This article was compiled from news releases and statements from the Jun Tae-il Labor Movement Institute and the Global Campaign to Save Jeju Island. Reworked for publication by BASICS.
7 September, 2011
On September 2, police were deployed to Gangjeong Village in the Jeju Island municipality of Seogwipo to break up a blockade by villagers against the long-sought construction of a naval base. At around 5:10 a.m., Seogwipo Police Station sent around 600 officers into Gangjeong Village, where the base is due to be built, to surround and seal off Jungdeok Junction, which was occupied by 80-100 villagers and activists. The police stated that they had deployed force in order to prevent acts obstructing construction work because the navy had resumed construction early that morning, sending in excavators to the site.
Protesters clashed with police, sitting in shoulder-to-shoulder on the road, shouting slogans and blocking the police’s path. Around 38 people, including two priests, were reportedly taken away by police.
The raid came days after the Jeju District Court gave ordered the protesters off the site, giving them one week to voluntarily remove their barricades and other obstructions at the stalled building site. The court ruled in favor of the Navy, which has been seeking to build an additional base in Jeju Island since 1993, by accepting an injunction that the government filed to strictly prohibit protestors occupation of the 480,000-square-meter area. The court made it clear that should demonstrators disturb the construction project worth 978 billion won ($920 million), they will be slapped with a 2-million-won fine each time.
The Navy aims to make the base home to some 20 vessels, including submarines and two 150,000-ton cruise ships.
The once peaceful town with a population of 1,900 has been split in two since it hastily decided to propose hosting the naval base in an ad-hoc meeting in April 2007 without proper consultation with residents or knowledge about the consequences.
Hundreds of residents have been fighting to reverse the villages earlier position by impeaching then-village leader Yoon Tae-jeong and voting on the issue. Gangjeong villagers dismissed Yoon in August 2007, after 416 of 436 residents cast
ballots supporting his removal.
Ten days later, the town held a referendum where 94 percent opposed the base. Of 725 people who participated, 680 voted against the hosting the naval base. Only 36 supported it while nine votes were void. The government and Navy,
however, only recognized the first vote, angering those opposing the naval base.
The military claims that Gangjeong was designated as a naval base as the majority of the villagers supported the plan and there is a growing need to counter a possible territorial dispute with China over Ieodo, a submerged reef south of Jeju. The Navy also claims that the Jeju naval unit would help the nation respond promptly to possible conflicts in the shipping lane in the southern sea, through which 98 percent of the trade-dependent nations cargo passes.
On September 3, an ‘Airplane of Peace’ carrying 300 people from the mainland and 22 ‘Buses of Peace’ from other villages of Jeju Island gathered in the Gangjeong Stream Stadium for “Play, play, Gangjeong—Peace Concert” and kept the peace in Gangjeong Village through non-violent, peaceful actions. Around 2,000 people urged cessation of construction of the base by holding cultural events.
All participants from all over the country from all parts of the society flew to Gangjeong Village in Seogwipo city by plane and bus cried out in chorus for peace. The other villagers in Jeju Island and the Peace Plane participants successfully completed the event. Politicians who joined the event made a promise to conduct parliamentary inspection about the construction of the naval base at Gangjeong. Although the Gureombi Coast symbolic of Gangjeong village was blocked by the fence, it remained in the hearts of Gangjeong villagers.
Gangjeong villagers are calling for international support in resisting the construction of the naval base. The following statement is from the Gangjeong Village Association:
Official Statement of Appeal
We appeal to peace advocates worldwide to give Gangjeong residents and its peace
activists international support and solidarity to stop the Jeju naval
base construction. Please spread the news of these problems related to
the Jeju naval base construction with your networks and show us your
support and solidarity.
The Joongduk coast of Gangjeong Village in Jeju Island is now suffering.
In 2006, Jeju Island was designated as an Island
of Peace for the purpose of consoling the deep sorrow of the April 3rd
Massacre. And the Joongduk coast was appointed as a Biosphere Reserve,
World Heritage Site, and Global Geological Park by UNESCO. It is an
Absolute Preservation Area, which is now being threatened by the naval
base construction.
Insisting that the naval base is vital for national security, the Korean
government and the navy are enforcing the construction. However, the
Ocean Navy expansion plan–upon which the base construction was
justified–has been discarded in revisions to the national defense bill
regarding strategies to counteract recent security threats.
