Berkeley joins Steinem & Stone in seeking Justice 4 Jeju.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      December 11, 2013

Berkeley joins Steinem & Stone in seeking Justice 4 Jeju.

Contacts:    

Paul Liem:  510-414-5575 pliem@mindspring.com              

KJ Noh:  k.j.noh48@gmail.com              

Christine Ahn: christineahn@mac.com  

Stephanie Miyashira 524-2624                           

Councilmember Max  Anderson 981-7130                   

Councilmember Kriss Worthington (510) 981-7170 kworthington@cityofberkeley.info

Berkeley made history by becoming the first City in a growing international movement of environmentalists and peace activists to stand up for villagers on Jeju Island in their long struggle to oppose a massive naval base being built on the beautiful island.

Gloria Steinem emailed the Berkeley City Council:  "…There are some actions for which those of us alive today will be judged in centuries to come. The only question will be: What did we know and when did we know it?  I think one judgment-worthy action may be what you and I do about the militarization of Jeju Island, South Korea, in service of the arms race.”

Jeju Island is UNESCO’s only triple honoree: a Global Geological Park, a Biosphere Reserve, and a World Heritage Site.  This environmental jewel was designated an “Absolute Conservation Area” by the Korean Government, was proclaimed an “Island of Peace”, and voted one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World.”

 Affected local villagers have engaged in seven years of principled non-violent struggle, facing endless beatings, arrests, fines, and imprisonment.  Most recently, Sister Stella Soh, the first Catholic Nun in Korean history to be arrested for an act of conscience, was arraigned in a Korean court. 

Stephanie Miyashira, an activist in a wheel chair, broke down in tears as she implored the council to support the cause of peace. She agreed with Oliver Stone, who stated : “I deplore the militarization of Jeju Island.  I deplore the building of the base. This is leading up to a war, and we cannot have another war here.  We have to stop this thing.” 

Christine Ahn, a scholar at the Korea Policy Institute, wrote in a heartfelt and moving letter to Berkeley City Council that she had named her daughter Jeju because of her passion for the cause of the peace activists on the island. 

Berkeley’s Resolution calls on the US Military "to cease supporting the base which will gravely harm the fragile ecology, damage the livelihood of the people of Jeju, and make this Island of Peace a pawn of the great powers and a magnet for military conflict.” 

This historic vote will be celebrated in a press conference at 6:30 PM on December 17 at Berkeley Old City Hall steps, 2134 MLK Jr. Way, Berkeley 94704

Contacts:    

Paul Liem:  510-414-5575 pliem@mindspring.com              

KJ Noh: k.j.noh48@gmail.com              

Christine Ahn: christineahn@mac.com  

 Stephanie Miyashira 524-2624                           

Councilmember Max  Anderson 981-7130                   

 Councilmember Kriss Worthington (510) 981-7170 kworthington@cityofberkeley.info

Protest in Solidarity with Gangjeong Villagers (Korean Consulate, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi)

Yesterday, 6 September 2012, Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice organized a protest in front of the Korean Consulate in Honolulu. This protest was organized in SOLIDARITY with the Gangjeong villagers of Jeju island who are fighting against naval base construction -- read more about this at www.savejejunow.org and read Womenʻs Voices Women Speakʻs request for solidarity at http://wvws808.blogspot.com/2012/09/solidarity-requested-of-hawaii.html

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

 

Soo Sun (in the black) is talking to the Korean consul general --- NO NAVAL BASE ON JEJU ISLAND!

Korean Consul General 

Soo Sun of Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice made these awesome cardboard costumes -- Steve  rocked the red crab outfit!

Thatʻs a Samsung bulldozer threatening the livelihoods of all of these wonderous creatures of Jeju island

 Iksoo sporting the fish! see the tear drop? naval base construction is destroying the habitats of all these rare marine animals!

Renie letting the Pali Hwy commuters know why we were there!

To the Delegates of the World Conservation Congress (from Hawaiʻi Peace & Justice)

CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Solidarity requested of Hawai'i delegates at 2012 World Conservation Congress

(Honolulu).  Delegates from Hawai‘i attending the World Conservation Congress (WCC), organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in Jeju, Republic of Korea 6-15 September 2012 are urged to be aware of the environmental, indigenous and human rights violations occurring in neighboring villages on Jeju, and to stand in solidarity.

We acknowledge the good work that many from within our Hawai‘i delegation are engaged in to protect our ‘āina, unique flora, exquisite creatures, and deep culture of Hawai‘i nei.  We mahalo them for sharing the best of Hawai‘i with others, and for learning what they can from others for the mutual benefit of all our sacred places.

