Below is an email update from Sung-Hee Choi, a South Korean peace activist and blogger for the No Bases Stories Korea about the anti-bases struggle in Jeju, a world peace island. There have been developments indicating that international pressure is having an effect on the South Korean government’s plans to break ground on a new naval base in the town of Gangjeong in Jeju. The base will become another node in the U.S. missile defense network.
* Image source: Seogwipo Daily News paper
* In the photo, the banner says, ‘We oppose the Jeju naval base in the beautiful village, Gangjeong,’
while the yellow flag says, ‘Desperately No Naval base’
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| from |  Sung-Hee Choi <armha5156@gmail.com> |
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| reply-to | ap-nobases@lists.riseup.net,Sung-Hee Choi <armha5156@gmail.com> |
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| date | Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 4:10 PM |
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| subject | [ap-nobases] [ No US base] Ceremony for the Jeju naval base has been abruptly delayed to no defined term but we are watching |
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Dear all,
Sorry for the late notice. And thanks very much for all your support and concern. I am currently collecting all the solidarity messages huge in my email box. It takes some time but I will let you know once it is completed. I wanted to inform this with more updated news but some of you have so gratefully concerned as to join the people’s protest on Feb. 5, I am hurrying to send this.
The South Korean Navy ceremony to start the work on the Jeju naval base construction, planned on Feb. 5, was heard on Feb. 28, 2010 to be delayed, at least within the end of February (desired by the navy). But the Jeju government is more cautious to watch the public opinion.
The Jeju media itself is questioning whether it is for the Prime Minister’s schedule for the provisionary assembly early February (as the navy reasoned) or the Jeju government’s appeal to the central government, to accept people’s demand to delay the ceremony until the result of the people’s lawsuit and to have the time to persuade people for the naval base (as the Jeju government officially says, believe or not)
Has the influence of Bruce Gagnon’s petition affected their decision as the main Jeju media have reported about the process of petition (now closed) and flooding international solidarity messages in the big portions? I personally cautiously guess, yes.
For detail on the news.
http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2010/01/text-fwd-ceremony-for-naval-base.html
A Jeju activist says Jeju governor might have decided that political decision regarding the local election in June, that he did not want to make noise on the naval base issue, before it.
He says Catholic fathers’ demand to the Jeju government to delay the ceremony at least until the result of the lawsuit, might have also contributed.
Another Jeju activist says one of the reasons that the ceremony was delayed might be because of the spread news of the taking away of the 47 Gangjeong village people and other people on Jan. 18, made the public opinion to be disadvantageous to the Defense Department and Jeju government.
She says the news of the ceremony delay makes the position of the village people more advantageous because the people’s attorney has said that even if people won on the administrative lawsuit but the ceremony was enforced on Feb. 5, there would be less possibility of the preventing the naval base, from the situation point of view.
Since the ceremony was delayed whatever reason the Jeju people are now talking about how to make the lawsuit success. She says some international solidarity messages would be combined for part of the presentations to the court to strengthen the people’s position. It is all thanks to you and we are so grateful of you!
We should be cautious though for any unexpected chamges. We will watch it and inform to you.
Currently all the news I know is forwarded here. It will alos compensate the other sites later.
http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2010/01/news-update-struggle-against-jeju-naval.html
Thanks so much all of you, again.
Sung-Hee Choi
From Korea
Friday, January 29, 2010
Text Fwd: [Jeju] The ceremony for the Naval Base, planned on Feb. 5, was abruptly delayed to no defined term
* According to Seogwipo newspaper on the date of Jan. 28, the Gangjeong village council has set up the tents
[photos here] on Jan. 27, in the planned area of the ceremony on Feb. 5
(as of Jan. 28, it was announced to be postponed) to oppose the naval base construction.
The newspaper says the potential accidents following an enforced ceremony are concerned about
because the village people are protesting through the tent vigil. It also says the ceremony would be held in the
Jeju naval base construction planned area of the empty land which is western side of near the Poonglim Condo.
