[Site Fwd: Korea report] Overseas Koreans Call for Peace in Korea

Korea Report
June 2, 2010
Overseas Koreans Call for Peace in Korea

While alternative views of South Korean government's official report on the Cheonan incident are suppressed in South Korea (in the name of national security), alternative voices from overseas Koreans calling for reduction of tensions are coming to fore. The photo above shows a candlelight protest for peace in front of the White House in Washington, DC on May 30 by a group of concerned Koreans in the U.S., which received many encouragements and support from Internet readers in South Korea. Following is the statement from the protest.

Statement Calling for the Revelation of Truth on the Cheonan Incident and Opposing War in the Korean Peninsula

On this year of the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, tensions are rising high in the Korean Peninsula amidst fear of a renewed conflict.

Instead of investigating further for truth on the tragic Cheonan warship sinking incident and taking responsibility for a crisis in national security, the Lee Myung-bak government has instead intensified citizen's anxieties on security and are using this incident as a mean to justify current government's policies and to take advantage on the June 2nd local/regional elections.

The inter-Korean peace structure based on reconciliation and cooperation that had been built for the past ten years has now been abrogated. Instead, tension and animosities between the two sides of Korea have intensified through escalating a war crisis mode using people's fear and anxiety on war. The spirit of inter-Korean co-existence and co-prosperity reflected in the June 15 Joint Korea Declaration and October 4 Inter-Korea Summit, has been relegated to the past Cold War era mentality and confrontation.

Here, we have gathered in a peaceful demonstration calling for the revelation of truth on the Cheonan incident and opposing war in the Korean Peninsula. We have gathered at the White House in Washington, DC to demand the Obama administration not to go along with war hysteria in Korea and to help reveal truth on the Cheonan incident. Furthermore, we are protesting the Lee Myung-bak government's Cold War-like policies and political usage of the Cheonan incident for the local elections.

Our Demands:

1. South Korean government should reveal the complete TOD visual record of the Cheonan sinking.
2. South Korean government should release all communication and navigation records of the Cheonan.
3. South Korean government should reveal the complete ship wreck to independent inspectors and allow independent investigations of the incident by experts.
4. North and South Korea should not engage in any military provocation or activity that will impair peace on the Korean Peninsula.
5. The U.S. should stop antagonistic policy towards North Korea based on confrontation and pursue a policy of engagement and co-existence.

May 30, 2010
Washington, DC
Coalition of Concerned Koreans and Organizations in the U.S

4 comments