In this month’s issue:
City of Berkeley passes Gangjeong Resolution, 2014 base budget issues, Love letter from Afghanistan, Milyang solidarity, Gangjeong Crochet Project, Solidarity from Germany, trial updates, and more!
No War Base on the Island of Peace
Two years ago when I visited Gangjeong village on Jeju Island, South Korea, the one-half mile ancient, solid volcanic slab of a spiritual and cultural rock known as Gureombi was still intact. The marine environment that had made Jeju Island one of the World Heritage Sites was still thriving with sea life. The government of South Korea had moved some equipment to be used for construction of a controversial naval base for Aegis missile destroyers and the US missile defense system. This would be a new military port in a country filled with US and South Korean military installations, but one that would be just a little bit closer to China–a new naval base that would symbolize the US pivot toward Asia and the Pacific.
Plane loads of protesters from the mainland of South Korea were flying to Jeju to join villagers to prevent the construction of the naval base. Hundreds of internationals came to add their words of solidarity and to take back the story of a tiny village challenging the might of the governments of the United States and South Korea in their quest for greater militarization of both societies.
Two years ago, trucks carrying materials for the new naval base to be built on the rocks were delayed or stopped by protesters. NO BASE supporters climbed on top of high cranes and chained themselves to heavy pieces of equipment to stop construction of the base.
I returned this week to Jeju Island in solidarity with the people of the village of Gangjeong who did not want their home turned into a military encampment that would destroy their way of life. Yet, despite seven years of opposition and struggle, the naval base and its harbor have been substantially constructed. Hundreds of thousands of tons of stone have been dumped on corals to make the breakwaters for the harbor. Thousands of massive concrete structures are on the shore. Two giant structures have been erected in the water that produce cassions for the massive breakwater that might protect the military harbor from typhoons. The beautiful rocks of Gureombi have been broken apart and the area filled with concrete. It is an environmental disaster.
This week, the edge of a typhoon hit Jeju Island. Many here in the village of Gangjeong were praying for a strong storm that would severely damage the naval base as happened last year that caused over $35 million in damage to the project. Perhaps Mother Nature would intervene to stop the construction when humans were unable to do so.
Many activists who opposed the base have gone to jail in the past two years. 5 are currently in jail. Earlier this week, two more were sentenced to lengthy terms in prison- a young 22 year old woman received a sentence of 8 months and a 72 year old was sentenced to 6 months. A filmmaker has been in prison for 253 days and two others for 103 days each. A trial for two more is scheduled for this week. The South Korean government crackdown on protest of the naval base has been strong.
Yet every day, a group of activists continue their challenges to the base–some challenges are spiritual and others are physical. On the spiritual side, at 7amthey gather outside the gate of the base and do 100 deep bows, each with a phrase set to music to remind participants of the importance of their mission. At11am, Catholic priests, nuns and lay persons lead a Mass at the gates. Masses have been conducted thee each day for over 740 days.
Following the Mass, for the next hour the group blockades the main gate of the naval base stopping trucks filled with concrete and other materials from entering the base and preventing empty trucks from leaving the base. The activists believe a disruption of an hour’s work in the building of the base is useful and important.
Special events are marked with larger mobilizations. In August, 2013, many walked for six days around Jeju Island and one thousand people participated in the Grand March for Life and Peace and the Human Chain to encircle the base. Noted film maker Oliver Stone joined in the march. When asked about his opposition to the base Stone said, “This base will host US Aegis missile destroyers, aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines. It’s part of Obama’s Pacific pivot…put in place to threaten China…We have to stop this. All this is leading up to a war, and I’ve seen war in Asia. I do not want another war.”[1]
Tension in Gangjeong village is high. Families have split on support or opposition to the base. Those in the village and in the provincial government who were paid off by the South Korean Navy not to oppose the base, as two other communities on Jeju Island had done, are in disfavor with many in the village. Having been defeated twice, the Navy decided to have a major campaign to influence the decision makers in the province and Gangjeong village. Decision makers succumbed to the temptations of fully paid trips to Hawaii, Australia and Singapore and other special benefits. Farmers in the village were pressured into selling their lands with the threat that if they didn’t accept the price offered by the Navy, the lands would be taken anyway and much lower compensation given in that case.
