustrating….”

    ……………………………..

    April 26, 2016

    The Honorable Ahn Ho-Young

    Ambassador of the Republic of Korea

    Embassy of the Republic of Korea

    2320 Massachusetts Ave, NW

    Washington, D.C. 20008

    Re: Fining those who oppose the naval base at Gangjeong Village

    Dear Honorable Ambassador,

    I am writing to you today on behalf of Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST) regarding the US $2.9 million fine being leveled at Gangjeong Village residents, activists, and organizations by the government of the Republic of Korea, its Navy, and Samsung. We believe this fine to be a gross injustice; one which is being directed at people who have already had to face the great injustice of having the Navy base in Gangjeong Village forced upon them against their will, resulting in the destruction of their village, their way of life, and their once-beautiful environment.

    The people who opposed the construction of this base had, and continue to have, every right to do so, given the very plain fact that the South Korean Navy used deception and bribery in an attempt to make it appear as if the village supported the base construction. But we know that this “village approval”, with only 87 of Gangjeong’s 2,000 villagers present, was a total sham, with most of the villagers not even having heard of this meeting until after it took place.

    Following that, the village held a referendum on the matter, with 94% of the eligible voters voting against the base. Clearly, the people of Gangjeong did not want or approve of the base! Their opposition to the base was, and still is, entirely justified.

    Furthermore, it is clear that their were numerous factors involved in construction delays other than protests. These other factors account for a far greater portion of the delays than do the protests. Some of these other factors include the Navy’s very bad decision to cite the base at Gangjeong, given its susceptibility to extreme wind and waves.There were the typhoons Bolaven and Neoguri, and their resulting damage to the construction, as well as suspension orders that were made due to the illegality of the construction.

    To place the blame for construction delays solely on the people and organizations opposing the base is beyond unreasonable.

    Regarding the base at Gangjeong Village, the  government of the Republic of Korea and its Navy have trashed the democratic process and inflicted great injustice, pain, and destruction upon its own people and environment. When the people of the world hear the real story of this, they will know that the notion that South Korea is a democracy that is committed to human and environmental rights is simply false on each count.

    COAST strongly urges the South Korean government to drop the charges and fines against these people and organizations immediately, and to begin the conversion of the base from militaristic to peaceful, life-promoting purposes. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your response.

    Sincerely,

    Russell Wray

    President

    Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST)

    Hancock, ME, USA

    ……………………………………………………………………..

    And a same  email  to the South Korean Consulate in Boston , with Bruce K. Gagnon’s April 9 letter being forwarded , too. 

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

    Angie Zelter (on April 24)

    Dear Gangjeong Resisters,

    I am very distressed to hear that you are being targetted by the Government, Military and Corporations, for your lawful, peaceful, humanitarian resistance to war and destruction. Your protests are part of a world-wide movement for peace, real security and global citizenship. The navy’s lawsuit that so wrongfully tries to stop your resistance shows just how successful you have been and is part of their long history of denying civil rights and trying to destroy your struggle and resistance. Please know that you have friends all over the world that stand with you and care about you. I do hope that you can keep up the strength to go on resisting.

    We are in a time of global stress when the forces of peace and justice are facing the forces of militarisation and corporate greed. It is a time of deep conflict and change and we all need to keep strong and hopeful and not lose heart.

    I love and respect all your hard work for peace and think of you as colleagues and friends connected together in our joint struggles for a better world. As we, here in the UK, continue our struggle to resist the replacement of the UK’s nuclear weapons with our own civil resistance, we will remember and honour your struggle and do what we can to let people know about the outrageous US$2.9 million lawsuit currently threatening the village.

    Love, peace and strength, Angie Zelter.

    Angie Zelter, is the founder of Trident Ploughshares (Right Livelihood Award Laureate), Faslane 365, International Women’s Peace Service-Palestine and various other organisations. She is author of ‘Trident on Trial – the case for peoples’ disarmament’, ‘Faslane 365 – a year of anti-nuclear blockades’, ‘World in Chains’. She is active in organising civil resistance against nuclear weapons and the arms trade to uphold international law.

    (Go to Korean translation site, here)

  • The ‘Bomb’ of $ 3million USD

    April 10th
    Photo by Hankyoreh/ The villagers set up the sit-in tent on April 10th . The tent is called ‘Gangjeong Vilage Hall.’ The two are mayor Cho Kyung-Chul (right) and vice-mayor Ko Kwon-Il (left)

    The ‘Bomb’ of $ 3million USD is murder

    : The navy should drop the wrongful lawsuit on damage claim

     
    By Ko Kwon-Il

    April 15, 2016

    Even though spring, which germinates life, has returned, a fierce cold winter wind is still striking Gangjeong village. The navy has filed an absurd lawsuit claiming 3.4 billion Korean Won [approximately $3 million US dollars] in damages against Gangjeong village. 

    Since April 10th, Gangjeong villagers have started a tent sit-in in front of our national service monument located in the village, demanding that the navy’s lawsuit on their right to reimbursement be dropped. We are not exceptional, and we dream of living ordinary lives of farming, feeling happiness as our children grow, and living happily together with our parents. However, we are being forced to take to the streets again.

     In contrast to the navy’s celebration of the completion of the Jeju navy base on February 26, 2016, we had our own ceremony, declaring Gangjeong a “Life, Peace, and Culture Village,” and entering a new stage of our opposition movement, which began in 2007. It is in an attempt to ensure peaceful lives in our village. However, the navy’s merciless filing of the lawsuit makes it impossible for us to live peacefully.

    There are 121 defendants named in this $3 million lawsuit. If each were equally liable, individual liability would be about $24,800 per person. That is a tremendous amount itself.

    Another problem is that the right to indemnity is demanded in the way of joint obligation, by which the 121 defendants do not pay equal shares of the damages sought, but are differently ranked according to the size of their assets, as in the case of joint surety. Further, it is possible to focus on one individual in demanding the amount.

