Pan-S.Korea solution committee
against US base extension in Pyeongtaek (KCPT)
Address : 159-2
Daechu-ri Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek-si Gyeonggi-do, 451-802, South Korea
Tel :
82-31-657-8111 WEB : http://antigizi.or.kr/english
E-mail : nobasept@yahoo.co.kr
Appeal for Solidarity
for U.S. speech touring (July 17~22. 2006)
Stop US Military Base Expansion in Pyeongtaek!
On May 4, 2006
South Korean military troops and riot police officers put up a barbed wire
fence along parts of Daechuri and Doduri in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, and began occupying the land.
The SK government proclaimed that farming is ¡°prohibited¡± in the
villages of Daechuri and Doduri because they are designated as a special
protection area for military facilities.
Residents are now required to go through inspection at checkpoints to
enter their village where they have lived for generations. The South Korean government
also announced that all residents must move out of their homes by June 30, or
face forced eviction.
The two peaceful villages Daechuri and
Doduri, Pyeongtaek suddenly became a restricted zone for civilians. Residents are required to present their
resident card in order to enter the village and all others are denied access,
at will, by the police. The entry
restriction is to pave the way for the upcoming construction of the US base
expansion, for which the South Korean government is ruthlessly committing
violence against its people and denying people¡¯s basic right to stay in and
right to enter their own neighborhood.
The US base
has brought tremendous tension between the people of Korea and
their government. The South Korean
military troops and police officers are committing a serious crime against its people by using
physical force and violating people¡¯s basic human rights. Thus, the Pyeongtaek people¡¯s community and
their peaceful way of life are gravely undermined.
In 1952, the Daechuri and Doduri residents
were once more evicted out of their homes in the middle of the night by US
military troops that brought bulldozers to build an air force station. At the time, the displaced residents could
not bring their belongings nor bring the burial stone of their ancestors (that
Koreans consider sacred). But people
were determined to live in their hometown so they began building a community in
the periphery of the new air force station.
It was the seawater that these displaced people converted into a fertile
farmland by bringing soil from outside and rehabilitating it with their hand,
little by little. The land now produces Korea¡¯s
top quality rice. It took Pyeongtaek
residents more than 50 years to cultivate the land that they consider as their
life.
The government falsely proclaims that the
farmers will be adequately compensated if they surrender ownership of their
land and move out. What is missing in
this equation is the quality of life, that cannot be compensated with money. The farmers who are mostly in their 60s, have
built a thriving community in Pyeongtaek.
Life outside of Pyeongtaek is unimaginable. In fact, the elderly farmers
have nowhere else to go. How is it
possible for elderly people to suddenly make a living outside of what they are
most familiar with and have so much love for?
Who dares place any monetary value on the life that these farmers have
created for themselves at all odds. In
Doduri, this land grab is even more serious because the farmers here are tenant
farmers who cannot even be compensated for the land that they do not own. In fact, they are the people who have
incurred high debt to become tenant farmers and have built their homes in this
town.
The
Korean government cannot compensate for the loss of the Pyeongtaek farmers'
quality of life.
On May 4, 2006
South Korean military and riot police officers along with hired thugs destroyed
a local elementary school that the residents had built with their hearts and
hands more than 50 years ago.
Despite poverty, people collected bags of rice to pay for construction supplies
and gladly took on hard manual labor to construct the school--all for the love
of their children. People wept as they
watched their beautiful school demolished into pieces. The demolition signaled a loss of their
collective memories of their lives together in a thriving community that they
had created for themselves. This was a
horrific act of violence committed by the Korean government. This states loudly that the government has
every intention to carry out their plan of forced eviction of the Pyeontaek
farmers.
So,
what is the real reason behind the US military base expansion
in Pyeongtaek?
Last January, the foreign ministers of Korea and
the US have agreed to the terms of the strategic flexibility of the US
Forces in Korea (USFK). This will
radically change the characteristic of USFK from defensive to offensive by
realigning and transforming them into a swift mobilization force that can be
¡°rapidly¡± deployed anywhere in the world to intervene in conflicts outside of Korea. Under the Bush administration¡¯s plan of
pre-emptive strike the Second Division Infantry stationed near the DMZ border
will be transferred to Pyeongtaek in order to contain North Korea and China. By agreeing to the
strategic flexibility of the USFK the Korean government is acknowledging that Korea can
intervene in conflicts without the consent of the Korean people. This places Korea
under a tremendous threat of war.