The lessons of Jeju Island are stark. The US military pivot to Asia and the Pacific will be disastrous for many areas—bases in Okinawa where the US wants to build a runway into the South China Sea over pristine corals, home to the dugong manatee; in Pagan, an island in the Northern Marianas where the US wants to use as a bombing range as it did for decades on the Hawaiian island of Kahoolawe and the Puerto Rican Island of Viequez; and in Guam where the Marines want to have an artillery range in an environmentally protected area.
With the pivot, the United States has increased its military exercises in the area. Current American military exercises with South Korea and Japan have triggered the North Korean government to put its military on alert and warned that these exercises could have “disastrous consequences.”
China is upset about US-Philippines military exercises in the South China Sea.
The Japanese people are angry that the US is urging the government of Japan to renounce the “No War” article of their constitution so the US will have another financial ally in wars of choice.
So far, just as the US pivot to the Middle East twelve years ago destabilized the region, the US pivot to Asia seems to already be having the same dangerous effect.
Links:
[1] http://savejejunow.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Gangjeong-Village-Story_Aug-2013.pdf
*Reblogged posts do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Save Jeju Now
Tomorrow, August 15, 2013, the 3rd meeting of the movement to demilitarize Jeju “Jeju, the Demilitarized Peace Island” will meet. This meeting open to everyone will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Moseulpo, on the southwest cost of Jeju.
Moseulpo is an important place in the history of military and anti-militarist struggles on Jeju. During the Japanese colonization, the residents were forced to large caves out of the coastal cliffs of Mt. Songak to store torpedos to be used for attacks on allied forces in WW2, a part of Japans broader massive military build up of Jeju in anticipation of a stand off that fortunately never happened. Nearby is the abandoned Alddreu Airfield, also set up by the Japanese military for bombing China.
Later during 4.3 and Korean War, Moseulpo, like most of Jeju was also the site to several massacres including the Massacre at Seotal Oreum. In 1950, The Moseulpo Police had arbitrarily detained 344 people in the police station, a fishing storage, and a potato storage. 211 of the detained were eventually slaughtered without any legal process and secretly buried. 20 people were killed on July 16 and 193 on August 20. 41 other people went missing.
Later from 1987-1989, the Korean government attempted to build an air-force base on Mt. Songak, but strong local resistance won after a two year struggle and the plans were scrapped. However, the Korean Ministry of National Defense still owns land in the area and recently there was has been rumors that they again plan to build an airfare base there, perhaps on part of the old Alddreu Airfield (part of which has been declared a national heritage site). Meanwhile, the ROK MND has a small radar base in Moseulpo, formerly the U.S. owned Camp McNabb (for 53 years until it was taken over by Korean in 2005.
In light of this history of oppression and resistance, Moseulpo is a key location for the movement to demilitarize Jeju.
Peace loving people from across Jeju and Korea will come together to tour the historical sites, hear about the successful struggle against the air-force base and discuss and plan the demilitarization of Jeju. Join us!
Contact gangjeongintl@gmail.com for for details.
1. Facing typhoon, illegal construction (destruction) is madly being done
Dr. Song Kang-Ho, member of the SOS team whose recent activities are reported in Hankyoreh 21 wrote on June 24:
On June 24, 2013, around 2 pm, an activist, member of SOS (Save Our Sea) team and an international took a kayak to monitor along with a silt protect belt outside west breakwater being built as part of the Jeju naval base project in Gangjeong, Jeju. It was around 3 pm that they discovered a dredge barge, Woosung GD No. 2 of the Woosung Industry Development Inc. ( * sub-contract to the Samsung C & T) was working on dredge in the condition that silt protectors were not properly installed. Therefore a SOS activist demanded coast guards in a monitoring ship nearby to stop that construction (destruction). However, the coast guard said that they cannot do because they cannot find proofs of illegal construction. Even though the SOS activist told the coast guards that he would directly show how the dredge works by corporations are poor and illegal, the coast guard ignored his words.