    Also, it is expected that the trial could take more than three years, as it is a civilian case. The $3 million In damages would be subject to a 15% annual compound interest rate. If the trial lasts more than 5 years, the interest will become greater than the principal. In this case, about $49,000 would be imposed per person. If the amount is focused on small numbers of individuals and groups, they cannot avoid bankruptcy.

    No matter how you regard it, the attitude of the navy and the government can hardly be considered normal. They are trying to force us to take responsibility for the financial damages claimed to have been caused by the delay of construction allegedly due to the opposition movement against the navy base.

    However, due to the fact that local residents were not properly consulted and did not approve of the construction of the base, it is the state that is responsible for any delays in the construction process. The civilian complaints and resistance were direct results of the state’s aggressive policy and construction of the base.

    Therefore, from the moral point of view, it is right for the state to be fully liable for damages. Regarding it as a social cost, it has been natural for the South Korean governments to be in such way in their enforcement of national policies so far.

    However, the current government demands damages for construction delay from the Gangjeong village association, villagers, and the people who have worked with them to raise questions on the Jeju naval base construction.

    It is the South Korean navy who has conducted the project unilaterally without any prior explanation to the villagers, not to mention the absence of proper environmental assessments or position validity reviews. It is the right and duty of the people to voice differing opinions on the hasty and undemocratic project. Even with the alleged additional costs caused from it, it is solely the responsibility of the navy and state again.

     

    Outspokenly telling us to die, can it be really a state?

     

    The $3 million in damages that the Korean Navy claims is problematic, also. Our resistance to the base could not have caused that much in damages. The damages are primarily the results of suspension orders from the Jeju provincial government due to the hearing regarding docking capacity for two 150,000-ton cruise ships and the uninstallation and damage of silt protectors. It is unfair that the indemnity right is to be exercised against us, but not against those who delayed the construction due to fraudulent or incompetent work. 

    Also, Samsung C&T demanded 36 billion won ($31.2 million USD) in compensation from the Navy for delays in the construction schedule; a 27.3 billion won ($23.8 million USD) settlement was finally reached after mediation by the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board. This was paid to Samsung C&T with funds from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of the Ministry of National Defense.  

    Around $23.8 million USD covers the costs for the direct damage from the breakdown of 6 caissons (huge concrete structures used in the breakwater) and damage of 1 caisson during Typhoon Bolaven, as well as for the settlement of civilian complaints following the disassembly and production of caissons, the additional purchase of a 20,000-ton floating dock, and extension of caisson production process

    The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board decided in favor of the settlement on the grounds that much of the delay was due to natural disasters, but we believe the ROK Navy must be held accountable for ignoring the natural conditions of the site they selected and for recklessly pushing ahead with the construction.

    The Jeju Naval Base construction and the punitive lawsuit has broken peaceful, 450-year-old Gangjeong village to pieces, causing residents much pain and suffering. It is such an atrocious and cruel violence that the lawsuit can be considered “economic murder.”

    The Park Geun-hye government has pushed her people into the death by saying ‘keep calm’ throughout the Sewol Ferry Tragedy and the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) situation. In Gangjeong, it is outspokenly telling the residents to ‘die.’ Can we say it is truly a state?

    It is already the 14th day since we began our sit-in protest. For nearly 10 years, we have been trampled down by state power. Many have been arrested and imprisoned. We have faced bombs of fines while appealing for the settlement on the naval base issue. But we drew the line at the idea of selling the village association hall, which our ancestors did not give up even under Japanese imperialism.  

    We said: No matter how heavy and difficult the fines are and how our problems could be smoothly solved by selling our village association hall, we will not sell it, since it is our spiritual pillar. 

    But all those village common properties which we have tried very hard to save would disappear unless the navy lawsuit on indemnity rights against us is dropped.

    When can we Gangjeong residents take our normal daily lives back? It is a time for the ROK government and navy to answer.

     By Ko Kwon-Il

    April 15, 2016

     
     Ko Kwon-Il is a vice-mayor, as well as the chairman of the Anti-base committee against the naval base, Gangjeong village. His writing above appears in Korean, here , here and here.

    *The above was translated by the two village international team members and proofread by Brando.  The final was a little edited for readers’ easier understanding. 

    7
    Photo by Choi. S. H./People lit some candles when the tent was surrounded by the police right after the villagers’ installing it. For more on the story, see here.

    For more on the navy lawsuit, see

    Gangjeong Villagers billed 3 MILLION USD by the Korean Navy

    Navy files suit for losses against locals that opposed naval base in Jeju

    Korean Lawyers Defend Village on Jeju Island from Samsung & Navy

    Gangjeong Village Story: Monthly Newsletter |March 2016 Issue(1st page)

    Why the village moved its association hall onto the street?

     

     

  • Why the Film festival was forced to change the venue?

    hani
    Image source: Hankyoreh, April 06, 2016

     

     

     

    (From the ipffig. org facebook , April 18, 2016)

    Announcement Regarding the Change in Venue of IPPFIG Film Screenings Originally Scheduled to Take Place at Seogwipo Art Hall

    The organizers of the 1st International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong (IPFFIG) wish to notify all those concerned that we have been given no choice but to relocate the screenings that had been scheduled to take place at Seogwipo Arts Center. Although it had been one of our main venues planned for the festival, the Arts Center has abruptly withdrawn permission to use its space, and it thus canceled an existing agreement negotiated with IPFFIG representatives several months earlier.

    This was a hastily announced decision by the Arts Center that we believe is deeply unjust and unprofessional. We will seek legal redress for this unacceptable situation, but in the meantime we have resolved to ensure that all selected festival films will be screened instead in Gangjeong Village.

    Regarding the context of this controversy, Seogwipo Arts Center is a public space for culture and art in Seogwipo City, which is run by the local government and supported by our taxes. Since last December, we have been in close contact with Seogwipo Arts Center, and we completed all the necessary steps in the application process to arrange for screenings to take place at that venue for the duration of the festival.