However, not all environmental activists enjoy the same abilities to protect their sacred lands, including villagers just 4 miles away from the congress headquarters.   Home to multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites and biosphere reserves, Jeju has become a strategic location for increased military presence and corporate interests that threaten 4,000-year-old archaeological sites, a rare and fragile marine ecosystem, the livelihoods of traditional farmers and fishers, and fundamental human rights for the villagers of Gangjeong who have been protesting the development.

The IUCN professes “the integrity and diversity of nature” and that the use of natural resources is “equitable and ecologically sustainable,” yet has remained mum on the nearby environmental assaults.  The large military project, proposed for joint use with the U.S. Navy, threatens freshwater springs, magnificent soft coral reefs, and numerous rare and endangered marine species, such as bottle-nosed dolphins, narrow-mouthed toads, red-footed crabs, and freshwater shrimp endemic to Jeju.

The base is expected to accommodate submarines and up to 20 warships, including U.S. Aegis-equipped destroyers, equipped with U.S. anti-ballistic missile and radar systems forever tying Hawai‘i to this missile defense system via the Aegis Ashore test facility at Pacific Missile RangeFacility, Barking Sands, Kaua‘i.

Furthermore, the IUCN has confirmed that Samsung C&T and Hyundai are among sponsors for the 2012 WCC. Samsung is the lead contractor at the base and Hyundai Heavy Industries is working with Lockheed Martin to produce the Aegis Combat System to be deployed on U.S. warships at the Jeju naval base.

In response to acts of resistance to the destruction of ecosystems and traditional practices, the villagers of Gangjeong and their supporters have been met with arrests and physical violence.  Their mayor was attacked.  Their voices have been silenced, and they’ve been banned from sharing information at the WCC.

We urge our Hawai‘i delegation to act in solidarity with others engaged in struggles to protect, preserve and conserve such places as our Hawai‘i nei.  Specifically, we ask you to join in solidarity with the Gangjeong activists against the Naval Base at Jeju. You can do this by supporting the Resolutions by the Emergency Action Committee to Save Jeju Island:

1)      Advocate to the IUCN leadership to use its power to shut the Base in Jeju Island;

2)      Support a new Environmental Impact Statement without government and military control and censorship; there are IUCN scientists already working on this;

3)      Assert to the IUCN leadership your opposition to the Four Rivers Restoration Project that is planned to re-route four wild rivers into straight channels, establish dams, and partially cement the river beds to accommodate corporate use;

4)      Organize within the IUCN for an institutional self-examination that questions the interests behind the IUCN leadership and push this entity to truly advocate for nature and social justice;

5)      Invite activists from Gangjeong Village into the WCC to speak for themselves on what is going on in their island;

6)      Connect with Gangjeong activists, visit the sites of destruction, and experience for yourselves the urgency of the villagers’ demands; and

7)      Learn more at http://savejejunow.org.

We members of Women’s Voices Women Speak visualize an economy of peace, an economy that will support our communities in sustainable ways, with an emphasis on providing for basic human needs, health and wellness, solidarity and respect for the land and all peoples.

Mālama ‘Āina, Aloha ‘Āina.

Women’s Voices Women Speak is a group of Hawai‘i women who organize around Kanaka Maoli sovereignty and demilitarization

in Hawai‘i from women's perspectives.

www.wvws808.blogspot.com

Women for Genuine Security is the U.S.-based partner in the International Women’s Network Against Militarism.

www.genuinesecurity.org

#   PAU  #

Contact: Terri Keko‘olani 808-227-1621

Eri Oura 808-542-0348 eriola@gmail.com

UPDATE: IUCN OFFICIALLY BLOCKS PARTICIPATION BY JEJU VILLAGERS WHO OPPOSE NAVAL BASE CONSTRUCTION NEAR CONVENTION

OPEN LETTER #3. TO:   IUCN Leadership, Participants, and Global Environmental Organizations. FROM:Emergency Action Committee to Save Jeju Island *********** UPDATE:     IUCN OFFICIALLY BLOCKS PARTICIPATION BY JEJU VILLAGERS WHO OPPOSE NAVAL BASE CONSTRUCTION NEAR CONVENTION  IUCN leadership still refuses to criticize Korea's destructive naval base, though construction work is killing rare soft corals, numerous endangered species (including from IUCN's Red List), and destroying indigenous communities and livelihoods. This stance from IUCN defies its traditional mission, conserving nature and a "just world." NEW RESOLUTIONS ARE NEEDED FOR EMERGENCY VOTE OF ALL IUCN MEMBERS ********************************

