<basically the MND says they want talks, then they don't show up to the talks, then the People get angry, then the MND says, they'll pull out if the People won't be 'good'... garbage.>
From today's Korea Herald
A senior Defense Ministry official yesterday said talks to resolve a stalemate over farmland in Pyeongtaek under claim from the ministry to enable the relocation of a United States military base may be abandoned if key figures of the farming community keep boycotting them.
"(We) will continue to hold dialogues with the local residents and activists of the `Pan-national Committee to Deter the Expansion of U.S. Bases`. But (we) will not advance the dialogue any further without representatives," said Maj. Gen. Park Kyung-seo, the chief of the government`s U.S. base relocation task force.
The `Pan-national Committee to Deter the Expansion of U.S. Bases` is an umbrella protest group composed of 138 nationwide civic organizations including well-known civil rights campaigners Moon Jung-hyun and Moon Kyoo-hyun, both Catholic priests, as well as various anti-American government groups. The group is advocating against the eviction of Pyeongtaek`s farmers to make way for regrouping of U.S. military forces that will see Camp Humphreys, neighboring the region triple in size by 2008.
Since last month the Defense Ministry has had a series of talks with the farmers and civic activist groups to try and find a peaceful resolution to the dispute. Last month, violent clashes occurred when around 200 farmers and human rights activists clashed with riot police after 750 government-hired security workers tried to cement over irrigation channels used to support rice crops.
However, the dialogue has stalled because representatives of the pan national committee and farmers have refused to participate in the talks.
On Sunday the government scheduled a third round of talks, however, the farmers and their representatives sent notice of their abstention, citing Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung`s absence from the meeting, Park said.
"Because the base relocation is a national project ratified by the parliament, the construction should begin in May as planned. Any further delay will cause an increase in the burden upon taxpayers and a diplomatic dispute between Korea and the United States," Park said.
This month the Defense Ministry had planned to begin measuring the land, conduct geological surveys as a preliminary step towards enabling the U.S. military base expansion.
Meanwhile, the government yesterday held an emergency meeting to resolve the dispute. In the meeting presided by Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, follow-up measures were discussed following an agreed principle between the two parties "to settle the dispute with dialogue" in Sunday`s meeting with the farmers.
Han asked the defense minister and police commissioner to keep seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict through continuous talks with the residents. She also directed officials to deliberate over additional aid the government could provide to those facing eviction.
If all dialogue fails, the Defense Ministry is planning to erect a 1.8-meter-high wire fence around the land, a perimeter of 25 kilometers.
(davidpooh@heraldm.com)
By Jin Dae-woong
2006.05.02
|
|