This leaves no justification for this new base. In addition, the original argument
from the government when the National Assembly budget bill was passed was
to construct a Joint Civil Military site to be used for tourism as well
as military purposes.
However, that plan has disappeared and now only the
military base is being constructed. By maintaining military alliances
with Japan, Australia, South Korea, and India, and through joint military
exercises with the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan, the U.S. is
attempting to build up its defense line against China.
If the Jeju naval base is constructed, the U.S., which possesses the right to station there
according to the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Agreement, will surely use this
base to stand up against China. In that case, Jeju Island, an Island of
Peace, will become a center of military conflict between the U.S. and
China, jeopardizing South Koreas national security.
Government and military authorities, however, are turning a blind eye to
the voices of Gangjeong residents and civil peace activists, as well as
to the demands to suspend the construction coming from the opposition
parties and the investigation committee of the National Assembly.
The navy has even used violence against a protesting civilian. On July 11,
the national government recommended that the city government barricade a
farm road on the Joongduk coast, which is the last remaining piece of
state-owned land under the jurisdiction of Seogwipo city within the site
of the naval base construction.
This action was a response to the demand from the Ministry of National Defense to discourage any attempts to stage a protest against the naval base construction. However, such efforts by the government to enforce the construction only bring about stronger
resistance and conflicts from Gangjeong residents and peace activists.
The construction must be stopped before any unfortunate accidents take
place. We appeal to the government and military authorities.
The argument for the base construction by the government and the navy is no longer
valid. Moreover, the means and procedures used to promote the
construction have been so violent and deceptive that they are only
causing more resistance and resentment. Unilaterally pushing ahead with
the construction, in the name of the national project, is obviously not a
wise way.
We call upon the government and military authorities to
withdraw their plan to close the farm road and to completely reexamine
the Jeju naval base construction project.We appeal to Woo Keun-Min, Jeju
governor.
Governor Woo, you were aware of the negative consequences that
could result from the naval base construction and you were right. We urge
you to give up the futile illusion about the development profit and to
listen to the desperate voices of the residents.
We further request you to use your authority to cancel the removal of the absolute
preservation area designation of Joongduk coast. If you do so, history
would remember you as a person who protects the peace of Jeju and the
Korean peninsula.
We appeal to the national assemblyAs an entity representing citizens,
the national assembly has a duty to listen to and respond
to citizens voices.
We appeal to the opposition parties to be more active in nullifying the Jeju naval base construction project. The Grand National Party, as the current ruling party, should seriously
examine whether the base is really needed and whether national budget
should be spent on inflating military forces and feeding construction
capital.We appeal to citizensGangjeong citizens have been fighting alone
for over four long years.
In the meantime, the village community has been
torn apart, leaving indelible scars. Citizens are also engulfed with
fears due to various lawsuits from the government and construction
companies, as well as fines up to tens of millions of won. They are
suffering from the fact that the Goorungbi boulder, which represents
their dreams and memories, might be covered with cement block.
Please express your solidarity and give them your consolation. And if you can,
please visit Gangjeong Village. Then you might be able to understand more
clearly why the construction must be stopped.
In addition, please use your wisdom and energy to do whatever you can in your position to prevent the Jeju naval base construction.We appeal to peace advocates worldwideInternational support, advocacy, and solidarity to stop the Jeju naval base
construction give Gangjeong residents and peace activists strength and
courage.
Please spread the news of these problems related to the Jeju
naval base construction with your networks and show us your support and
solidarity.
We will try our best to prevent the Jeju naval base
construction, which endangers the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia,
and which is destroying the lives of Gangjeong residents and the natural
environment, a gift from heaven.
We firmly believe that this struggle is our responsibility to Jeju Island,
where the sorrow of the April 3rd massacre is deeply embedded,
that this is an expression of our conscience
regarding the suffering Gangjeong residents, and that it is the demand of
the times to protect and ensure peace for our children.
We sincerely appeal to everybody who stands alongside us to protect Gangjeong Village
and Jeju Island.
Ms. Gang, Young-silThe Gangjeong Village Association
Email: [email protected]
Telephone number +82-11-9826-5022
Website: http://savejejuisland.org/Save_Jeju_Island/Welcome.html
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