News release: American Activists Protest Jeju Island Naval Base Construction
Submitted by Leslie Schroeder, Port Townsend, Washington, USA April 25, 2012
Photos by Kip Kania
South Korean Artist Gill-Chun Koh - visiting friends (Ms. Leslie Schroeder and her husband Eligius Wolodkewitsch) in Port Townsend, Washington, for the month of April - took advantage of several opportunities to show his art work and share his misgivings about the destruction of his beautiful island home.
Concerned citizens in Port Townsend and neighboring communities were interested to learn about the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island.
On April 22, Mr. Koh spoke to a meeting of MoveOn.org members (a national U.S political activist organization) at the Port Townsend Community Center. He repeated his presentation to a larger group the next evening at the same location. Many of these activists held signs protesting the expansion of this naval base to accommodate US Navy vessels and missiles. “The proximity to China will only escalate the tension between the United States and China and put Jeju Island in the middle,” said one protester. “We are alarmed that this pristine, peaceful gem of an island is to become a target in case of war when it is known as ‘the peace island.’”
On April 24, Ms. Schroeder arranged for Mr. Koh to be the keynote speaker at the Port Townsend High School’s model United Nations simulation. Senior students, pretending to be delegates from various countries, gave speeches, made declarations, and debated resolutions for two days in the school’s gymnasium while other students observed. This event was televised and broadcast live on the local TV station. Mr. Koh and Ms. Schroeder both spoke about the situation in South Korea and implored the student ambassadors to carefully examine all sides, then “do the right thing and vote against escalating war and military might by preventing the continued construction of this naval port,” declared Ms. Schroeder.
Members of the class who participated in the mock UN event (mostly 17 and 18 year olds) were “very moved” by the pictures of peaceful protesters being beaten and arrested by the military police in Gangjeong Village. “We need to learn from their bravery and perseverance how to non-violently resist actions by our own government that we feel contribute more tension between China and the United States,” stated one student.
“People in Port Townsend who are learning of this struggle by Jeju Islanders to protect their peace and their environment stand in solidarity with the protesters,” said one Port Townsend woman. “We know all too well that our U.S. Navy wants access to this base in the name of ‘national security’ but that only makes the world, especially the inhabitants Jeju – the Island of Peace - more insecure,” she added.
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