    More recently, we were contacted by officials at the Seogwipo Arts Center with unreasonable requests that were evidently an attempt to vet our selection of films, a form of censorship which we resisted. While we were busy preparing for our official press conference that would be held in Seoul on April 6th, the Arts Center officials hounded us with requests to receive our list of the films. Eventually, we were required to send them that information by March 20th, after which point the officials pressured us further, asking for a detailed description of each film. Even though we were concerned that they were attempting to limit freedom of expression, we submitted the descriptions of the films, hoping for the best result. We waited for their response, but we did not receive a clear answer from the venue.

    On April 5th, the day before our press conference, a member of IPFFIG’s Program Committee finally heard from an Arts Center official, who explained that the reason for the delay in their decision was because the program included a few films which criticize the government’s policies and also because the mention of Gangjeong Village in the event’s name is itself political in character. We were appalled by this unfair pressure from the government and made this issue official by notifying the press about this development. It became national news and has been regarded as part of the Korean government’s ongoing repression of the cultural scene in the same way that organizers of the Busan International Film Festival have been embroiled in a censorship controversy involving the Busan local government since last year.

    Despite the public pressure in support of IPPFIG, Seogwipo Arts Center notified us on April 12th with their final decision to withdraw permission to use its space.

    The International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong denounces such censorship of the arts and the unjust violation of the right to freedom of expression. Accordingly, we are preparing to take legal measures, including a petition for a provisional injunction that would require the Seogwipo Arts Center to take responsibility for all the damages it inflicted upon us in this process.

    We believe that gathering to watch films means engaging with urgent social issues and allowing free expression of thought and opinion in response to our shared social and cultural milieu. The International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong is an event for those who love film, appreciate culture, and think seriously about the challenges facing our society. We seek to embrace the social suffering of Gangjeong Village and Jeju Island and, through an engagement with provocative films, to open a space for experiencing emotions and conversations about social conflict and also about possibilities for the future. Therefore, we are profoundly honored to hold this film festival in Gangjeong Village, as we do our utmost to establish it as an enriching cultural event for Jeju people who yearn for peace.

    April 15, 2016
    International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong
    • 관련 기사 :
    [서귀포신문/기고] 예술을 유린하는 비예술의 극치 (김경훈)

    http://m.seogwipo.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=120948

    [제민일보/사설] ‘강정영화제’도 포용 못하는 행정
    http://www.jemin.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=392445

    [제주투데이] 서귀포예술의전당은 ‘관장님 전당?’http://www.ijejutoday.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=197159

    [한겨레] 정부비판 이유로.. 서귀포시, 강정평화영화제 대관 불허
    http://www.hani.co.kr/a…/culture/culture_general/739557.html

    ……………………………………………….

    Regarding the Seogwipo Arts Center’s April 12th withdrawal of permission to use its screening hall during IPFFIG, the village association also made a statement (see the original Korean statement, here) three days later. It expressed its outrage, saying “while the village was still recovering from shock and fury because of the navy’s US $2.9 million, [the Seogwipo Arts Center’s] behavior is like adding oil to the fire or pouring hot water on a wound.”

    According to the Village Association, the Arts Center gave the rationale for its rejection “that the festival has been organized through prior discussion between the IPFFIG organizing committee and anti-base committee of Gangjeong village; that it is a political event because it calls for the demilitarization of Jeju as “the Peace Island’; that seven films among those to be screened are about Gangjeong; and that some works oppose the government policies since they are either critical of the Pyeongchang Olympics; opposed to nuclear power plants; or warn the danger of GMOs.’

    The Village Association concludes that the Seogwipo Arts Center failed to honor its commitment to IPFFIG and went against a signed agreement because of a biased political judgment that discriminates against them, which violates the spirit and mission of the Arts Center as a public venue intended for use by citizens.

  • The Island Communities of Gangjeong and Lampedusa

     

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    Stills from ‘Oyster(2012)’ and ‘Persistent Dreams(2015),’ two movies on Gangjeong and Lampedusa. Both would be screened in the IPFFiG, April 23-26.

    Re-blogged from here

    In honor of the Global Day Against Military Spending (formerly April 15th, now April 8-18th), here’s an essay about one of the founding organizers of GDAMS, the International Peace Bureau, which named Gangjeong Village on South Korea’s Jeju Island as a co-recipient of its prestigious annual peace prize last fall. A slightly shorter version of the essay will appear in the festival program for the upcoming International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong, April 23-26th.

    The other prize co-recipient is Lampedusa Island in Italy, and it’s meaningful that the IPB has honored ordinary people responding to extraordinary circumstances in their own communities: in Gangjeong – at the crossroads of increasingly dangerous regional tensions in Northeast Asia – and on Lampedusa – located between Europe and Africa as the primary intercontinental entry point for migrant and refugees.  

    Although the IPB described the peace movement in Gangjeong Village as an “exemplary non‐violent struggle at a crucial time,” the villagers there have recently been sued for US$2.9 million by the South Korean Navy, which has criminalized their protest. It’s a move that could destroy the democratically elected self-governing body of a centuries-old agrarian community. I’ll post more on this separately, as advocates of the villagers are working to get the lawsuit dropped.

    If you are in Korea, please try to make it to IPFFiG, which takes place in Gangjeong Village. As a non-commercial film festival, all the screenings are free, and there will be two public forums, one on Okinawa and Gangjeong, and another on the situation in Northeast Asia. This essay introduces a festival screening that features two films, one about Lampedusa and another about Gangjeong. (by Nan Kim)

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    “Peacemakers in the Global Public Eye: The Island Communities of Gangjeong and Lampedusa” 

    by Nan Kim

    “…[W]e are in total support of the villagers of Gangjeong and their friends and neighbors who are involved in a non-violent struggle to protect their homes, their environment, their heritage, and their livelihoods from the huge military naval base being constructed on such a stunning coastline. It is shameful to see such a massive military installation despoiling a beautiful world heritage site…. In the long run this military base could well be abandoned. By that time it may have been responsible for horrendous acts of violence and death. Either way the villagers of Gangjeong will be recognized by historians and the wider world to have been right to oppose its construction.

    “Please be aware that we will continue to keep in close contact with the peace campaigners and work to ensure that they (and the South Korean authorities) remain in the global public eye.”

