CINA

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No comment! (^^)

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To mark the the 100th anniversary of founding father Kim Il-sung's birth, Kim Jong-eun - the world's youngest but most sophisticated statesman (sic) - has scheduled the spectacular launch of an earth observation satellite that will present the world with a spatial chorus of "The Song of Marshal Kim Il-sung"...

No, that's not a satire or a knee-slapper, but the latest genuine concoction by Kim Myeong-cheol (aka the "unofficial" spokesman of the DPRK), published in yesterday's Asia Times Online(HK) under the title "North Korea Launches Satellite of Love"! Just read & enjoy(^^) it and have a restful weekend!!

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In the report (No Naval Base on Jeju!/facebook) about yesterday's devastating developments on Gureombi we'd to read the following: "Cruel and biggest blasts happened... Blockades all over the village…Villagers and activists did their best but could not stop the tragedy… Crying for the Gureombi Rock... Time for all to fight against it whether through action, media, protest, rally all over the world… NOW!"

 
While the Navy and the Construction Mafia are trying anything to create precedents (i.e. they want to destroy Gureombi rockbed as soon as possible, "optimally" before next month's general election), the current resistance tactic - as far as I can see - is failing.

Despite daily street protests, blockades and courageous (nonviolent "guerilla"-style) actions by few groups of determined activists, the blasting of Gureombi - now since 16 days - goes on. And it still goes on... almost uninterrupted!!

Sorry for my dark thoughts!! And, of course, that's a far cry from saying that the struggle is already lost!! We just need to evaluate...

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For more info (program etc.) please check out:
http://www.sidof.org

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1.) Today's latest news from the "frontline":

There were no blasts despite earlier notifications. One activist who had his wrist broken yesterday trying to block the passage of explosives is back in Gangjeong and is wearing a cast. There was a protest in front of the Jeju Provincial Government today to urge the Governor to sign an immediate halt to all construction.

 
But there was no decision. An answer is expected on Thursday. In the very early morning several activists including a group of international faith leaders made there way to Gureombi, just outside of the construction site and stayed their all day...  

2.) Today's Hankyoreh has an impressive report about yesterday's developments:

The blasting of Gureombi bedrock, a symbol of the campaign opposing the construction of a naval base in Jeju Island, has begun.

Daelim Industries(i.e. Daelim Construction MAFIA!!), a company working on the base’s construction, carried out blasts by surprise in the afternoon of March 19. The Navy and the construction companies have been blasting the rocky shore since March 7, but these were the first explosions on Gureombi’s bedrock.

Daerim carried out two blasts at Multeojingae rock at 6:05 pm. Earlier, the Navy began to blast in an area 50m away from Gureombi Rock to prepare the site for the production of caissons, concrete structures which are used to construct bulwark. Originally Gureombi rock blasting was expected to take place on March 20.

The Navy started the blasting one day before a before a hearing was to be held by Jeju Provincial Government, which had been seeking to halt construction.

Earlier, activists opposing the construction responded to news of the imminent blasting effort Monday by briefly blocking the transportation of explosives. But police intervened, rounding up a number of activists and injuring some while breaking the PVC pipes they used to form a human chain. This response, which also included the chasing off of reporters, triggered an outcry from critics who called it excessive force.

At about 5:10am Monday, around thirty people, including a 31-year-old female activist identified as Lee, used five vehicles to block access to “J” storehouse in Seogwipo’s Andeok township, where explosives are being stored for the Gureomi Rock coastal blasting effort. Around ten of them linked arms within PVC pipes measuring one meter in length and 20 cm in diameter to form a human chain, blocking the movement of vehicles transporting powder.

Police sent around 100 officers to the scene at about 9:30 am, where they clashed with activists for over an hour. They attempted to arrest the activists on charges of obstruction of operations. The officers used hammers to smash the pipes, resulting in injuries to the hands and wrists of some activists.

Police also prevented coverage at the scene by reporters from the Hankyoreh, Yonhap News, and local Jeju internet media, grabbing them by the collar and chasing them away even after they showed identification and press armbands. Seo Seon-yeong, an attorney with Lawyers for a Democratic Society, showed identification and demanded to be allowed into the ring of police to monitor for human rights abuses, but her request was refused by police.

Transportation of explosives resumed Monday after police towed away three activist vehicles and took ten activists to Seogwipo Police Station, accusing them of obstructing operations. The construction companies continued blasting at the inland caisson production area within the construction site Monday afternoon, and the seabed was leveled using marine dredges...    

   http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/524293.html   

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1.) Urgent appeal from Gangjeong village/Jeju Island (March 19, 2012):

Emergency! Massive blasting Begun on Gureombi!
 

Now is the time for Rage!

Now is the time for action!

 
The blasting of Gureombi was scheduled to begin tomorrow, the 20th. But the deceptive cowards have begun today.

At 5:55 p.m. blasts were made twice in the water off the coast of Gureombi. Then at 6:05 p.m. they blasted Gureombi about 100 meters east of the Gangjeong Port.
 

Everyone please mobilize in anyway that you can. Come to Jeju, tell your friends, family, anyone about Jeju. Invite them to Jeju. Call your contacts, call the press, call organizations, call your enemies. Do Something now! PLEASE!
 

