read an article below about the recent situation in Daechuri and Doduri.
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Pyeongtaek Villagers Finally Agree to Resettlement
The three-and-a-half year conflict between the government and the residents of Pyeongtaek about the relocation of U.S. troops to the area has come to an end. Residents from villages surrounding Pyeongtaek and government officials agreed on 24 issues at a meeting in Pyeongtaek City Hall Tuesday regarding a resettlement area and living support measures for villagers uprooted by the coming U.S. base.
According to the plan, 59 households in Daechuri and Doduri villages that had earlier refused to resettle will move out by March 31.
A U.S. army helicopter passes behind a model of the Korean peninsula in front of Daechuri Elementary School in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday./Yonhap
The government will prepare two resettlement areas and some farmland, with each household receiving plots of 495 to 660 sq.m. Residents may choose from either resettlement area, the final size of which will be determined according to demand.
Regarding living support measures, the government agreed to lower the qualifying age for financial support to elderly evacuees from 70 to 65. They will receive W200,000 (US$1=W940) for 10 years. Each low-income elderly household will receive W10 million to cover moving expenses. Each of the evacuating households will also be provided 26.4-sq.m plots of land designated for commercial use in the newly developed districts, the same size granted to residents who left earlier. The government will also make available 990,000 sq.m of farmland in Seosan, South Chungchong Province. The size of the individual plots provided to households will be set according to total demand.
To implement the agreement, the government, Pyeongtaek City, and village representatives will form a working group until the end of 2008, a government official said. It was the 12th round of discussions about the relocation since talks restarted Jan. 2. Both sides abandoned negotiations on June 20, 2006.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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Having read this article, a friend of mine asked me if this is true.
i replied to him like the following.
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i didn't even want to click that frigging Chosun ilbo article. but since you asked me, i followed the link to read it.
well, first of all, it's not just a resettlement.
it's forced displacement.
the words chosen by the ultra right-wing assholes really piss me off, so i just don't go to their website at all.
Anyways, the truth is, the residents have been having negotiations with the government since January, and the government gave the residents an ultimatum, saying "We will give you a relocation village or two, but the residents must leave the village by the end of March. The residents can either take this final 'offer' or refuse to take it and continue to stay in the village. Either way, we don't give a damn, because the village is gone in April. That is for sure."
The residents have got nothing left, no financial aid, no greater support, no hope for the future. So they had to sign the damed deal.
Everyone cried out loud upon hearing this in the afternoon of Feb 13. |
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