    – Colin Archer, Secretary General of the International Peace Bureau. Excerpt from an open letter to South Korean President Park Geun-hye, sent on February 11, 2015.

    Last August, Gangjeong Village received a rare honor from one of the most eminent peace organizations in the world. The International Peace Bureau – based in Geneva with 300 member organizations in 70 countries throughout the world – selects a person or organization each year to receive an esteemed prize that recognizes outstanding work for peace, disarmament, and/or human rights. In 2015, that award was shared by Gangjeong and another small community, the residents of Lampedusa Island off the southern coast of Italy. The IPB’s announcement described how these two island communities “in different circumstances, show proof of a profound commitment to peace and social justice.”

    Located over 9000 kilometers apart, Gangjeong and Lampedusa face challenges quite distinct from each other [for more on Lampedusa, see the IPB announcement below], but the IPB’s announcement of this shared award emphasized the important connections between their respective situations: “Not only do we recognise the common humanity of those who resist without weapons the forces of domination in their own island. We make the argument that public resources should not be spent on massive military installations that only increase the tension between nations in the region; rather they should be devoted to meeting human need.”

    In highlighting Gangjeong villagers’ opposition to the newly constructed Jeju Naval Base, the IPB applauded the exceptional bravery of ordinary people in sustaining their struggle for defending peace despite prolonged hardships and repression. It states, “IPB makes the award in order to increase the visibility of this exemplary non‐violent struggle at a crucial time. It takes great courage to physically oppose the government’s growing aggressive and militaristic policies, especially as they are backed by, and at the service of, the Pentagon. It takes even more courage to maintain that struggle over a period of many years.”

    Established in Switzerland 115 years ago, the International Peace Bureau (originally called “Bureau international permanent de la Paix”) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910. The IPB’s annual prize is named after Seán MacBride (1904-1988), a distinguished Irish statesman and Nobel Peace Laureate (1974), who served as a visionary leader in the global peace movement as co-founder of Amnesty International, Secretary-General of the International Commission of Jurists, and the Chairman and later President of IPB.

    Gangjeong and Lampedusa now share the honor of a symbolic connection with MacBride’s legacy. In light of the pervasive impact of the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula, it is significant to note that during the same year that MacBride won the Lenin Peace Prize (a prize sponsored by socialist states as an alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize) in 1975, he was also the first non-American to receive the American Medal of Freedom. Despite these exalted honors bestowed by rival states during the Cold War period, MacBride maintained his independence as an advocate for peace, denouncing both the Western military-industrial complex while also vehemently protesting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and martial law in Poland.

    Until recently, the IPB prize has been awarded only to individuals or organizations. The only precedent for an island community to receive the MacBride Prize came the prior year in 2014, when the IPB honored the people and government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. That award was in recognition of the legal case submitted by the RMI to the International Court of Justice, against all nine states with nuclear weapons, for failure to honor their disarmament commitments. For Gangjeong and Lampedusa to win this prize last year therefore reflects a commendable trend where the IPB has begun recognizing the difficult and courageous efforts made by ordinary people working among their local communities, where their everyday struggles for the sake of peace have taken on global significance of the highest order.

    The prize was formally awarded on October 23, 2015, in Padua, Italy. At the ceremony, Gangjeong’s co-Vice Mayor Go Kwon Il received the medal on behalf of the village, and the island of Lampedusa was represented by Mayor Giusi Nicolini. The awarding of these prizes occurred as part of “Peace Paths,” the IPB’s annual conference, which in 2015 was held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the entry into force of the Charter of the United Nations. The “Peace Paths” conference was co-organized by the Human Rights Centre of the University of Padua and the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights, Democracy and Peace.

    Recipients of the non-monetary prize each receive the IPB medal made of “Peace Bronze,” an alloy created from disarmed and recycled components of American nuclear weapon systems. The Seán MacBride Prize is also made possible by the Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, whose members have sponsored the arrangements for the medal every year since the inception of the Prize in 1992.

    Thanks to the International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong, Lampedusa and Gangjeong again join together in the global public eye. Through the screening of two compelling documentary films, “Persisting Dreams” (dir. Côme Ledésert, 2014) and “Oyster” (dir. Yoonsoo Lim, 2012), this special program focuses on the stories of residents of these two island communities, which now share a profound connection both in history and in solidarity for peace.

    Professor Nan Kim is a member of IPFFIG’s Advisory Committee. She is Associate Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a Regional Editor of the Asian Journal of Peacebuilding, and a Steering Committee member of the Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea (ASCK).

    From the IPB announcement of the 2015 MacBride Prize:

    LAMPEDUSA is a small island in the Mediterranean and is the southernmost part of Italy. Being the closest part of the territory to the African coastline, it has been since the early 2000s a primary European entry point for migrants and refugees. The numbers of persons arriving has been rapidly increasing, with hundreds of thousands at risk while travelling, and over 1900 deaths in 2015 alone.

    The people of the island of Lampedusa have given the world an extraordinary example of human solidarity, offering clothing, shelter and food to those who have arrived, in distress, on their shores. The response of the Lampedusans stands out in stark contrast to the behaviour and official policies of the European Union, apparently intent only on reinforcing their borders in the attempt to keep these migrants out. This ‘Fortress Europe’ policy is becoming more and more militarized.

    Aware of its multi‐layered culture, which epitomizes the evolution of the Mediterranean region where over the centuries different civilizations have blended and built on each others’ developments, with mutual enrichment, the island of Lampedusa also shows the world that a culture of hospitality and respect for human dignity are the most effective antidotes to nationalism and religious fundamentalism.

    To give but one example of the heroic actions of the people of Lampedusa, let us recall the events of the night of 7‐8 May 2011. A boat full of migrants crashed into a rocky outcrop, not far from the shore. Although it was in the middle of the night, the inhabitants of Lampedusa turned out in their hundreds to form a human chain between the shipwreck and the coast. That night alone more than 500 people, including many children, were carried to safety.

