Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 10:59:09 +0900 (KST)
From: KCPT <nobasept@yahoo.co.kr>


ACTION ALERT!

Send a letter to President Bush to stop the unjust eviction of farmers for the planned expansion of the U.S. military base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek.


8/21/2006 - The South Korean government publicly announced that by the end of August it plans to forcibly remove ALL peace defenders who have reclaimed empty houses in Daechuri and Doduri villages of Pyeongtaek to support the villagers' resistance against the U.S. military base expansion. There are approximately 200 villagers still refusing to surrender their land and homes. By removing all supporters, the government intends to use an isolation tactic to intimidate the Pyeongtaek villagers.  Without supporters acting as eyewitnesses to the government's brutality we can guarantee that the situation in Pyeongtaek will worsen.  Already, we have seen what the government is capable of doing ­with no remorse! In May, the government deployed over 15,000 military and riot police to the village of Pyeongtaek, resulting in serious injuries to more than 500 local farmers and activists, 524 arrests and a barbed wire fence all around the farmland.

KCPT urgently requests the international community to send a letter to the U.S. President, South Korean President and South Korean Ministry of Defense to demand (please refer to the attached statement for more details):

STOP the Forced Eviction of Pyeongtaek Farmer &
Re-negotiate the Planned Expansion of the U.S. Military Base in Pyeongtaek

Please deliver your letter by August 25 (Friday, Korean time) to the South Korean government, U.S government, and send a copy to KCPT via e-mail or fax. By your simple actions, we can alert the government, public and media that people around the world are keeping a close watch on Pyeongtaek. Your action will have a tremendous impact. Please send your letter and circulate this message far and wide.  Also, stay tuned as the situation in Pyeongtaek is critical and is in need of your attention--we will keep you informed with more updates.

White House
President George W Bush
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500
Comments : (1) 202-456-1111   Switchboard : (1) 202-456-1414     FAX : (1) 202-456-2461


Blue House
President Roh Moo-hyun
1 Sejongno Jonno-gu Seoul, South Korea (110-820)
Fax : (82) 2 770 4943   E-mail : <http://mailto:webmaster@president.go.kr/>webmaster@president.go.kr

Korea Ministry of Defense
Minister of Defence, Yoon Kwang-woong
Ministry of Defence  22 Itaewon road, Yongsan-gu <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Seoul, South Korea (104-701)
Fax: (82) 2 748 6026   E-mail: <http://mailto:cyber@mnd.go.kr/>cyber@mnd.go.kr

 KCPT
E-mail : Korean and English at <mailto:nobasept@yahoo.co.kr>nobasept@yahoo.co.kr
Japanese at <mailto:pt924peace@hotmail.com>pt924peace@hotmail.com
Fax : (82) 2-723-7059

About Pan-S. Korea Solution Committee Against US Base Extension in Pyeongtaek (KCPT):
KCPT was formed to oppose the planned expansion of the U.S. Military Base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek. There are approximately 140 member organizations in the committee, including farmers, labor and other civil society organizations. KCPT successfully organized the 1st Pyeongtaek Peace March, held on July 10, 2005 and has continued to raise awareness regarding the dangers of the expansion of the U.S. Military Base in Pyeongtaek by highlighting the effects of the plan on the community as well as on the regional security.



Pan-S. Korean solution committee against US base expansion in Pyeong-Taek (KCPT)
Homepage: <http://antigizi.or.kr/>http://antigizi.or.kr E-mail:<mailto:nobasept@yahoo.com>nobasept@yahoo.com



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lid van Friends of the Earth International
K. Maria Hendrikaplein 5
9000 Gent - Belgium
Tel       +32-9-242 87 04
Skype "poltanner"
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Fax      +32-9-242 87 51
<mailto:pol@motherearth.org>pol<mailto:pol@motherearth.org>@moederaarde.be
www.moederaarde.be

Posted by savePTfarmers at 04:05 PM | Permalink

The Government will begin forced demolition of houses in Daechuri and Doduri Soon -

What can we do?

Last July 25th, the U.S. and Korean governments toasted each other to celebrate the newly launched "Transfer Agency of the U.S. Military Base in Korea", which would be wholly responsible for the relocation of U.S. army base.

The destruction of houses in Doduri and Dachuri is near at hand. A group of the removal agency staff came to inspect the houses in the villages.

We (the villagers and KCPT) will go on with our struggle against the upcoming forced destruction.

The list below is what we have to do to fight against the destruction :

1) Gather people as many as possible to Dachuri and Doduri.