While the activist was to access a dredge barge crossing the line for the prohibition area for maritime leisure activities, their kayak was turned over, hit in the left side by a silt-protector-monitoring ship owned by the construction groups. Right after it, the international was carried out to the port by a ship owned by construction group and the SOS activist approached to the dredge barge by swim.
While he swam to the silt protectors, the sea water was full of hazy floating material for him not to be able to distinguish front and there were no canvases under the silt-protectors, which must be there. In other words, fake silt-protectors with no function had been being installed [..] It means the supervising committee of the naval base construction has been conniving it and the cost guard has been in dereliction of their duty. Even though the SOS team informed such illegal dredge work to the coast guard, the work continued by 5 pm on the day. Even the coast guard personnel said that, “such thing happened as the construction groups were too hurrying from anxiety, facing typhoons.”
2. Bubbles of sea contamination
Here is another post by Mongye, member of Save Our Sea team, on June 25 activity:
‘In the Samsung work area, silt protectors are not installed to surround the lines of caissons (huge concrete structures), but they are installed at the both side of them (* What is the use of those silt-protectors, then?)
On June 25, the working company did not take out water inside caisson when they worked on putting cement in those. They were hurrying. As a result of it, lots of contaminating stuffs such as muddy water flew into the sea.
We witnessed that lots of bubbles were formed near the caissons. When we took kayaks on the sea, they were already widely spreading. They were even flowing into the port.
When we approached close to caissons with monitoring camera, the company workers were careful not to leak contaminating stuffs when they were doing same works.’
See one more video, here:
3. The supervising committee of the naval base project committee even lies to the Island government: Is it for protection of illegal destruction by Samsung C & T?
Joan Kim, peacekeeper in Gangjeong, wrote in Ohmynews on June 27, 2013. Here is an excerpted translation:
[..] On June 24, the Samsung C & T was working on dredge work despite damaged dual silt-protectors in its work area on the sea, the 1st work area of the naval base project. However, the supervising committee of the project ignored it and allowed Samsung’s construction (destruction) even though it confirmed the fact that silt protectors are being damaged before its work.
Further the committee lied to Island government officer who was to check the situation, saying that, “this work is not a dredge work bur related to caisson work,” and “as a result of our confirmation with Samsung C & T, there is no problem in dual silt-protectors.”
The Island government confirming the fact that there are no canvases underneath the protectors through a June 24 video taken by a SOS activist, made a directive to the project committee to pose the related dredge works until dual silt-protectors are properly installed.
However, the next morning of June 25, the Samsung C & T still enforced maritime construction(destruction) despite still damaged silt-protectors.
On the day, the Samsung C & T having crane in the ship of Woosung GD No. 2, worked on dredge and carried dredged earth to the ship of Samyang No. 13. At the time, two silt-protector-monitoring ships of the supervising committee were in operation nearby. In other words, the supervising committee ignored the Island government directive. As on June 24, along with its connivance on illegal destruction, the committee intended to hide the situation on June 25.
The Save Our Sea monitoring team called for complaint to Jeju Island government officer. When the Island government called to the supervising committee, the committee said “It is not a dredge work but a work to replace machine.”
However, the committee finally acknowledged the fact that the Samsung C & T has been working on construction(destruction) despite damaged dual silt-protectors only when the Island government checked the fact visiting construction site.
The Island government made directive to the committee again to pose dredge work until silt-protectors are being recovered. [..]