    At the same time the people of the island are very clear that the problem is a European one, not theirs alone. In November 2012, Mayor Nicolini sent an urgent appeal to Europe’s leaders. She expressed her outrage that the European Union, which had just received the Nobel Peace Prize, was ignoring the tragedies occurring on its Mediterranean borders.

    The IPB believes that the dramatic situation in the Mediterranean – constantly visible in the mass media ‐ must be at the top of Europe’s urgent priorities. Much of the problem springs from social injustices and inequalities resulting in conflicts in which the West has – over centuries ‐‐ played an aggressive role. We recognise that there are no easy solutions, but as a guiding principle, Europe should be honouring the ideals of human solidarity, over and above the cynical considerations of governments and profit/power/resource‐seeking entities. When Europe contributes to the ruining of the livelihoods of people, as for instance in Iraq and Libya, Europe will have to find ways to help rebuild those livelihoods. It should be below the dignity of Europe to spend billions on military interventions, and yet not to have the resources available to meet the basic needs. The most vital question is how to develop cooperation between people of goodwill on both sides of the Mediterranean in a long‐term, constructive, gender‐sensitive and sustainable process.

  • Why the village moved its association hall onto the street?

     

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    Photo by Choi S. H. / The village association symbolically moved its hall to a tent on the street in protest to the navy’s lawsuit on the rights to reimbursement after the emergency general meeting on April 10. The police surrounded the tent then without any legal ground.  Such police move brought about people’s protest to it. For more photos by Oum M. H., Choi H. Y.  and Choi S. H., see here.

     

    The below is a  translation of the excerpted from the village statement titled, ‘Relocating the village association hall to a tent, ‘ April 11, 2016.

    Please see the related sites here and here.

     

    “…We, the Gangjeong villagers, are not activists. However, the reason that we symbolically relocated our Village Association Hall onto the street is because we have had everything taken away from us. For near 10 years, we have been trampled down by state power, and we have faced imprisonment and a barrage of fines while attempting to appeal and settle the naval base issue.

    That is why we moved the operations of our Village Association Hall to a sit-in protest tent along the street [in a symbolic expression of our resistance]. When we had been faced in the past with enormous fines that we could hardly afford to settle, we did not consider selling the Village Association Hall because the residents ruled out the possibility. They said the villagers had not given up the Village Association Hall even under Japanese imperialism. They said: No matter how heavy and difficult it may be to resolve the fines, and even if problems could be solved by selling our building, we cannot sell the Village Association Hall because it is our spiritual pillar. Therefore, we endured a barrage of fines without selling it, however challenging the situation we faced. But all of these properties held in common by the village, which we have tried so hard to preserve, will be lost unless the Navy drops its lawsuit against us.

    When the Navy first came to Gangjeong Village [9 years ago], its officials said to the villagers, “No matter who dies first, we will continue [this confrontation] to the end.” How horrible their words were at the time! We could not believe what they told us then. However, we may now respond to those words from the Navy as we have nothing to lose now: “If you take away everything we have, you may as well count every Gangjeong villager, whose lives you would also be ending!”

    (Translated by Choi S. H then refined by Kim Nan)

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    Photo by Oum Mun-Hee. For more photos with original Korean statement, see here.

  • The 1st International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong, April 23 to 26

    Fp

     

    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,

    https://www.facebook.com/ipffig

    ( *The source of text and  all images here  come from the 1st International Peace Film Festival in Gangjeong (IPFFIG))

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    program

  • Korean Lawyers Defend Village on Jeju Island from Samsung & Navy

     

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    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.

    March 30, 2016

    Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun)
    Han Taek-geun, Chairperson

    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.

    The above is also re-blogged from here.

    To see the article on villagers’ conference on March 30, see here

  • Navy files suit for losses against locals that opposed naval base in Jeju

    jejufines
    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!
     ……………………………………………..

    Rebogged from here.

    Related post is here.

    For more photos, see here and here

  • Declaration for Life, Peace, and Culture Village

    Web-featured
    Image by Lee Wooki, Feb. 26, 2016

    A full translation from people’s statement on Feb. 25, 2016,  here

    Our Position on the Jeju Navy Base Construction Completion Ceremony

     

    1. On Feb. 26, the Jeju navy base construction completion ceremony is held in Gangjeong Village, land of life. It is clear that the Jeju navy base cannot create an era of peace. The Jeju navy base cannot but be an outpost which threatens the peace of northeast Asia, amid conflict for military domination between the United States and China. Rather, it would be a seed of international conflict and would trigger an arms race. Peace should be kept by peace. The Jeju navy base cannot be the answer for the peace of Northeast Asia.
    1. The completed Jeju navy base was built by merciless state violence which trampled villagers’ human rights and the sacred natural environment. The struggle for the last nine years has been a step towards true peace. During this time, villagers have have made efforts to counter the war base built of cement over the remains of Gureombi Rock where Gangjeong villagers had shared the breath of peace.  It has been a history of peace versus state violence pushed through under the guise of a ‘national policy project,’ ignoring even the basic procedures of democracy. We will continue to build this history of peace even after the Jeju navy base construction completion ceremony.
    1. The Jeju navy base, built through the trampling of villagers’ human rights, has ruthlessly destroyed the Gangjeong village community. The responsibility to restore the community lies on the central and island governments which have unilaterally pushed ahead with the Jeju naval base construction. However, neither the central nor island governments have ever made efforts to restore the peaceful community of Gangjeong. The government should make an apology now for the Jeju naval base construction which was continued while the will of Gangjeong villagers was ignored. Won Hee-Ryong, the Jeju Island governor has emphasized in words only the examination of the truth, conflict resolution, and community restoration. From the point of view of the villagers he should suggest a genuine solution. The navy has merely repeated its words that they would support the collection of villagers’ opinions and the resolution of conflicts. It can only fancy itself to have played the role of ‘conflict inducer,’ ignoring the villagers’ opinions, enforcing crackdowns like carrying out military operations, threatening and splitting villagers. How can a military which is not even loved by the local residents be a military for the citizens?

