Days in Daechuri

On February 13, Daechuri residents agreed to leave Daechuri by the end of March. The following article, translated from Chamsaesang, lays out the details of the villager's impending displacement. But like most press coverage of the displacement, the article uses words like “agreement” and “resettlement” to describe what is essentially a coercive, forced displacement. Villagers were forced into "accepting" their forced displacement after a brutal year: the destruction of their school, the demolition of vacant and re-occupied houses, dozens of politically motivated arrests (including of former village leader Kim Ji Tae), repeated police attacks, the fencing off of their fields with barbed wire, and arbitrary police checkpoints on the roads leading to the village. After most of their fields were occupied by the Korean army in May, villagers had come together to collectively farm the few fields left to them. But in November, the police returned to fence off the few fields that had been left free of barbed wire. Since then, the villagers found themselves with no way to support themselves, and an increasingly desperate financial situation. Finally, during negotiations between the resident's committee and the government, the government gave villagers an ultimatum: leave now and take our (inadequate) offer, or wait until April and leave with nothing. The government made it clear that either way, the village would be destroyed in April.

Meanwhile, other Koreans will continue to fight against the base expansion. The reasons for opposition to the base expansion are the same as ever: rejection of US intervention on the Korean peninsula and US imperialism in Northeast Asia, and now more than ever, the forced displacement of Daechuri residents. On March 3 (see previous post), Pyeongtaek Jikimis (volutary supporters) will meet in Daechuri. Some Jikimis will continue to live in the village and resist the expansion even after the original residents leave. The KCPT, an alliance of Korean social movements and organizations, also continues to actively oppose the base expansion.

Although some press reports and Korean government statements have announced the residents' “voluntary” departure, there is nothing voluntary about it. The “peace” that the government proudly announces is a peace without justice, achieved through physical and economic violence. The Korean government gloats that it “look[s] forward to putting an end to this conflict..." But as long as US imperialism tramples on people's rights, in Korea and around the world, people will keep on fighting against the global empire and the states that support it.

--------The Daechuri residents and the Government agree on resettlement

After 12 rounds of discussions, residents agreed to resettlement by the end of March. On February 13th, the office of the Prime minister and the Ministry of Defense gave the following press release :  "The residents of Daechuri and the Government have drawn up a mutual agreement to bring an end to their conflict and allow for a peaceful resettlement." This was the result of talks that began on January 2 between the Paengseong residents' committee and the government.  The Paengseong residents' committee proposed talks last Jan 1st, announcing, "We are proposing talks with the government to reach a peaceful solution to the problem of the U.S. base expansion.  We urge the government to earnestly and progressively attend this discussion in order to find a peaceful solution to this problem and to make sure that the pain and loss of our residents do not go on." Thereafter the negotiations proceeded over 12 rounds until the Paengseong residents committee and the government reached an agreement on Feb 13.

Resettlement to Peangseong Nowha-ri and Namsan-ri

Kim Ji Tae, chairman of the Paengseong residents' committee, and Kim Chun Suk, head of the U.S. Base Relocation Project, signed an agreement that outlined the following :

- The resettlement of the residents must be completed by March 31, 2007.

- The residents will move to Paengseong Nowhari and Namsanri where rented land will be parceled out.

- Elderly persons in a low-income bracket will be provided 10 million won in financial support for resettlement and a monthly allowance of 200,000 won until 2014.

 - The government will issue an apology.

- The Ministry’s accusation of illegal farming will be withdrawn, and the residents being held on criminal charges will be released immediately.

- When the housing complex in Nowha-ri is completed it will be renamed as Daechuri.

Although the residents put up a strong resistance for nearly 4 years, the residents' fatigue, the forceful demolitions continued by the government, and the residents' inability to find a clear strategy to continue their struggle seem to have had an influence on their decision to sign the agreement with the government. In order to ensure the fulfillment of the agreement, the agreement also notes that "before the residents leave Daechuri, the government will make every effort to avoid causing discomfort for the residents due to the construction and the residents will not obstruct the government's construction operations" and "an administrative committee made up of the Ministry of Defense, the Pyeongtaek City Government, and the representatives of the residents' will manage the agreement until Dec 31, 2008."...

The Pyeongtaek Anti-Base Expansion Committee : "We respect the residents' agreement, but the fight will continue." The Pyeongtaek Anti-Base Expansion Committee cautiously admitted that "while not all of the residents' demands were met, we will respect their agreement."  Choi Yun Chul, director of the Pyeongtaek Anti-Base Expansion Committee, said, "We respect that the [Daechuri] residents' committee approached the negotiations with their own demands," adding "We didn't hear about the results of the negotiations but found out about it through the internet, so we still have to verify the details.  However, we believe that not all of the residents' demands were met." Meanwhile, as the residents of Daechuri agreed to the resettlement, the fight against the U.S. military base relocation in which Daechuri has been the focus for nearly 4 years, must now find a new direction. Choi Yun Chul said, "We must continue to point out the problems of the U.S. base expansion."