Police crack down on Gangjeong villagers protesting navy base construction a few minutes from the IUCN convention site.  ABOUT A MONTH AGO, this committee was joined by dozens of co-signers from around the world, in circulating open letters to the leadership of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its associated members. The statements were remarking on recent actions of IUCN that directly conflict with its important historical mandates. While continuing to proclaim its devotion to protecting Nature, including the planet’s endangered places and species, IUCN leadership has ignored or whitewashed projects that are assaulting these wonders, and undermining human rights and sustainable livelihoods. For example, the organization inexplicably planned its giant September convention only a few minutes’ bus ride from one of the world’s great current outrages---the construction of a large new naval base near the village of Gangjeong, on Jeju Island, the “jewel” of South Korea.  The naval base project, meant to become home-port for Korean and U.S. missile-carrying warships 300 miles from China, is threatening one of the planet’s last great soft coral reefs, and other coastal treasures, killing numerous endangered species (including one on IUCN’s famous Red List), and destroying centuries-old sustainable communities of local farmers and fishers. The Gangjeong villagers have been protesting the base project for years, and are being met with daily police brutality.  Such activities represent all that IUCN has traditionally opposed. Then, a few days ago (August 22), an official letter arrived from IUCN leadership informing the indigenous villagers that their application to host a small Information Booth at the convention was denied, though dozens have been granted for corporations and other groups. No explanation was offered. (More details below.)  In our earlier communiques we referred to public statements from IUCN Director-General, Julia Marton-Lefevre, supporting the Korean government’s environmental policies, including its decisions vis-à-vis the military base and the infamous Four Rivers Project (also discussed below.)

Navy base construction is destroying habitats of numerous endangered species, including Kaloula borealis, the Boreal Digging Frog.  Her praise encompassed the government’s seriously flawed “Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA) for the base project.  This, despite that the EIA ignored three of the most critically endangered species at Gangjeong, the Red-footed Crab, Sesarma intermedium; the Jeju Freshwater Shrimp Caridina denticulata keunbaei), endemic to Jeju Island, and the Boreal Digging Frog pictured here (an IUCN Red-List species.)  It also ignored effects upon Korea's only pod of Indo-Pacific Bottle-nosed Dolphins which swim regularly through the area.  Neither did it explore crucial impacts upon 40 species of soft coral, including nine that are seriously endangered, and five that are already protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). This activity takes place only 250 meters from a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Tiger Island.