2) File a protest to Cheongwadae and the Ministry of National Defense against their plan. Groups declare themselves against it.

3) Held candlelight vigils in Seoul, Pyeongtaek and other areas.

4) Organize or join cyber vigils.

<Our Demands>

- Withdraw the horrible plan of the destruction of houses and villages!

- Renegotiate completely for the matter of the U.S. military base expansion!

- Withdraw the illegitimate military troops from the villages immediately and stop the expansion plan!

KCPT (Pan.S Korea Solution Committee Against The U.S. Base Extension In Pyeongtaek)

 

Posted by savePTfarmers at 12:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

a most wonderful video, in English, here.

Posted by savePTfarmers at 03:02 AM | Permalink

This is the petition for the release of Kim Ji-tae, the village chief of Daechuri, Pyeongtaek. If you complete it, send it to sukbang [a] gmail.com and post it on every web site you know please.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Petition

Dear Chief Justice:

This is a part of the letter written to the then president of the US, by the chief of Suquami, Seattle, who was suggested by the U.S government that they should sell their land and move to the reservation for Indians.

"How on earth do you think you can buy the vital warmth of sky and land? This way of thinking is very strange to us. We can possess neither fresh air nor twinkling water. So how can you buy those things from us? Everywhere on this land is holy to all my people. The bright needles of pines, the sandbanks along the coast, gloomy fog in the forest, and all kinds of singing bugs are sacred with my people's memory and experience."

This letter is being newly read in Korea by the villagers of Daechuri and Doduri in Pyeongtaek, who believe that lands cannot be sold and bought because lands have defined their way of living. They definitely wish to keep their way of living along their land even if they are living in a poor countryside. At the center of the struggle, there is Kim Ji-tae, the village chief of Daechuri. His reply to a staff of the Ministry of National Defense, who ask him how much money he wants for compensation, reminds me the Indian chief's letter.

"Do you want to buy these fields. The price will be unimaginably high (or maybe, it's far lower than you thought). I'll give you a hint. Definitely the total number of grains of rice grown and harvested here must be added into the price. And all of our efforts to grow them must be included, too. Plus, our whole life here, sighs, tears and laughs. The stars which have witnessed our grief and joy, and the wind which has dried our tears up must be a part of the price. If all of these things could be added, I would tell you the total price."

Since the school building was torn down and the barbed wires were installed all over the fields on May fourth, Kim and the villagers had sleepless nights with anger and fear. The government announced that they would do their best to have a conversation with the villages to solve the problem. Kim believed it and reported at the police station even if the villagers worried that he could be arrested. Finally, he was arrested and has been in jail for two months now. Still the government has not held talks with the villagers, instead, they are now planning to demolish the houses in Daechuri and Doduri.

During the Japanese imperial period and later under the rule of the U.S. army, the villagers had been driven out from their land. Now, Korean people believe the present government is more "democratized" than old ones, but the villagers are suffering again from another forced removal. They are sad and angry as the government has not even suggested any legitimate talks, and instead, treat them as greedy farmers who only want to get more money. The release of their chief, Kim is the last hope they have from the government.

Kim is a co-representative of the Pan-S.Korea Solution Committee Against U.S. Base Extension In Pyeongtaek (KCPT) and also a representative of the Paengsung Villagers' Committee. He has never told people to use any kind of violence in their struggle. Instead, he has suggested nonviolent ways to old villagers, saying, "We'd better be beaten rather than beat the police. For what do we give swears to them. They are around the age of our children." His deep faith in peace and nonviolence led people to effective nonviolent disobedience and peaceful actions. For example, people from many walks of life, from kindergarten kids to everyday citizens, gathered their pocket money to raise a fund for farming in Daechuri and Doduri even though they knew farming there would be difficult. Surprisingly, the total amount came to over 100 million won (100 thousand dollars).

Dear Chief Justice,

Keeping him in jail is the same as ignoring the Indian chief's desperate appeal in Seattle 150 years ago. It is also the same as putting the Daechuri, Doduri old villagers into jail. They think of Kim as their first born child. I ask you earnestly to pass a fair judgement. Please be a hope to the villagers. The release of Kim will be the best way for the government to prove their willingness for honest conversation with the villagers, and to protect the villages from being sacrificed to the brutal violence of the state. I ask you to release Kim. Let him take his trial without physical detention, please.

2006. 8.

The Petitioner ( name )

Posted by savePTfarmers at 02:41 AM | Permalink