The below is the translation of the villagers statement right after the 1st night of 24 hours’ naval base construction and police mobilization in front of the naval base construction gates on Oct. 25. Concern on human rights violation and injuries became clearly realistic on the 1st night. Please see the original Korean script here.
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Press Release
-Without police force, construction cannot be processed. It paradoxically means the Jeju naval base construction is a project of no justice.-
Caisson production has started with the completion of the caisson production site in the naval base construction area of the Gangjeong village. And started as well is the police roughing out of villagers and peacekeepers for the entries of cement mixer trucks to be consumed for caisson production, regularly every hour for the whole 24 hours [on Oct. 25, 2012].
Since the police enforced roughing out people during the night when a range of vision is not perfect, the injured appeared one after one another. Only for last night, total three people were carried by emergency ambulances.
In case of Mr. Kim Hak-Koo, probably because of police’s unaccustomed night sight around at 7:30pm, Oct. 25, the police threw down another victim on his body to the shock of all his body and trampled him down when they passed through to the pain of his waist that made inevitable of people calling an ambulance.
Mr. Kim Hak-Ku is a peace keeper who joined the non-violent human chain protest in front of the explosive company in Donggwang to stop the blast of the Gureombi Rock on March 19. At the time, he got the injury of bone-fracture above the wrist during the process that the police broke the human chain with hammer, which was supervised by Koo Seul-Hwan, Security director of the Seogwipo Police station. He had to endure cure of more than three months’ period, during which wick was planted in his bone.
Also around 11:20pm, Oct. 25, the policewomen carrying Ms. Kim Eun-Hye, a peace keeper, during the process of roughing out people, happened to leave her head so she hit her head to the ground. Even though Kim was losing her consciousness for concussion and her limbs were cramping, the policewomen focused only to rough out her without considering to check her status and to protect her life.
She was eventually discovered by another peacekeeper and carried to an emergency ambulance. Fortunately it was confirmed that her concussion was a light one not harming to her life.
In case of Mr. Park Incheon (peacekeeper) who was carried by an ambulance around 2:30 am, Oct. 26, had been pushed and got the pain in his waist during the process when he protested to the double police roughing out in the already roughed out situation.
Beside the above, there are some people who have been intentionally pushed and fall down by the police even after police rouging out of them. Even though theirs were not developed into injuries, it was the protest site where the police do not keep even the minimum principals when they perform their job with physical force.
Article 3 (Basic principle) The Police, the civil service, should perform duties according to the following basic principles.
1. The mission of Police
The police, the civil service, have their missions that they fully perform loyalty and service for the state and nation, that they protect the citizens’ life, body, and property, and that they maintain public welfare and order.
2. The spirit of the Police
The police as a mandatory of the citizens make a root of their mission with the spirit of fatherland-defense, service, and justice that respect the citizens’ freedom and right in its routine job performance.
In violation of the police mission and spirit stipulated in the police public service regulation, the police are bringing the result of respecting the rights and interests of the contracted companies above the citizens’ freedom, right, life and body.
Without police force, construction (destruction) cannot be processed. It paradoxically means the Jeju naval base construction (destruction) is a project of no justice.
During the National Assembly inspection on the government offices, this time, proofs on the illegal approval disposals [on the naval base project] and serious flaws in the base design have been exposed again. Further the base design has been done for the entries of the US nuclear aircraft carrier and submarines by the demand of the Commander, US Navy Forces of Korea. And numerous questions have been raised on the necessity of the project. Still Lim Suk-Kyu, the Jeju support policy director of the Prime Minister Office stated on Oct. 25 that the Government would only enforce construction after the dissipated Government joint presentation on the local development plan in relation to the Jeju naval base project.
There is no nation that makes a long life by oppressing citizens. We strictly warn again to the Government of Lee Myung Bak who is at the end of his term of the Presidential Office, to revoke the Jeju naval base project. Only in that way, it would no more commit crimes in the history.
Oct. 26, 2012
The Gangjeong Village Association