- Chamsaesang. Translation by Radical Language Exchange.

Posted by savePTfarmers at 11:11 PM | Permalink

March 3 is another big day in Daechuri.

Everyone who doesn't want to miss a big action should come to the village on the day.
it's the day of the Jikimis (volutary supporters) and all the jikimis from all over the country gather at the village with food and they will share the food with other people in a potluck style dinner party.
they will also do some direct action for peace.

March 3 is also the Daeboreum day (the fifteenth day of the new year in the lunar calendar) so there'll be lots of korean tradiotional games playing in the village all day.
so it's a good Daechuri visit day.
please circulate this so that more people can come to see the village for themselves before it's too late.
you see, no one will be allowed to the village after April.

Posted by savePTfarmers at 12:32 AM | Permalink

Posted by savePTfarmers at 12:29 AM | Permalink

Re-negotiation of the US base expansion plan is inevitable

Hankyereh21, December 2006

translation by Seoul Radical Exchange (www.seoulidarity.net)

A revision of the agreement will be necessary when the deadline for the US base expansion plan is delayed.

The cost for the base expansion and restructuring is 50 times more the maximum cost that was agreed on.

 

Focus on clause 3, article 2 of the agreement: “the transfer will be completed by the end of 2008”.

 

Among some of estimates that tell when is the deadline of the transfer, the one thing we can be sure of is that it will not be completed in 2008. It’s very probable that it will be completed after 2011. A more definite deadline will be estimated after the Master Plan (MP) is announced at the end of this year (2006) or early next year, but there is one factor that lets us guess by how long the deadline will be delayed. On November 17, 2005, the US Corps of Engineers made a contract with the Seohui construction company for construction of basic facilities, to put in the landfill preparatory to the expansion of Camp Humphrey. The total area that will be covered with landfill is 28 million pyeong (228.72 acres, 925624m2) of which the total area for the base expansion is more than 380 million pyeong (3104 acres, 12562040 m2). An official of this company said, “The deadline for construction is 1,145 days after the beginning, and we’re doing some preliminary work aimed at starting this construction in January next year (2007), so the laying of the landfill for at most a tenth of the total land for expansion will be finished around March 2010.

 

However, the schedule and process for transferring the US base are determined by law. Clause 3, article 2 of the agreement says that the transfer will be completed by the end of 2008. Therefore, the news about the delay of the US base transfer till 2011 contradicts the agreement. The agreement loses its legal validity. National Assembly (NA) member Rim Jongseok of the Parliamentary UFT Commission (Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade) said, “If the deadline is delayed, that’s beyond the boundary of what the US and Korea agreed on. So re-negotiation is unavoidable.” NA member Choi Jaecheon agreed. As an ex-lawyer, he is a legal expert who was formerly the secretary of the legislative judiciary committee.

 

 

The cost of the base restructuring will exceed 300-400 billion won (300-400 million dollars)-- 50 times the maximum cost that was agreed on.

 

NA member Choi says that “It is preposterous to have no exact figures of the total cost of the relocation plan, even though it is a huge national project that will cost a trillion won (a billion dollars) of the taxpayers’ money. There is only one provision that mentions the specific figures, limiting Korea’s share of the base relocation costs in the UA. Part A of clause 3, article 5 of the financial convenience reads as follows: “According to the Master Plan (MP), Korea shall provide new basic facilities equipped with C4I capacities (command, control, communication, computers and information) and shall transfer the present equipment. Some of the equipment, which is expected to be more expensive to repair than to buy, shall be new. However, Korea’s share of the cost of these replacements cannot exceed 9 million dollars.”

 

 

Will public hearings be held?

 

Surprisingly, however, according to government officials, the estimated cost of C4I allegedly would be approximately 300-400 billion dollars; it is likely to cost as much as 50 times more than the maximum proportion indicated in the agreement. An Uri Party spokesman says, “The US firmly insists on installing new facilities regardless of Korea’s legally fixed proportion of the base relocations costs.”

 

The government’s irresponsible and insincere attitude makes the situation worse. In particular, the National Assembly has not scheduled a hearing on the US base relocation. Until now it has delayed the hearing because of the major party refuses, saying that the hearing is likely to hurt the US-ROK alliance. Kwon Youngkil of the Democratic Labor Party, who has constantly demanded that a hearing be held, said, “The agreement that was passed without public oversight by the UFT Commission, but not by the National Assembly, has to be reported and disclosed during the hearing.”

 

 

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Base Expansion will be delayed until 2013

From www.ohmynews.com Jan.20th 2007 Kim Taekyeong

translation by Seoul Radical Exchange (www.seoulidarity.net)

 

-According to the master plan, as it was reported to the National Assembly, the deadline for the relocation of the US military to the Pyeongtaek base will definitely be set back to 2013.

-The total cost of relocating the US military installations comes to 10 trillion won (10 billion dollars) and the Korean share of the cost is about 5 trillion won (5 billion dollars).