A vast array of rare, highly threatened corals are being killed to make way for the navy base. Most were ignored by the government's EIA.     (In an upcoming letter we will report on a far more authoritative environmental impact statement now being conducted, secretly, by a team of well-known, non-governmental volunteer scientists from several countries---some with prominent IUCN member organizations. They have already documented a spectacular enormous coral garden, 7.4 hectares large, within a mile of where the destruction is now advancing. The only other place in the world where there may exist a soft-coral forest of this magnitude is in the Red Sea.  (The divers are operating secretly because the government deported several prior researchers.) On a related matter, the Director General has praised the government’s “Four Rivers Restoration.”  Alas, however, this is not “restoration.”  As the Korean environmental community has made clear, it’s a re-routing of Korea’s four great wild, winding rivers into straight-line channels, partly encased in concrete, combined with extensive dam building, and dredging, to make them more business-friendly. The effects on riparian communities are devastating. In four years the population of Korea’s migratory birds, such as white-naped cranes, has been reduced by two-thirds and in many areas, the rivers have become algae-infested cesspools.  At the recent Ramsar Convention in Bucharest (July, 2012), the World Wetlands Network announced a “Grey Globe Award” to the Four Rivers project, ranking it among the five worst wetlands projects in the world. The IUCN community should publicly denounce it, too. Throughout the run-up to the Convention, neither Director-General Marton-Lefevre, nor President Ashok Khosla, has expressed any disapproval of the above ongoing assaults on Nature. Neither have they made mention of the police beatings and arrests of the indigenous protestors from Gangjeong village who are trying, every day, to protect Nature’s treasures from being destroyed---activities that the IUCN was actually created to protect. 90% AGREEMENT The response to our earlier e-mailers was enormous, with at least 90% of respondents supporting our positions---including many from mid-level IUCN leadership.  In a brief burst of democratic openness, the IUCN’s web-page reprinted our letters, while responding with generalities about its great concern for Nature, and democratic process,  and it opened the page for public comments.  But after the first 20 comments appeared, all of them critical of IUCN’s position, the responses were erased off the page. On the other hand, the Korean government's manifesto on its dubious "green" development policies continues to be displayed. So much for democracy.  IUCN also announced that it will propose that attendees pass a proclamation (“Nature+”) concerning the glories of Nature, but which still does not mention what’s going on ten minutes away, and while also denying permission for the local community to formally state their views in the Congress meetings.  Up to this moment, the leadership of IUCN continues to avoid any expression of concern or even awareness of the impacts on Nature and community, just down the street, though such concerns are central to the organization’s mandate. Why is IUCN leadership remaining so silent?   For the leadership, it may be more of a financial and political matter than one of conservation or social justice, which is what IUCN was supposed to be about. There is also an underlying reality:  A large percentage of the cost of this WCC convention in Jeju is being covered by the very people building the military base. Those would be the Korean government, and several giant global corporations, notably Samsung.  Having accepted the funding, it is difficult to criticize the funders. IUCN’s top leadership has apparently determined its best course now is to avert its gaze while the government kills the shrimps and the frogs, destroys the corals, and jails the protesting local farmers.  Meanwhile, IUCN can freely proceed with its great meeting next door to save Nature.  But the organization has gone still further.  IUCN has granted the Korean government (the “Korean Organizing Committee of the 2012 WCC,” the chair of which, is Lee Hongkoo, the former Prime Minister of Korea, a supporter of the base) approval-power over any South Korean organizations wanting to present alternative views.  These include whether to grant permission to speak on the issues at the meeting, even when they are invited to do so by bona-fide IUCN member organizations, or merely to host an information table at the event. (See #2 below.) IUCN has also agreed to partner with its Korean financial sponsor in constructing and presenting the formal program of the Convention.  So now, the government, eager to advertise its green initiatives, will be represented on every one of the five “prime-time” plenary panels of the convention, either by government or corporate officials. It is  the only country in the world to be so privileged.  None of those panels will focus on the Gangjeong military base construction, or the Four Rivers fiasco. Finally, the questions become these: Whose IUCN is this? Does the complicity of IUCN leadership truly represent IUCN membership?  Can anything useful still be achieved at the WCC in Jeju?  On the latter point, we actually think YES, there still is. We call upon the IUCN participants to use the occasion to take stands on the following: FOUR STEPS TO CHALLENGE MILITARY BASE DESTRUCTION & TO RE-ESTABLISH IUCN'S HISTORIC MISSION TO PROTECT NATURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS #1.  Assembly Resolutions:  Shut the Base; Make a New EIA; Stop the Four Rivers Project. Since our prior letters, our committee has become aware of the great work of several independent groups of environmental attorneys, representing IUCN-member organizations.  They are working toward a series of Draft Resolutions to be presented at the WCC Assemblies, including all members.  Among them are these:  Shut the Base. The first Resolution will demand that Korea end its military base construction, and that all ravaged lands be restored to their former condition. The Resolution will speak in behalf of the endangered species, the rare soft corals, the sacred sites, and the local villagers who are putting their lives on the line to protect these treasures.

