also from today's Korea Herald
PYEONGTAEK - Since late last year, Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, has been the scene of a fierce conflict between farmers and the government. The Defense Ministry is attempting to forcibly evict residents - many of them in their sixties and seventies - so that this traditionally agricultural area can be concreted over to enable the relocation of a United States military base.
So far, 20 households out of 210 in the village of Daechuri have left their homes after accepting cash compensation packages from the government. But those determined to remain are angry and confused.
"The government is now oppressing its citizens in favor of foreign troops. There is nothing like this nonsense in the world. We simply hope to farm our land peacefully," said Lee Min-gang, a 67-year-old resident.
750 government-hired security workers tried to enter Daechuri village and cement over irrigation channels used to support rice crops. The action was part of the government`s attempt to evict the farmers by depriving them of the means to continue their livelihood.
Daechuri, and a neighboring village, Doduri, are the final areas needed to enable the expansion of the neighboring U.S. military base, Camp Humphreys. If all goes to plan, the camp will triple in size by 2008 and become the U.S. military`s prime site in Korea. The scheme is part of a land transfer deal made between the government and the United States in 2004. Under this agreement, the United States Forces Korea is to vacate 36 military sites, including Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul. This will return around 5.1 million pyeong (16.8 million square meters) to Korean ownership. In return, the Korean government agreed to grant USFK around 3.5 million pyeong of territory (11.5 million square meters) to support relocation sites for Yongsan Garrison at Pyeongtaek and Osan, both cities in the part of Gyeonggi province southwest of Seoul.
Despite the escalating conflicts, the government remains firmly committed to seeing the land deal fulfilled. Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung told reporters three weeks ago that the administration`s concern is focused on the possible financial and diplomatic costs of the dispute.
"The government will seek to take steps to exercise the right to the land. We hope that the public will understand that any further delay will cause an increase in taxpayers` burden," said Yoon. "The project ratified by the parliament should be carried out as planned to prevent a possible diplomatic dispute and a rise in costs."
Meanwhile, USFK has adopted a removed stance towards the clashes in Pyeongtaek. Although it pays close attention to developments in the conflict, it is unlikely to intervene in order to effectuate the outcome it awaits.
"It is not a matter in which the USFK can intervene. USFK will wait for the results," said a USFK spokesman Kim Yong-kyu.
The U.S. military is concerned that any interventionist actions it makes may trigger anti-Americanism across the country that could be exploited by groups opposed to the alliance between Seoul and Washington.
Earlier this month former USFK commander Leon J. LaPorte warned that the Korea-U.S. alliance will be "tested" in the future as opponents of it may exploit the issue for political ends.
The relocation of USFK from Yongsan and the vast expansion of Camp Humphreys are also parts of a broader U.S. military "strategic flexibility" concept that Korea and the United States agreed to earlier this year. This will allow U.S. troops to move around and be dispatched from the peninsula as situations demand.
But this is an arrangement that You Young-jae, general secretary of Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea, one of a number of activist groups involved in protests at Pyeongtaek, and part of an umbrella protest group the "Pan-national Committee to Deter the Expansion of U.S. Bases" is extremely concerned about.
"The strategic flexibility is an ideal base bolstering U.S. ambitions in the region. And the U.S. base in Pyeongtaek will be a material asset to it - a station for any expeditionary force, ensuring that U.S. forces can engage across the region. U.S. forces will eventually involve Korea in a foreign conflict spanning the Eastern hemisphere," said You.
The pan-national committe is composed of 138 nationwide civic organizations including well-recognized civil rights campaigners Moon Jung-hyun and Moon Kyoo-hyun, both Catholic priests, as well as various anti-American government groups.
Lee Ho-sung, chief of operational control at the committee, voiced his concern about the opportunities the strategic flexibility arrangement affords U.S. forces.
"It will pave the way for the United States to launch aggression against regional adver-saries including China and North Korea. As a result, they will threaten peace not only on the Korean peninsula but across the region," Lee said.
But as well as the potential for aggression action stemming from the "strategic flexibility" arrangement that Lee recognizes along with You, he is also angry about the changes to lifestyle forced upon the people of Pyeongtaek.
"The farmers have been given no protection from the government to enable them to survive during their lifetime. They have been evicted from their land more than twice," Lee said. "In addition, the government never consulted with the local residents before it made the agreement with the United States."
However, the defense ministry is attempting to heal the breach, albeit an offer to negotiate after a deal has been done.
"The ministry plans to have talks with the residents within this month to manage the conflict," Ahn Jung-hun, a Defense Ministry spokesman told reporters.
Defense minister Yoon also publicly voiced some concern.
"The relocation issue is a priority concern of our people and the U.S. government. They all understand that we are doing our best to help the project go smoothly," said Yoon.
But in another move further pressuring Pyeongtaek`s farmers the Defense Ministry earlier this month filed an application for a provisional deposition to the local court in Pyeongtaek. If this application is accepted, farmers will be banned from going onto their land and farming it. If found in any breach of the conditions, they will face fines or detention.
The ministry is also considering designating the land as military reservation zone to facilitate the land expropriation, according to Park Kyung-seo, a chief of the Defense Ministry` U.S. base relocation project team.
Furthermore International human rights watchdog Amnesty International has issued reports of residents suffering violence during clashes with police
Amnesty reported that police used excessive force against several elderly farmers and human rights activists during protests against the forcible evictions from the farmland going ahead.
"Most of these villagers are very old and it is distressing to hear of force being used against them," said Rajiv Narayan, East Asia researcher at the London-based human rights group. "Given their age, the police should take special care to ensure they are not hurt and to allow prompt medical treatment if they are - which does not appear to have been the case so far."
Whether or not Pyeongtaek`s troubles can be resolved peacefully and justly is a contentious question with no readily apparent answer.
The streets of the agricultural town are packed with placards to inspire the protesters to maintain their struggle against the base project. Buildings are daubed with antigovernment and anti-American government slogans and posters. Farmers and activists regularly gather to rally against the U.S. base plan.
"The current U.S. base site was originally our hometown. We were forced out from the land for the U.S. troops` presence there. We would not be forced out again," said Kim Young-nyeo, a resident of Daechuri village.
The 81-year-old woman was sowing bean seeds in hope of yielding a profitable crop.
(davidpooh@heraldm.com)
By Jin Dae-woong
2006.04.27
