Photos Fwd:[Press Interview on Sept. 9, 2010] No Sanction on Iran!

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* To see the Korean statement, click HERE, HERE, or HERE
국문 성명은 여기, 여기 또는 여기를 클릭

이명박 정부의 이란 독자 제재 발표에 즈음한 기자회견문
:미국 강요에 따라 국익 외면하고 이란 독자 제재에 나선 이명박 정권의 사대주의적 한미동맹 몰입 외교를 강력히 규탄한다!
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* All the image source: Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea on Sept.9, 2010

Press interview
Against the Lee Myung-Bak government’s announcement
of the independent sanction on Iran

We strongly denounce the Lee Myung-Bak government’s toadyish absorbtion ROK-US alliance,
who ignoring the national interests following the enforcement by the United States, entered the independent sanction against Iran!

In front of the government complex building, Seoul
11am, Sept. 9, 2010

Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea; Association of the Representatives of the University Students for the Democracy, Self-Reliance & Unification; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, and Revolution 4.19; Living with Jejus; and Korean Alliance for Progressive Movements

No participation in the Sanction on Iran,
Which is for the United States dominance in the Middle East!

No participation in the Sanction on Iran,
Which is for the United States dominance in the Middle East! (SPARK)
In front of the United States embassy

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* Related articles:

Hankyoreh
South Korean government walking a tightrope over Iran sanctions
: Ministries have issued differing interpretations of the sanctions based on their respective relations with the U.S. and Iran
Posted on : Sep.9,2010

EXCERPTS

A high-ranking MOFAT official said, “The announcement was of independent measures reflecting the most South Korea could do after comprehensively judging the U.N. Security Council resolution decision and advisories.”

A high-ranking Ministry of Strategy and Finance official, however, said, “The measures were to execute the U.N. Security Council resolution.”

[...]

Why does this division exist? It could be interpreted as a reflection of the differing position of the Foreign Ministry, which prioritizes the United States, which is encouraging the strengthening of international sanctions on Iran, and the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, which prioritizes oil imports and economic cooperation with Iran. This is also the fault of the government pursuing the realistically impossible goal of maintaining economic ties with Iran even after accepting the U.S. request to place sanctions on Tehran.
The Peace Building Center of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) has criticized the sanctions as signifying the general bankruptcy of the Lee administration‘s foreign policy by having a debilitating effect on security and fatally harming the economy, despite security and economics being the two axis of the global diplomacy espoused by the government.



Hankyoreh
Foreign ministry announces sanctions on Iran
The impact on exports and contracts worth an extimated $10 billion remains difficult to predict
Sept. 9, 2010

EXCERPTS:

The South Korean government announced comprehensive sanctions against Iran on Wednesday in the areas of finance, trade, transportation, and energy. The sanctions are in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1929 on Sanctions Against Iran. This includes the designation of 102 Iranian groups and organizations, including the Revolutionary Guard, Iran Shipping Lines, and Bank Mellat, and 24 individuals as subject to financial sanctions. In the case of the Seoul branch of Bank Mellat, which had been the focus of most attention, the government announced plans to suspend its operations for two months on the basis of violations of the Foreign Exchange Control Act.

[...]

In an interview Sunday with Iran‘s state-run IRNA news agency, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said, “Countries that join in league with the club of nations applying sanctions against Iran will lose the opportunity to use Iran’s great potential to their advantage.”