The once-celebrated southern Jeju coastline is now being covered in concrete, thanks to the Korean government, Samsung corporation, and the silence of IUCN. It will also describe the many IUCN rules and prior decisions that have been violated. These include, for example, the important principles of the Earth Charter passed by the 2004 Congress, as well as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Heritage Convention, the UN Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights, among many others. New Environmental Impact Assessment.  A second Resolution may demand preparation and acceptance of a new Environmental Impact Assessment of the naval base construction near Gangjeong---free of government control and censorship---that will include a truly accurate assessment of the dredging and other impacts on the soft coral reefs, and the killing of rare species that are all absent from the government’s document. (As indicated above, a new independent EIA is already being prepared by several outraged IUCN scientists.) End The Four Rivers Project.  A third Resolution will demand that Korea immediately discontinue its notorious Four Rivers Restoration project, and begin to actually restore the great rivers to their prior condition. There is one potential complication.  Unsurprisingly, the attorneys were told by some IUCN management not to bother with these motions. They will be “too late,” past deadline, they were told. And yet, the historical record of IUCN offers many examples of last minute submissions.  They have always been permitted if they raise new, urgent, unforeseen issues, and if at least ten IUCN members co-sponsor the request. There are already more than ten willing IUCN co-sponsors.  And they certainly qualify as urgent new matters for IUCN. If we don’t stop this destruction now, by the time IUCN meets again in four years, the corals, the Boreal Digging Frogs and other species, and many local people will be dead. We must not let that happen. #2.  Let the Gangjeong People Speak.   Information Booth Crisis.  As briefly mentioned above, the Gangjeong villagers, working to save habitats, biodiversity, and the Red-List species from the military’s destruction, applied a few months ago through official IUCN channels for permission to set up one “information booth” among the dozens of others that have been okayed within the convention center throughout the meeting.  That would seem a benign enough request, but a runaround ensued. Instead of routinely okaying the application, the IUCN passed it to the Korean government (the KOC, mentioned above) which is heavily invested in silencing any and all opposition to the base or the Four Rivers project. Korean newspapers have also been silenced on these matters.  Repeated efforts over recent weeks to confirm permission for the information table were ignored. Finally, a few days ago, they received an official letter from the Director of IUCN’s Constituency Support Group, Enrique Lahmann.  He said this:  “Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate your request for an exhibition booth at the WCC.”  That’s it. No reason was given.  And no explanation of how this fullfills official IUCN proclamations of democracy and inclusiveness. No Protest Allowed Within Two Kilometers.  Meanwhile, the Korean government announced that it would not permit any demonstrations or even picketing within two kilometers of the Convention.  So, no information table inside. No demonstrations outside.  Where are we again?  Isn't South Korea supposed to be a democracy?   During the upcoming Assemblies, IUCN leaders must at last denounce the government for these appalling moves, and permit the villagers, who are actually doing IUCN’s work, to not only have their information table inside the convention, but if they so choose, to go ahead and demonstrate freely outside, just as if this were a democratic society. Addressing the Full Assembly.  All of the above is not enough.  The Gangjeong community should be permitted ----no, invited by IUCN leadership---to address the opening and/or closing plenary of the IUCN convention, to provide the full story of this local disaster and what they are going through.  If the government resists, the IUCN leadership should insist.  We all need to hear from the indigenous local farmers and fisher-people, and the custodians of the sacred sites, about what they have seen and experienced.  Everyone needs to hear this. After all, we are meeting on their indigenous soil, on their island, on the coast that has nurtured them for thousands of years.   So, our own group inquired as to the possibility of the villagers speaking at the assembly, but we were told by IUCN officials, as above, that all South Korean presenters have to be approved by the government.   Here’s some good news.  Several IUCN member groups have already (quietly) invited local leaders to participate in some of the groups’ own scheduled workshop panel time to tell the Gangjeong story. (In our next letter, we will brief you on who is speaking and at what time. By delaying this announcement, we hope to avoid government crackdowns against the groups.)  #3.  Go Visit the Destruction Sites, and the Sacred Sites. Members of our committee, and our Korean colleagues, will be arranging tours of Gangjeong village, the sacred sites that are threatened, and the front-lines of the ongoing confrontation between the villagers and the police at the construction site. It is horrifying and inspiring. (If you want to join those outings, please respond to: gangjeongintl@gmail.com.) It’s very easy to get there---ten minutes by local bus. #4   Institutional Self-Examination. Finally, we suggest that all IUCN members take this moment to assess what is happening in Jeju, and to initiate a process of institutional self-examination, questioning and re-organization.  None of us can afford to lose the moral and ethical leadership of one of the world’s greatest organizations. We need to do whatever is necessary to assure that IUCN will revive its historical mandate to place Nature first, and to protect social justice.  Thank you for your attention. Please let us know if you want to see the proposed resolutions; we will forward you the final texts when they are complete. We can also forward you the new independent Environmental Impact Assessment, when it is completed.  And you can sign up for a visit and tour of Gangjeong Village and the military construction site.  (OUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS BELOW.) EMERGENCY ACTION TO SAVE JEJU ISLAND ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: savejejunow@gmail.com Christine Ahn              Global Fund for Women; Korea Policy Institute  Imok Cha, M.D.              