    4. Now by the power of Gangjeong villagers themselves, we would make Gangjeong village to be reborn as a ‘village of life and peace,’ not as a ‘military base icon.’ The declaration of this ‘village for life, peace, and culture’ was held before the navy ceremony on Feb. 26. It is the villagers’ noble step for true peace as well as the start of the restoration of the Gangjeong community. And all of us who pray for the peace of Gangjeong will strengthen our solidarity bear the blossoms of the flower of peace. In resistance we will remember and continue our actions and cries for peace in order to stop the Jeju naval base for even one minute, one second. The Jeju naval base was built with the backing of state violence. We will cover it over with the wave of peace.

     

    Feb. 25, 2016

    Gangjeong Village Association, Jeju Pan-Island Committee for Stopping the Military Base and for Realization of the Peace Island, and National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing the Naval Base in Jeju Island

     

     

     

  • “The joy of joining efforts for peace” Two Catholic Workers visit Gangjeong

    From Dec. 9 to 27, two Catholic workers from the United States Martha Hennessy and Toni Flynn visited the village. While both joining daily activities of 100 bows and mass, Martha Hennessy, grand daughter to Dorothy Day,  felt the need of further direct action. Here is her statement read on Dec. 23 when she stopped a military vehicle in front of the base construction gate. (For a photo and statement with Korean translation, see here). Please also see Martha’s interviews as a granddaughter of Dorothy Day with two Catholic media  of Catholic Times (here) and Catholic News Now and Here (1, 2)

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    Photo by  Gangjeong village/ Martha Hennessy,   Granddaughter to Dorothy Day and New York Catholic Worker carries out direct action on Dec. 22.  The Korean letters read, “No need of task flotilla in the Island of Peace.’

     

    However, their visit was also filled with meetings with people and nature here.  Here are some of the essays written by the two.

    “Advent on Jeju – Dec 12, 2015 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe”  Martha 
    & Toni’s 1st report from Jeju Island

    ko
    Photo by Gangjeong village
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    Photo by Gangjeong village

    Day 4

    Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island

    The weather in Gangjeong Village is cold and windy with intermittent rain blowing over Jeju Island. In contrast the Catholic peace community is warm, welcoming and grateful to us for joining them throughout December. We are all deep into Advent.

    Gureombi Rock- a sacred site- is demolished, the Naval Base is built, and the Peace Community has been defeated in their struggle to prevent the construction and opening of the base.

    The once pristine southern area of the island is now heavily militarized.  Yet this community of villagers and activists maintain a prayerful presence at the gate, day after day, as they have for several years. This is about witness. This is about faithfulness. Although not all who participate are Catholic, this is where theCatholic Church truly breaks open the Body of Christ. This is where the Eucharist is paired with the crucifixion of the world. And this is
    where the belief of Redemption is embodied in the faith of the people.

    Each morning we wake up and walk a short distance from St. Francis Peace Center to join others at the gate of the naval base. The police, dressed in bright yellow uniforms, are ever present. We begin the ritual of one hundred bows in the darkness, and finish with the
    dawning of the day. The Korean chanting and prayers during the bows mingle with our own inner prayers for our ancestors, family, and community members.

    The daily heart and soul of the peaceful resistance culminates at the 11:00 AM Mass across from the gate. During Mass we sit in plastic chairs with priests, villagers, and activists, blocking the entrance to the base. The action proceeds nonviolently throughout Mass in a choreographed ritual between police and peacemakers. At three different intervals, police warnings intermingle with the words of the Mass as we are lifted chair and all, and moved to the side. Each time we return to sit at the gate. The priest then walks across the street bringing us communion and as we receive it, the meaning of the body and blood of Christ comes alive within us.  The priest and nuns then lead us in reciting the Rosary, the Hail Marys blending with the roar of concrete trucks rolling in and out of the base.  The Mass and Rosary have become inseparable from the activity of the base and the peacemakers’ efforts in the face of militarization.

    At the conclusion of events, we walk to the nearby community kitchen where we enjoy the company of Jesuit priests and brothers, Franciscan nuns, local activists, and internationals.

    We are served delicious Korean food including kim chi, glass noodles, rice, seaweed, and seasonal greens. We are reminded of Dorothy Day’s emphasis on the goodness of sharing a meal in common. Our lunchtime at the kitchen also serves as a means of decompressing from the intensity of the ongoing daily resistance.

    We are steeped in the joy of coming together with our South Korean brothers and sisters during this Advent season. In the midst of resistance love flows out. We are grateful to all who supported us in our efforts to come here and our prayers join with yours.

     

    “4 Vignettes from Gangjeong Village” by Toni Flynn – Calif CW 

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    Photo by Gangjeong village

    There is a pattern to our days now. Martha goes every morning at 7 am for the Hundred Bows. The weather is more fierce and I have been struggling with a sinus infection and sore throat so I read the hundred prayers from my room. “While holding in my heart that truth gives freedom to life, makeup first bow.” And each meditation deepens with each bow. (see attached doc for English translation)

    After Bows, breakfast of rice, steamed eggs, yogurt and tangerines with Fr. Mun and others. Every one fusses over me wanting to help me get well so I am provided with healing elixirs, teas and various concoctions along with medicine. Martha is full of energy! She participates in every event enthusiastically. I on the other hand pace myself and enjoy one-on- one conversations.

    —

    The naval base is casting a huge shadow over this little village. Word is out that there will be more land used to construct housing for members of the military and their families. Some of the humble facilities set up by the peace activists will no doubt be torn down in the process, such as the community kitchen where all gather together after daily Mass to eat and converse.

    Fr. Mun celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priesthood last night at the St. Francis Peace Center where he lives and where Martha and I are guests. So much food as we joined many of his friends to celebrate around a big round table. We dined on fish, snails (ok I passed on the snails), octopus (passed on that too!), seasoned rice, vegetables, and an array of other edible delights.

    It was good to see the faithful women, Fr. Mun, the Jesuits and Diocesan priests find cause for celebration because they have all suffered and sacrificed so much over years of time in opposition to military presence.

