[July 27][Pat Cunningham]A short reflection on the Anniversary of the Armistice agreement

[아름드리 나무]

‎국문 번역은 여기 클릭

A short reflection on the Anniversary of the Armistice agreement as the campaign prepares to launch it's Gangjeong Grand March for Peace!

By Pat Cunningham

'The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.'
Buddha. Sadly preparations underway by the Korean navy in Jeju smack eerily of preparations not for peace on the 'island of peace' but of preparations for war!!

Today 27th July marks the 59th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement which stopped the fighting in 1953, and has yet to be replaced by a permanent settlement! The lack of a permanent settlement is a fundamental source of insecurity for both Koreas (the unresolved state of war) and the construction of a naval base on Jeju island and the increasing miitary build up in the region only intensifies a state of heightened insecurity for the people of Gangjeong, the people of the island of Jeju and the whole country! The construction of the naval base is having a devastating effect on the local community with huge consequences for future peace and stability for the people of Jeju and the entire region! The environmental consequences which have been well documented and are sadly becoming clearly evident are unfortunately lost on or conveniently ignored by the Interantional Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the organizers of the World Conservation Congress (WCC) whose conference this year will be ironically held only 7 km's away from the destruction site! One of the main sponsors of the conference is Samsung which happens to be the lead construction company involved in the 'destruction'! The construction of the naval base and the present land grab being conducted by the navy to provide future accomodation for its personnel and is clearly part of an overall US military strategy of encircling and containment of China and it's growing economic power! 

Beginning on Monday July 30 there will be a 'grand march for peace' in Jeju where up to 10,000 people will walk in solidariy with the villagers and peace activists who have struggled against the Navy's plans to build this base for the last 5 years! Today on the anniversary of the Armistice the Campaign to stop the base will have the Official Seoul launch of the grand march by hosting an event here in Jongkak, Seoul!

Please keep the participants of the 'grand march for peace' in your thoughts and prayers next week! Afterall 'the real and lasting victories are those of peace and not of war'.

...............................................

Prof. Yang Yoon-Mo (who nearly died during two hunger strikes in the past year) was a featured speaker at a Save Jeju rally in downtown Seoul on July 27. He arrived in Seoul after a month long candlelight vigil relay to major cities across South Korea.

Please check: 

http://www.space4peace.blogspot.kr/2012/07/remembering-july-27.html

" July 27 is an important date in Korean history.  It was the day 59 years ago that the Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed between the U.S. and North Korea which ended the fighting in 1953.  It was not a peace treaty but essentially a cease-fire and has yet to be replaced by a permanent settlement."