SaveJejuNow.org Jerry Mander             Foundation for Deep Ecology; International Forum on Globalization Koohan Paik             Kauai Alliance for Peace and Social Justice INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT GROUP: Maude Barlow               Food and Water Watch, Council of Canadians (Canada) John Cavanagh               Institute for Policy Studies (U.S.) Vandana Shiva, Ph.D.               Navdanya Research Organization for Science, Technology and               Ecology (India) Douglas Tompkins               Conservation Land Trust, Foundation for Deep Ecology (Chile) Victoria Tauli-Corpuz               Tebtebba Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for               Policy Research and Education (Philippines) Anuradha Mittal               Oakland Institute (U.S.) Meena Raman               Third World Network (Malaysia) Walden Bello               Member, House of Representatives (Philippines) Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher               Environmental Protection Authority (Ethiopia) Lagi Toribau               Greenpeace-East Asia Mario Damato, Ph.D.               Greenpeace-East Asia Debbie Barker               Center for Food Safety (U.S.) Pierre Fidenci               Endangered Species International (U.S.) John Knox              Earth Island Institute (U.S.) David Phillips              Int'l Marine Mammal Project, Earth Island Institute (U.S.) David Suzuki             The David Suzuki Foundation (Canada) Robert Redford             Actor, founder of Sundance Institute (U.S.) Mary Jo Rice              Int'l Marine Mammal Project, Earth Island Institute (U.S.) Bill Twist              Pachamama Alliance (U.S.) Jon Osorio, Ph.D.             Chair, Hawaiian Studies, Univ. of Hawaii (U.S.) Sue Edwards             Institute for Sustainable Development (Ethiopia) Galina Angarova           Pacific Environment (Russia) Bruce Gagnon           Global Network Against           Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space (Int'l) Andrew Kimbrell           Center for Food Safety (U.S.) Jack Santa Barbara           Sustainable Scale Project (New Zealand) Gloria Steinem           Author, Women’s Media Center (U.S.)   Medea Benjamin           Code Pink, Global Exchange (U.S.) Randy Hayes           Foundation Earth (U.S.) Noam Chomsky           Massachusetts Institute of Technology (U.S.) Renie Wong            Hawaii Peace and Justice (Hawaii) Kyle Kajihiro            Hawaii Peace and Justice and DMZ-Hawaii (Hawaii) Terri Keko’olani           Hawai’i Peace and Justice and International Women's Network Against           Militarism (Hawaii) Wayne Tanaka           Marine Law Fellow, Dept. of Land & Natural Resources (U.S.)           (signing independently) Tony Clarke           Polaris Institute (Canada) Sara Larrain           Sustainable Chile Project (Chile) John Feffer           Foreign Policy in Focus (U.S.) Victor Menotti           International Forum on Globalization (U.S.) Arnie Saiki           Moana Nui Action Alliance (U.S.) Nikhil Aziz           Grassroots International (U.S.) Lisa Linda Natividad           Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice (Guam) Rebecca Tarbotton           Rainforest Action Network (U.S.) Kavita Ramdas           Visiting Scholar, Stanford U., Global Fund for Women (India) Raj Patel           Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First (U.S.) Alexis Dudden           Author, Professor of History, Connecticut University (U.S.) Timothy Mason           Pastor, Calvary by the Sea, Honolulu (U.S.) Katherine Muzik, Ph.D.           Marine Biologist, Kulu Wai, Kauai (U.S.) Claire Hope Cummings            Author, Environmental attorney (U.S.) Ann Wright            U.S. Army Colonel, Ret., Former U.S. Diplomat (U.S.) Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ph.D.             Educator, Singer-Songwriter (U.S.) Yong Soon Min            Professor, University of California, Irvine (U.S.) Eugeni Capella Roca            Grup d’Estudi I Protecció d’Ecosostemes de Catalunya (Spain) Jonathan P. Terdiman, M.D.            University of California, San Francisco (U.S.) Evelyn Arce            International Funders for Indigenous Peoples  (U.S.) Brihananna Morgan            The Borneo Project (Borneo) Frank Magnota, Ph.D.            Physicist (U.S.) Delia Menozzi, M.D.            Physician (Italy) Aaron Berez, M.D.            Physician (U.S.) Begoña Caparros           Foundation in Movement: Art for Social Change (Uganda) Antonio Sanz            Photographer (Spain) Cindy Wiesner            Grassroots Global Justice (U.S.) Gregory Elich             Author, “Strange Liberators" (U.S.) Joseph Gerson, Ph.D.             American Friends Service Committee (U.S.) Piljoo Kim, Ph.D.             Agglobe Services International (U.S.) Peter Rasmussen             He-Shan World Fund (U.S.) Wei Zhang             He-Shan World Fund (U.S.) Harold Sunoo           Sunoo Korea Peace Foundation (U.S.) Soo Sun Choe           National Campaign to End the Korean War (U.S.)  Angie Zelter            Trident Ploughshares, (UK) Ramsay Liem            Visiting Scholar, Center for Human Rights, Boston College (U.S.) Kerry Kriger, PhD           Save The Frogs (U.S.) Marianne Eguey            Jade Associates, (France) Claire Greensfelder            INOCHI-Plutonium Free Future (U.S.-Japan) Laura Frost, Ph.D.           The New School (U.S.) Chris Bregler, Ph.D.           New York University (U.S.) David Vine           Assistant Professor, American University (U.S.) Simone Chun           Assistant Prof., Gov’t Department, Suffolk U., Boston (U.S.) Matt Rothschild           Editor, The Progressive magazine (U.S.) Henry Em           Professor, East Asian Studies, NYU  (U.S.) Eric Holt-Gimenez          Institute for Food and Development Policy (U.S.) Maivan Clech Lam           Professor Emerita of Int'l Law, CUNY (U.S.) Mari Matsuda           Professor of Law, Richardson Law School, Univ. of Hawaii (U.S.) Beth Burrows           The Edmonds Institute (U.S.) Aileen Mioko Smith           Green Action (Japan) Susan George, Ph.D.           Transnational Institute (The Netherlands) Marianne Manilov           The Engage Network (U.S.) S. Faizi           Institute for Societal Advancement, Kerala (India) Syed Ashraf ul Islam           Ministry of Food & Disaster Management (Bangladesh) Manaparambi Koru Prasad           Kerala Local Self Government Department (India) Hernán Torres, Director          Torres Asociados Ltda. (Chile) Carlo Modonesi          Environmental Biologist, Parma University (Italy) Andrej Kranjc          Secretary-General, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Slovenia) Ning Labbish Chao           Bio-Amazonia Conservation International (U.S.) Perumal Vivekanandan            SEVA  (India) David Newsome           Environmental Science and Ecotourism, Murdoch University, Perth (Australia) And: Korean Federation for Environmental Movement and Citizen Institute for Environmental Studies (South Korea)