Behind the illegal destruction by the Samsung C & T, there is a supervising committee who ignore its illegality and does not take any measure on it for whatever reasons. [..]
Otherwise the Jeju Island government decided to report the situation to the Youngsan River Environment Office belonging to the Ministry of Environment that the committee not only violates the consultative items of the environmental impact assessment but also repeats full of lies of explanations.
On June 4, 2013 Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, visited Gangjeong to meet with villagers and activists and see the situation. The visit came as part of a two week visit to South Korea, visiting Korea’s unfortunately numerous sites of struggle for human rights and justice, such as Milyang and Gangjeong.
In the afternoon, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. a meeting was held in the village ceremonial hall with the villagers and activists to hear of their struggle. Sekaggya said that she will take her findings from her visit to Korea and would compile a report to be released in March of 2014. At that time the report will be released to the Human Rights Council in Geneva as well as to the Korean government and publicly.
Upon her arrival many reporters and broadcast news personnel were waiting but following a brief introduction were made to leave and the doors were shut, so that the villagers could speak in private without press intimidation.
The proceedings were emceed by Village Anti-Base Committee Chairman, Goh Gwon-Il who began giving a detailed overview of the history and facts of Gangjeong and the base project until now, such as the first fake vote and the second real vote where 94 percent of the 725 villagers in attendance voted against the base.
Descriptions of military, construction, and police harassment of villagers and activists followed. A video from 2011 of naval soldiers harassing and fighting with villagers was shown. Then a video of the 4-on-1 water assault on and beating of Dr. Song Kang-Ho by Coast Guard SSU Special Unite Divers in 2011. Next a video was shown of Villagers and activists attempted to climb a barge to talk to the workers and navy, and being beaten and pushed from the boat by workers and the navy.
Next videos were shown of the recent crackdown on the sit-in tents near the gate, including the near hanging on Mayor Kang by careless police and public workers, as well as the police pushing Villager Mi-Lyang off a 6 meter high ledge. Then Mi-Lyang, who is still in the hospital for recovery, came to give her testimony of the situation. It was clearly very difficult for her to speak of the recent traumatic event.
Then, Catholic Fr. Kim Sung-Hwan came to speak about and show videos of the oppression on the Catholics, including the near death of Father Mun in April of 2012 as well as the pushing over of Father Mun during communion destroying the sacraments, general police oppression and disruption of the daily catholic mass, including the outrageous use of pepper spray on those attending the mass.
Next, tangerine farmer and chairwoman of the Village Women’s Committee to Stop the Base, Jeong Young-Hee, came to talk about and show pictures and videos of further struggles and injuries from police violence as well as base construction pollution damage to crops. After that, Activist Bok-Hee came and talked about oppression on activists including the police and security thug violence at the construction gates, displaying the many injuries. She also emphasized the double standard, that when there are many cameras or visitors, the police are very gentle and polite but when no one is looking they are violent and rude. Next, Activist Youn-Ae came and gave a personal testimony about her life as an anti-base activist and oppression she has faced in Gangjeong.
Finally, Activist Sung-Hee came and talked about oppression on internationals, emphasizing detail the stories of Benjamin Monnet and Angie Zelter who were targeted and forcefully deported. She also talked about the recent re-entry denial of long-term Taiwanese Gangjeong resident, Emily Wang, as well as the more than 20 other entry denials and deportations related the anti-base struggle.
After the nearly two hours of detailed explanation by Gangjeong villagers and activists there was a general question and answer time. The UN visitors thanked the people for their testimonies and information and asked what kind of things they would like to see in the report, such as concrete statements or actions or resolutions. Although there wasn’t much time to comment 5 people responded with suggestions.
Finally, Margaret Sekaggya thanked everyone again and apologized for the short time. She also said she felt very well received and also thanked the organizers for organizing everything so well. In the end, she wished the people the best in their continued struggle. Then she went out for a short tour of the village before departure.