 

Specifically, the cost of construction is $2.46 billion.

Engineering work will cost $0.8 million; blueprints, architectural plans, etc. - $0.3 billion; management / administrative costs - $0.23 billion; purchasing lands - $1 billion; C4I - $381 million, the cost will come to 50 times more than the maximum cost than agreed on as Korean’s share.

 

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

US government pushes the cost of base expasion onto Korea

Voice of the People January 20, 2007 (summary). Seo Jeonghwan

Vop.or.kr

translation by Seoul Radical Exchange (www.seoulidarity.net)

 

A Korean Ministry of National Defense official said that the US would charge $3.5~4.5 billion for the relocation, but this amount includes an annual subsidy paid by Korea to the US for Korean defense. In short, Koreans are paying money to the US and the money will be used by the US to pay for the relocation. In the new agreement on the subsidy for defense, the Korean government will pay about $730 million as of the end of last year (2006).

The Korean government pays a subsidy to the US for military maintenance of the USFK. The total subsidy is $730 million per year. The US can use 40% of this amount for relocation costs (which is not what the money is for).

The US spends 60% for military maintenance.

The documentation on relocation costs and Korea’s share of the costs doesn’t reveal the real amounts to be paid, or the real proportion that Korea has to pay.

The Ministry of National Defense official says that the US is spending $3.5~4.5 billion for relocation costs.

He calculated how much of this is actually spent by Korea.

40% of the annual subsidy is $280 million (from the new negotiated agreement) in 2007-2008.

The relocation deadline will be 2013.

The US can use 40% of the Korean subsidy for 7 years (2007~2013).

The total amount of this is $2 billion.

It is possible to assume that if the US spends the money all economically costs will be held down, but we can’t expect that it will really happen.

The USFK commander, Bell, was angry about the delay in the relocation deadline.

It is said that he found out about the delay from the Korean media.

He wants to turn the situation around and press the Korean politicians to correct this situation.

The master plan had already been released, so he probably already knew about the delay.

His real motive for speaking as he did is to obtain an increase in the subsidy that Korea pays to the US for military maintenance.

Thus Korea will be responsible for $7.5~8 billion out of $10 billion.

(The US is spending so much for Iraq that they want to save money where they can, and is trying to make the Korean government more than was agreed on.)

A $2 billion gap remains. 20% of the cost is still undecided.

If the US pays only 6% of the costs, who will pay the 14% left? Bell will press Korea to pay more to the US for military maintenance

Posted by savePTfarmers at 04:07 PM | Permalink

An indepth article with images written by an acclaimed photographer who resided in Daechuri and worked with the residents for years.

read "Pyeongtaek's Mystery Ball in the Sky" published 06-06-13 on Ohmynews

by Noh Sun-tag (nannaya)

 

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10100&no=297728&rel_no=1

Posted by savePTfarmers at 04:01 PM | Permalink

Cinema Seoulidarity – Second Film Screening January 27, 2007 Strange Fruit Café   

 “Daechuri War” Il Gun-jung, Director Pureun Film Production On Saturday afternoon, January 27th, the documentary film “Daechuri War” was screened at Strange Fruit Café in Hongdae, as the second Cinema Seoulidarity event. With about thirty people in attendance, the event was both intimate and animated.  A lengthy discussion, lasting almost as long as the film itself, among audience members and the assistant director, Kim Jun-ho, followed.

The violence of the forced eviction of Daechuri residents was palpable in both the form and the content of Daechuri War.  Images of the demolition of Daechu elementary school, roads, and irrigation systems and the destruction of earth and trees were as powerful as images of citizens old and young struggling against impenetrable rows of police and private guards.  The fragility of the residents without shields, batons or protective clothing standing up to and even challenging the wall of masked police encapsulated the struggle of Daechuri for this viewer.  Against great odds, and with a tenuous yet enduring hope, the residents spoke of their anguish, frustration, and injustice, but also of their resilience and determination.  Much of their land have been made inaccessible to them, but they continue to worry about their crops on the other side of the barbed wire, wondering if they will be to see to their harvest the following season.

The discussion session began with a number of questions about the current situation and as well as the history of Daechuri’s struggle.  People seemed eager to get a better idea of what they had briefly glimpsed on screen.  The relationship between Daechuri residents and various activists (jikimi) residing in Daechuri since 2005 was probed.  The role (or lack of) commercial media coverage was discussed as well as alliances between Korean and foreign independent filmmakers.  One audience member told me after the screening how much she enjoyed not only the film but also the “self-less” atmosphere of the discussion and the event itself.  She was happy to see so much engagement and interest in Daechuri and was impressed by the lack of self-interest evinced by the participants. Members of the audience were invited to go to Daechuri the following Sunday as the screening came to a close.Donations for Daechuri residents were collected at the screening.  The screening was free of charge.  

Thanks to everyone who came to the screening and discussion.  Hope to see you at the next one!

 alice

http://seoulidarity.net/

 

Posted by savePTfarmers at 03:58 PM | Permalink