"Jam Docu Gangjeong" Hawaii Premiere

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For Immediate Release

February 23, 2012

Contact: Renie Wong

Hawai'i Peace and Justice

(808) 988-6266

hawaiipeaceandjustice.org

“Jam Docu Gangjeong” Film Shorts: A Jeju Island Village Struggles with the Imposition of a South Korean/U.S. Naval Base 
  

Documentary Film Shorts “Jam Docu Gangjeong” premiering for the first time in Hawai‘i will be shown at The ARTS at Marks Garage on March 17, 2012 6:30-8 PM in a free screening co-sponsored by Hawai'i Peace and Justice in collaboration with Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking and DMZ Hawai'i / Aloha 'Aina. Light refreshment will be offered.

Banned from theater showings for 40 days by the Korean Film Commission, Jam Docu Gangjeong just recently received approval (January 31st) for showing in South Korea. Although Jeju was named an “Island of Peace” in 2005 by the South Korean government and listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, the Korean government has pushed ahead with plans to build a huge naval base in Gangjeong Village for the use of both the South Korean military, as well as US naval warships and destroyers. 

 

The island is home to a unique dialect and culture off the tip of South Korea, but also presents a microcosm for the tragic legacies of the Korean War. Residents of Gangjeong Village have put up peaceful resistance to the base construction, but faced brutal suppression by the police and mainland military, and been heavily fined for the "obstruction of governmental affairs." For the villagers, the naval base threatens to disrupt not only the reef ecosystem, and the way of life by elderly haenyo (women divers), but to destroy the social fabric of the village, recalling the scars of the Korean War and Jeju’s treatment during that period. While the ostensible justification for the base is the North Korean threat, the implications for a shifting geopolitical balance in the region is that the US would gain access to a base in proximity to China. 

 

For Docu Jam Gangjeong, eight independent filmmakers in South Korea responded to the situation by making short films about the people’s struggle over the course of 100 days. The filmmakers present an array of stories from their time living among the villagers and capturing the beauty of the threatened coastline.

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Women's Voices Women Speak Stand in Solidarity with Jeju Island Activists

On Sept. 4, 2011, Women's Voices Women Speak, Ann Wright, and a few friends gathered at the Korean Consulate of Hawai'i to hold a vigil in solidarity with peace activists on Jeju Island. This action was catalyzed by the current military and police encroachment on the Peace Camp at Gangjeong Village, Jeju. As we prepared for this event, Ann Wright reported back on her recent trip to Jeju Island.  Despite the fact that Jeju island activists are being arrested and harassed for protecting the island from the naval base construction occurring on the island, they continue to protest. 

