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Gangjeong Village Logo
Gangjeong Village Logo
1. Year 2002 : Hwasun and Wimi villages were proposed for potential naval base sites , but the proposal was withdrawn due to the opposition of the villagers.
2. April, 2007:
A proposal to construct the naval base at Gangjeong was approved by the village general meeting in which only 87 village members, “out of 1,050 voting members”, participated.
3. August 2007: The village general meeting was called again and this time 725 members participated. The proposal was rejected by a secret ballot in which 94% of the voters rejected the proposal.
4. February 2010: The ground breaking for construction took place. Since the heavy machineries moved into the area, the villagers nonviolently hampered the progress of work but got arrested by the police for obstruction of the initial construction.
5. March 2011: The government tried to resume the construction work. Construction of perimeter fence was installed and any access to the construction by the public was prohibited.
6. July, 2011: 112 leaders and representatives from civil, religious and NGOs formed a nation-wide coalition to resist the construction of a naval base in the village.
7. December 30, 2011: National Assembly cut 96% of the 2012 budget for the naval base construction.
8. February 16, 2012: President Lee Myung-Bak declared that “he will never give up the construction” of the naval base in Gangjeong Village.
9. March 7, 2012 : Despite of the Jeju provincial government’s order to stop construction, blasting of Gureombi Rocks began
10. March 9, 2012 : Rev. Lee and Fr. Kim were arrested and imprisoned
1.The US consolidation of all efforts to maintain hegemony in Asia-Pacific through strengthening of economic and military ties with the countries in the region as China is rapidly extending its economic and military power in the region.
2. The US has been consolidating all its efforts to strengthen military
ties with its allies in the Northeast Asia :
1) Attempt to revise the Article-9 of the Japanese Peace Constitution; Expanding US Air force in Okinawa
2) Jeju Naval Base Construction 3) Visiting Forces Agreement
(VFA) with the Philippines
4) The US has been considering Darwin, Australia for permanent military basing for US easy access to the South China Sea, a vital commercial route and incidentally, beyond the range of Chinese missiles.
Scope of US military hegemony in Asia-Pacific region
3. The strong drive of the US to form the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with allied countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, and others, to reverse the diminishing economic hegemony in the region, curbing the Chinese economic expansion in the region.
To President Lee Myung Bak calling on his government: to immediately stop construction of Gangjeong Naval Base; to stop arresting peaceful protestors; to revoke fines and penalties against villagers; to recognize Gangjeong Village’s democratic process; to preserve Gangjeong Village shoreline ecosystem and designate it as a Peace Park.
COMMON LETTER FROM INTERFAITH SOLIDARITY GROUP
Ten (10) International Activists were arrested – Feb. 2012
March 9, 2012 - Rev. JH Lee and Fr. JW Kim
were arrested and imprisoned
PROK Prayer Gathering March 12, 2012
Imprisoned Rev. Lee Jeong-Hun
Imprisoned Fr. Kim Jeong-Uk
Imprisoned Mr. Yang
Present Situation - Offenders
So far, about 200 villagers have become offenders for
‘ obstruction of execution of duty ’.
Present Situation - Penalties
300,000 $ has been charged for the offences of all the protesters
Present Situation– Resistance to Blasting
ViolenceArrestPenaltyImprisonment
The Problem 1 : Undemocratic Decision-making process
Ignoring the absolute objection of the villagers,
the government manipulated the public opinion, insisting the decision had been taken in a legitimate way
The problem 2 :Contradictory to ‘Island of Peace’ The Korean government designated the Jeju island as an ‘Island of Peace’ but to build a massive naval base is a contradictory action to the concept of the Island of Peace.
The problem 3 :Destruction of life and natural heritage
The Jeju Island was designated as a natural ecology protection area by the Korean government and declared a natural heritage site by UNESCO, but the government allows the destruction of the pristine and ecologically balanced environment through the naval base construction.
Gureombi rock was formed as a result of a volcanic eruption and is comprised of single rock bed that stretches to 1.2 km. This rock is a kind of rock wetland in which there are numerous spring of water and a habitat of many kinds of rare marine life.
Request for Solidarity
1. Expressing concern and prayers of support
2. Information Sharing
PEACE PRAYER(World Prayer for Peace from WCC,
1983)For the victims of violence everywhere
For those struggle for peace and justice
For churches in conflict situationFor a world without war and violence
PEACE PRAYERLead us from death to life, from false
to truthLead us from despair to hope, from
fear to trustLead us from hate to love, from war
to peaceLet peace fill our beings, our world
and our universe. Amen