* It is the translation of part of the Sisa Jeju article on Jan. 28:
‘How do the Gangjeong village people think about
the postponement of the ceremony for the naval base?
Mayor, Kang Dong Kyun showed the skeptical response to the position of Jeju Island that the Island position had been accepted. Mayor Kang saying that, “ It can not be that the ceremony was postponed, hearing Kim Tae-Hwan, the Island governor”, analyzed that, “ There might have been the factors of the Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan’s busy schedule or other stories.” Even though saying that, he told, “If [the governor] delivered to the central government his position that the naval base business should be driven, reflecting up-most of our views that the ceremony should be postponed [at least] after the court decision of the administrative lawsuit. We will watch [him]. Mayor Kang saying,“the ceremony for the naval base was only for a while postponed”, emphasized that, “The view of the Gangjeong village people, [that there should be no naval base] has not changed.”
* Below is the arbitrary translation of the Media Jeju on Jan. 28, 2010.
Media Jeju
The ceremony to start the work on the naval base construction, planned on Feb. 5, this year, was abruptly delayed to no defined term:
The Jeju Island says it “requested to the navy because there remained the problem of the process”
Jan. 28, 2010, Media Jeju, Kim Doo-Young reporter (kdy84 (at) mediajeju.com)
According to the Jeju naval base business committee on Jan. 28, the ceremony to start to work of the so called, civilian-military complex beauty tourism sea port was delayed, by the request of the Jeju Island.
The Jeju Self-Governing Island stated [on Feb. 28] through the separate press release that, [the Island] “delivered the message to the central government, regarding the Jeju naval base business last [Feb.] 22nd, of its position that the change of the ceremony date is unavoidable, because the administrative procedures such as the discussions on the permission of the reclamation on the public sea area and land compensation are still being processed and because the lawsuit for the confirmation on the cancellation of the approval on the executive plan of the defense & military facility, has been submitted”
The Jeju Self-Governing Island explained that [the Island] “ decided such position, for up-most reflecting the claim of the Gangjeong village people, that the ceremony should be delayed at least after the court decision on the administrative lawsuit, for preventing the cause of the villagers’ conflict, and for the decision that the business should be driven with the Jeju Island people’s understanding [of the naval base construction business.”
The Commander, Park Sung-Soo, of the Jeju naval base business committee announced the reason of the postponement of the [construction] of the naval base that, “ Because the visit by the Prime Minister [on Feb. 5] seemed difficult so there was the need to adjust the schedule and because there was the request by the Jeju Island to reflect the position and emotion of the Jeju Island people, the postponement [of the ceremony] was decided.”
Following that decision, the ceremony to start the work on the Jeju naval base construction is expected to be realized after the court decision on the administrative lawsuit against the Minister of the National Defense department, which is mooring in the Seoul Administrative Court.
* According to a Jeju activist, the above lawsuit was applied in April, last year, and is expected to be brought with the court decision around the end of the February. The lawsuit is different from the mentioned yesterday, which was raised on Feb. 25, 2010.
# Mayor, Kang says, he was “embarrassed by the abrupt postponement [of the ceremony] but thought it was fortunate.”
Kang Dong Kyun, Gangjeong village mayor, said by phone with the Media Jeju that, “ [I was] embarrassed by the abrupt postponement of the ceremony but think it is fortunate now, in the first place.”
Mayor Kang saying, “Because the administrative lawsuit is on process, [I hope] that the ceremony to start to work on the naval base construction would be dated as possible as after the court decision of the administrative lawsuit’, told that, “ Only after the administrative lawsuit is finished, we will decide the program ahead, following the result [of the court decision] whether we will win or lose.”
While the conflicts are being intensified as the Gangjeong village people who have protested against the naval base construction ceremony, have been taken away to the police stations, the result ahead whether the postponement of the ceremony which was for partly accepting the demand of the Gangjeong village people, would be the beginning of the resolution of the conflict around the naval base or not, is to be noticed.
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