Women's Voices Women Speak read the International Women's Network Against Militarism letter of support to Jeju Island activists to contextualize the vigil. They left messages of opposition to the Naval Base at Jeju on the Korean Consulate compound. Some wrote letters to the Korean Consulate.  The Naval base on Jeju is to house Aegis destroyers, equipped with U.S. anti-ballistic missile and radar systems.  This construction matters to Hawai'i because the Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range on the island of Kaua'i is also part of the anti-ballistic missile defense system network. In 2009, Hawai'i Senator Daniel Inouye pushed for funding for Aegis Ashore test facility at Barking Sands. Women's Voices Women Speak stand in solidarity with peoples of Jeju island to expose how Asian and Pacific island nations are being used to connect networks of U.S. Military weaponry.

No Naval Base on Jeju!
No Military Expansion in Hawai'i!
End Military Dependence in all Nations!

Message from the International Women’s Network Against Militarism to the peoples movement for No Naval Base on Jeju!

September 1, 2011

Dear friends in the struggle against US military expansion at Jeju Island,

We women from Okinawa, mainland Japan, the Philippines, Marshall Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Australia and west-coast USA send our greetings in solidarity with the people of Ganjeong who oppose the construction of a new naval base to house Aegis destroyers.

We understand that 94 percent of the residents do not want this base. We admire and respect your strong opposition by occupying land seized by the government and by blocking roads in an attempt to stop construction. We deplore the fact the South Korean government has ordered police to take further measures against you, especially as you have used every possible democratic means to overturn the decision to construct the base in the pristine waters and land that have been your livelihood for many generations.

We agree that this base and the increased militarization of the island of Jeju will create new security threats in an increasingly tense region.

We also live in communities that experience increased militarization and the effects of enormous military investments that distort our local economies and take resources needed for our communities to thrive. The political and military alliances between our governments and the United States jeopardize our genuine security. Indeed, U.S. military expansion in the Asia-Pacific and the Caribbean relies on these alliances to tie our communities together according to their version of security that is not sustainable.

The plan to relocate U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam includes military construction projects that involve labor from Hawai’i, Micronesia and the Philippines. In addition to the destruction and loss of life caused by continued wars in the Middle East, these wars are also destabilizing our economies. For example, Filipinos who have been recruited to work on military construction projects are laid off during times of crisis and return to the Philippines where they have no jobs. On Guam, local companies cannot compete with larger military contractors and are seldom able to get contracts for base construction projects. The establishment of the U.S. military base at Ke Awa Lau o Pu’uloa, or Pearl Harbor, has transformed Oahu's food basket into a toxic “Superfund” site where many of Hawai’i's poorest communities live along its contaminated shores. In Puerto Rico, Governor Luis Fortuño has unleashed brutality against citizens, and suppression of their civil liberties because of protests against budget cuts to public services and education. In the continental United States a new campaign is calling for new priorities in federal spending away from war and toward services to support local communities.

We see your struggle as part of a wider pattern of people’s protest against increasing militarization.
Although we are far away, please know that we stand with you. We thank you for your courage to resist the militarization of your home. Your example inspires and strengthens us.

In solidarity,

Signed, on behalf of the IWNAM:

Kozue Akibayashi, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Japan
Ellen-Rae Cachola, Women for Genuine Security/Women's Voices Women Speak, U.S. & Hawai'i
Grace Caligtan, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Lotlot de la Cruz, KAISAKA, Philippines
Cora Valdez Fabros, Scrap VFA Movement & Philippine Women's Network for Peace and Security, Philippines
Annie Fukushima, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Terri Keko'olani, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Gwyn Kirk, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Rev. Deborah Lee, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Bernadette “Gigi” Miranda, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Eri Oura, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
María Reinat Pumarejo, Colectivo Ilé: Organizadoras para la Conciencia-en-Acción
Aida Santos-Maranan, Women's Education, Development, Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO), Philippines
Dr. Hannah Middleton, Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition, Australia
Suzuyo Takazato, Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, Okinawa
Lisa Natividad, Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice, Guahan (Guam)
Ana Maria R. Nemenzo, WomanHealth Philippines.
Darlene Rodrigues, Women’s Voices Women Speak, Hawai’i

The International Women’s Network Against Militarism was formed in 1997 when forty women activists, policy-makers, teachers, and students from South Korea, Okinawa, mainland Japan, the Philippines and the continental United States gathered in Okinawa to strategize together about the negative effects of the US military in each of our countries.  In 2000, women from Puerto Rico who opposed the US Navy bombing training on the island of Vieques also joined; followed in 2004 by women from Hawai’i and in 2007 women from Guam.  The Network is not a membership organization, but a collaboration among women active in our own communities, who share a common mission to demilitarize their lands and communities. For more information, visit  http://www.genuinesecurity.org.