Therefore,
the expansion of the US military base in
Pyeongtaek will force Korea to become a training
ground for US military troops, thus
threatening peace not only in Korea but also in all of Northeast Asia.
The new plan will not only realign USFK but
cost $110 billion dollars to strengthen military capability. Ironically, the cost of transfer, clean-up
and military build-up is being placed on the Korean government. The money will come from the tax dollars of
the Korean people. The military base
expansion in Pyeongtaek is not only taking land and housing from the farmers
but it is also taking money from the Korean people.
By 2008 the number of USFK will be reduced
to 25,000 troops. Primary
responsibilities including defense from NK will be shifted to the Korean troops
while the operational command will be transferred to the commander of the
Korean military. There is talk about
eliminating Korean-US Joint Command Office and further reducing or transferring
the 8th Army of USFK. As
such, the USFK will continue to reduce its size. This would imply that there is no need to
expand a US military base whatsoever when existing bases can be used. It is evident that the primary purpose of
the expansion in Pyeongtaek is to provide a military base that serves a
different purpose (than as agreed to in the Korea-US Mutual Defense
Treaty). The Pyeongtaek base expansion
will be served to increase US
military build-up and aggression.
The two issues of strategic flexibility and
additional reduction in military troops were not reflected during the review of
the agreement at the Assembly. The Assembly
did not have any opportunity to review or approve. The Korean government failed to present
accurate facts; thus, it is necessary to hold a hearing to review the problems
of the agreement and to renegotiate the details of the military expansion.
Under these circumstances, KCPT demands that the Korean government
re-review and renegotiate the plan.
The Korean government must provide accurate
facts and review the expansion plan in entirety, as well as withdraw its plans
of forced eviction. All problems of the
agreement must be resolved, including immediate removal of the barbed wire
fence. The government must also make a sincere public apology to the public for
committing violence against its people and immediately release all prisoners.
Should the Korean government continue with
its plan without coming to a sound resolution, a fierce resistance from the
people will be unavoidable.
The Korean government announced that it
will begin elevating the expropriated Pyeongtaek land in October. The land is currently not suitable for use by
the military. This elevation of soil is
expected to be as high as 2 to 3 meters, which means a significant amount of
soil must be brought in from nearby mountain or ocean. This is detrimental to the environment.
Despite the clear evidence of problems and
opposition from the people, the South Korean government claims that it must
proceed with the expansion plan in order to safeguard its alliance with the US. This is a contradiction. When the Roh Moo Hyun administration fails to
serve its people and places them under a threat of war, it seeks to
maintain foreign relations with another
country?
To counter this injustice, KCPT is gearing
up for two major events in the near future.
On September 24, the fourth major Peace March will be held calling for
support from people nationwide and from all sectors.
In order to adequately prepare for another
major crack-down from the South Korean government, we urge you to hear the
urgency of this matter and to share this story of the resistance of Pyeongtaek farmers with your
communities. We must tell the entire
world of the injustices of the US
government. It is planning a massive
military build-up in Korea. Once again, the US war
agenda will continue to destroy people¡¯s lives.
In order to understand this struggle we ask
that you join the people of Pyeongtaek. It is important that you become an eyewitness
to the struggle in the place of struggle.
Hearing the stories of resistance directly from the farmers will inspire
you.
We know that the military power is
overwhelming, but that will not stop us.
We must all take part in this struggle to put a stop to this inhumane
venture.
Our message of solidarity needs to be
delivered not only to the Korean government but also to the US
government.
Our message needs to reach the Congress and
the mainstream media.
If needed, we will send a delegation from South Korea to the US to carry out this mission.
We hope that all of us can work together
strategically in order to place real pressure on the US
government to renegotiate this agreement.
As we are fully aware, the US
military is occupying communities around the world. It is creating war and causing destruction,
death, pollution, illness and grave suffering.
The US needs
to stop investing its taxpayers¡¯ hard earned money into building up its war
machine. It is about time that
taxpayers¡¯ money be spent on education and on serving the needs of the
community at large.
The suffering of all people must end now!
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