    —-

    Mr. Oh lives in the village. He is, I believe, a Quaker. During every Mass at the entrance to the naval base, he performs a solitary funeral march, dressed in traditional pale yellow mourning clothes and a mourning hat that resembles a French baker’s hat. In silence, he slowly circles the area between the makeshift chapel on one side of the street and the entry to the base on the other side. Mr. Oh. He takes three steps, bows, places his hands on the ground, then his knees, then rises and repeats over and over again, around and around while Mass continues. His grief represents the grief of the community over the loss of their sacred rock, Gureombi; the loss of sea life; the loss of their peaceful existence. Mr. Oh’s beard is gray; his face is ancient, his eyes are piercing. One evening he sang songs and his voice was filled with sorrow, passion, strength. I would not be surprised if his songs were heard across the ocean.

    —

    See attached photo: This is JeJu’s non-violent Joan of Arc. She is a faithful witness at the entrance to the naval base. Two weeks ago a cement mixer truck ran over her foot while she stood at the gate. She has been in the hospital ever since. We visited her there, kindness of Fr. Kim. Joan of Arc is a woman on fire with love of this Island and the villagers. She will soon return to the naval base gate to continue with prayerful yet persistent protest. God bless Joan of Arc and all the brave priests, nuns and activists! Martha and I are already transformed by joining with them during this Advent time.

    Toni.JoanofArch.Martha
    Photo by Gangjeong village

    —–

    “Summary of JeJu’s struggle” by Toni Flynn

    The future of Gangjeong Village looks grim as does the future of JeJu Island as a whole. On another side of the Island a second civilian airport will be built. Along with more environmental destruction there is suspicion that eventually this airport will include an Air Force presence. As for Gangjeong Village, activists believe that the newly opened naval base is turning an abstract danger into a definite one by offering practicality to the U.S. and thereby
    posing a threat to China. Daily life of the villagers has forever changed. What once was a unified village of peace and pristine beauty is now a militarized area with some in the village approving and some opposing the naval base. There are two family operated convenience stores in the village on two sides of the same street. One shop approves of the naval base and the other supports the opposition to the base. Before the base, these shop owners good neighbors. Now they symbolize a split village. In time, the expansion of the base along with the influx of military people and their families will overwhelm and influence the village people, their schools, shops and their village culture. The base will house not only military staff but submarines, weaponries, and war ships. The peacemakers in Gangjeong ask “How do we avoid war by building and preparing for more war?” These activists say that the struggle in Gangjeong is not only important to the locals or to the larger Korean population, but it.is of significance to all peaceful movements and peace communities around the world. We must all persevere in imagining and implementing alternatives to state violence and wars. Here is a poem for the children of Gangjeong by the poet Shin Kyung- Rim: My dears, you must be so proud of your parents who are struggling to save your village. A
    day must come when we will all remember the beauty of this long struggle.

     

    “My visit with Fr Mun” by Toni Flynn

    W Fr Mun
    Photo by Gangjeong village

    Martha prayed the Hundred Bows at the gate this morning (she does the Bows faithfully every day) and has gone to pick tangerines with the villagers. I stayed back at the Peace Center for a visit with Fr. Mun in his work shop. He is a remarkable man of many talents with a nature that is both passionate and peaceful. His workshop is his sanctuary. There he practices his accordion and smokes an occasional cigarette. Most of the time he carves wood, creating art that speaks of struggle and peace. At breakfast today,  Fr. Mun told me and Martha “We have no guns. We resist militarism with open hands.” He added “I used to love walking around in Gangjeong Village viewing the.beauty. Now I hate walking around because of the sight of the naval base structures.” Fr. Mun, Martha and I agreed that the new St. Francis Center is a solid, tangible sign of hope in the midst of all the military buildings – it is four stories high and welcomes everyone. As I started to leave Fr. Moon’s work shop he gave me a gift – a dramatic
    wood carving of the suffering Christ wearing a crown of thorns. Below the face of Christ are the words in Korean: Beginning now. Peace.

    Fr Mun Sings:
    Below links to youtube clips of Fr Mun singing the three songs he
    sings daily at Navy Gate during Mass and the Rosary.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3l8DXj5RCs
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxhUdUO1-MI
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbOnExXQy14

    33 photos of Martha Hennessy and Toni Flynn at Jeju Navy Gate Witness Dec 2015
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/frank_cordaro_and_the_dm_catholic_worker/albums/72157660191689933

     

    The destruction of Gureombi Rock is a challenge to the human 
    civilization and the creation of God” Bishop Peter Kang
    —

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    Photo by Gangjeong village
    Toni and Martha - April 3 Peace Park
    Photo by Gangjeong village/ Toni and Martha in the April 3rd Peace Park

    “Bishop Peter Kang -The Catholic Voice for Peace” by Martha Hennessy

    Peter Kang, appointed bishop of Cheju in 2002, speaks fluent English with a gentle British accent. He studied in Japan and Rome and is known for his wisdom and compassion to both the people of Cheju, and those of downtown Seoul where he served for 25 years.  He considered it God’s recompense to come to this place of fresh air and natural beauty after the noisy, smoggy city. He became aware of the tragic side of the history of the island when he moved here. As a well-educated Korean he knew little of how the island was used by United States Cold War military interests following the end of the Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945.

    These circumstances led to the slaughter of at least 30% of Cheju’s population from 1948 through 1953.  Eighty-four villages were permanently destroyed. Bishop Kang expressed sadness and remorse over this history, that his government had committed such crimes. The majority of Koreans know very little about what really happened. A governmental cover-up has persisted for decades.

    In 2000 an investigative study was finally allowed and the full report  was completed in 2003. Bishop Kang and others traveled to Washington D.C. in April of this year to present the report to Congress but were invited to meet only with two congressional secretaries. South Korean/U.S. government interests had informed the Congress and biased them against meeting in person with the small contingent.  Bishop Kang and the others have not heard from the U.S. Congress regarding the documentation of the slaughter of Cheju islanders.

    The people of Korea are under significant pressure to not question the government and military in the interest of national security. Any dissenting voice is painted as “communist” and the military defense has free reign, with U.S. backing. This collaboration with the U.S. is considered essential to the existence of South Korea even as the threats of North Korea are now known to be inaccurate. An attempt was made by the South Korean president in 2002 to regain the right to direct military decisions during a time of war back into the hands of the Korean military. The current president, Park Geun-hye rolled back this effort and the U.S. continues to hold the highest level of control of any military decisions if war is declared.

    Bishop Kang has expressed opposition to the building of the naval base on Cheju against the will of the people. It is imposing yet another layer of trauma on the people following the history of the massacres before and during the Korean War. He recently made five points during a homily given for the opening of St. Francis Peace Center in Gangjeong in September.

    “Firstly, war is disaster. It cannot be a solution between nations. It is because such thing did not happen in the past and would not happen in the future, either.”

    “Secondly, when a state power takes armed force, it can be justified and get citizens’ sympathy only by strict conditions. The mobilization of state power against the struggle in opposition to the Gangjeong naval base can never be of self-defense.”

    “Thirdly, modern arms are weapons of massive mankind-killing. The increment of arms cannot be connected to peace.”

    “Fourthly, we are dumping tremendous budgets into arms production. What if it is used for the nation’s progress, for the poor?”

    “Lastly, why should there be a military base in Cheju, the far-most from the Korean truce line and tainted by the wounds of the April 3rd [1948] incident? Cheju is the Peace Island designated by the government. The relationship between any military base and the Peace Island is like water and oil.”

    “With the construction of the naval base, the death of the April 3rd spirits has become meaningless…”

    Bishop Kang cited both Catholic social teaching and the United Nations Charter to reinforce his position regarding the Korean/US naval base construction. The Jesuit provincial has permanently assigned two priests and a brother to continue carrying out daily Mass at the gate with the participation of Franciscan and Benedictine nuns, and others from the Catholic community. It is this Mass that allows the resistance to continue to block the military base for two hours every day, making the traffic wait going in and out of the entrance.

    We will be holding Mass at the Chapel across from the gate on Christmas Eve, and again at the gate on Christmas Day. Bishop Kang will join in solidarity with the community stating: “the work has only just begun.”
    —

    Bishop Kang for Truth TV – YouTube, Published on Oct 6, 2012
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0_cfYBz7fg
    “I interviewed the bishop of Jeju Island, His Excellency Peter Kang on the last day of my stay on Jeju Island. Bishop Kang is an outspoken critic of militarism and arms buildup, and a strong advocate for the Church to be involved in issues of social justice and peace.” Regis
    Tremblay

    “Catholic bishop reflects on the tumultuous story of Jeju”, The Hankyoreh March 9, 2012
    http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/522761.html

    Catholic Priests unite despite navy and police insult. Bishop Kang U-Il says, “Peace is the result of justice and love.” Posted by Save Jeju Now, Nov. 13, 2012
    http://savejejunow.org/catholic-priests-kang-u-il/
    —

    Martha Hennessy

    Toni Flynn
    —

    Video clips from the daily Mass and Rosary at the Jeju Navy Base main gate

    Dec 17, 2015 Martha dancing at Jeju Navy base gate (1min 55sec)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzMk1ncy7RM

    Dec. 18, 2015 Martha carried of drive Jeju Navy base (1min 50sec)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-EYpy7YsqE

    Dec. 19, 2015 Toni carried off drive (1min 49sec)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmtOernj4W0

    Dec. 19, 2015 Martha dancing – Toni sitting… (2min 41sec)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aXzt-qoxtA

    Dec 20, 2015 Communion Toni and Martha at the gate (5min)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHn8AZwRMN4

    Dec 21, 2015 Martha and Toni carried off drive (1min 45sec)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa1ko4I4TEk

    Dec 21, 2015 Line Dance – Toni and Martha (3min)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-5SHdiCI08
    —-

     

    “My heart is forever changed”

    by Martha Hennessy

    My heart is forever changed by what I saw, heard, and received at the naval base gate in Gangjeong village. The effects of jet lag linger and my mind holds on to the people who remain there, carrying on the struggle. The 100 bows begun in the dark, the Mass at the gate, the recital of the Rosary amidst roaring construction machines, the constant witness. The sound of knocking, grinding, giant jackhammers tearing away at the island still rings in my head. Our peacemaking efforts have taken on a tremendously stronger meaning when practiced in the context of what Father Bill from Tacoma called Eucharistic resistance.

    There is always the urgent feeling that we are not doing enough. I would awaken at 5 in the morning; my soul feeling devoured by this scourge taking form near the St. Francis Peace Center. One morning after the 100 bows I crossed onto the concrete breakwater at the sea’s edge and had a bird’s eye view onto the front of the base. The massive wall dwarfed me, leaving me feeling puny and helpless in the face of this insistent, mindless drive towards destruction. Standing at the gates of Mordor my very being clamored for protection and safety. I also felt like throwing myself at it. The construction workers continued with their jobs, oblivious to the wailing of heaven and earth, grieving over this great sin. I trudged back to the Center for breakfast feeling empty, distraught. I can only begin to imagine the toll this has taken on all the people who have sustained their efforts of resistance over the long haul.

     

    On my way home through Seoul, I was able to meet with a small group of representatives from labor unions, mothers for peace, and the Protestant community. Labor leader Han Sang-Gyun is now imprisoned and on hunger strike. Police oppression continues to grow in South Korea, along with civil unrest.  The demonization and exaggerated threat of North Korea is used to justify the purchase of yet more military weaponry from the United States. I spoke of the crucified body of Christ as I saw it on the island of Jeju. We all struggle to link the many causes together that make up the picture of global oppression and violence.  Martin Luther King, Jr. and Philip Berrigan spoke of the need for a general strike to shut down the economy of nations run amok. But we must have in hand a ready list of clear demands needed to reform the structures of sin. Together, how do we lay out a new world in which it is easier to be good?

    Meanwhile I am back in Vermont, helping to care for small grandsons, and waiting for the ewes to give birth, no doubt holding off from the cold spell ahead. We must hold all of these things in our hearts.


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    Enjoying time with our hosts before our departure from St. Francis Peace Center in Gangjeong.