2.) Latest news/developments from the "frontline" in Gangjeong village via Weekly appeal of 19th March 2012:
 

Stop blasting the Gureombi Rock! Stop the violation of human rights!
 

On March 15th 2012, Benjamin Monnet, a dedicated French peace activist who has been active in Gangjeong for 9 months now, was forcibly deported by the Korean Government. An injunction order was issued against him and he was deported within 24 hours despite a legal suite that had been filed immediately. Angie Zelter, a British nuclear disarmament activist and Trident Ploughshares founder was issued with an exit order for her involvement in the same struggle against the naval base despite charges against her that she has not been able to defend in the courts. Currently, there are three political prisoners against the Jeju naval base: Fr. Kim Jeong-Wook and Rev. Lee Jeong-Hoon (arrested on March 9) and Yang Yoon-Mo (arrested on Jan. 30). Yang Yoon-Mo arrested for obstructing a construction truck has been on a hunger strike for nearly 40 days now, and is experiencing heart problems.
 

On March 14, Elliott Adams, Tarak Kauff and Mike Hastie, all members of the U.S. group, Veterans for Peace, were either taken from the plane to Jeju or not allowed to leave the Jeju airport. One of them was detained in the airport, Seoul, for nearly 6 hours. The members of the Veterans for Peace protested at the South Korean Consulate in New York City, on March 16 once they arrived back home.

 
Today, 19th March, young protesters who tried to block explosives from leaving the factory had their arm tubes hammered open causing severe shock and injuries. 2 of those 10 arrested have been hospitalised.

 
The blasting of “Gureombi Rock” has continued 4 to 6 times each day since March 7th. Gangeong village representatives met Korean high-ranking government officials who visited Jeju on March 16th. The government officers stated they would continue to enforce the construction and ignored the villagers’ passionate appeals to save their home from the naval base. The government officials also rejected the demand made by the Island Government, Island Council and Jeju-based ruling and opposition party members for a temporary delay to the construction whilst the plans are re-evaluated.
 

Samsung, the main navy-contracted company, along with Daelim, plans to go ahead on March 20th with the blasting of the exposed rocks on Gureombi (not merely blasting around the edges which is what they have been doing the last few days). Please take some time to write protest letters to the government, navy base planners and contractors to stop the blasting, construction work and the violation of human rights.
 

Please find addresses at:
-> https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:33867.7483820829/rid:c5c744865a7b372e77e36ea5fb216220

-> http://www.secc.co.kr/eng/html/customer/contactus.asp  (Samsung C & T)
 

Please write a letter to Woo Keun-Min, Island governor, to ‘command’ the construction work to stop; to revoke the navy license for reclamation of the coast and sea of the base project area; and to recover the absolute preservation area which was annulled for the naval base project through undemocratic procedures in 2009. This will really help to stop the ongoing destruction being caused by the naval base project.
 

-> Mr. Woo Keun-Min, Jeju Island Governor, kmj5369@jeju.go.kr or jejumaster@jeju.go.kr
 

Please also consider to sign the petitions on Avaaz (http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_jeju/?vl) and to distribute this letter among your networks.

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1.) Some good news: After today's "investigation" on Angie Zelter by Immigration officers, she was released this afternoon(KST). But the Immigration Office gave her the order to leave the country "as planned"(finally it means no FORCED DEPORTATION!!)...
 

And the peace activist Kim Se-ri ("Police also sought a warrant for a South Korean activist, only known by the family name Kim, on charges of obstructing police executing their duties during protests along with Monnet on Monday..." Yonhap, 3.14) will also be released soon! Her lawyer just sent a message that the court dismissed the arrest warrants against her today. She is taken of release procedure and will be embraced by the village tonight...

2.) According to an info on "No Naval Base on Jeju"(facebook), the French activist Benjamin "Benji" Monnet - currently in Hwaseong Deportation Deportation Center(Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul) - went on hungerstrike. As far as I know, members Democratic Lawyers’ Association are trying their best to get him out of Hwaseong...

3.) Today in the morning(CET) I got the following information by e-mail: "We've just learned that the three Veterans For Peace members who arrived in Jeju Island, South Korea today were denied entry into the country.  Tarak Kauff, Elliott Adams, and Mike Hastie were met by South Korean authorities when they landed on Jeju Island via Shanghai, China.  The South Korean authorities had a photo of each of them in their hands and told them they would not be allowed to enter Jeju Island.  They were instead taken and put on a plane back to Shanghai..."

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Today in the morning(CET) I'd the following 'conversation' with a comrade who is an activist on the 'frontline' of the anti-naval base struggle on Jeju Island/Gangjeong Village: -> "shit! benj and angie will banished" ->(my reply) "do you mean deported?" -> yeah ->(my reply) f*ck!! -> they're in Immigration now & i think they'll deported tomorrow...

 "Benji" in action, a few days ago...

And only one hour ago we got the following info via "No Naval Base on Jeju!"(facebook):
 

EMERGENCY!!!!!!!

 
Deportation and Violation of Human Rights of Foreign Activists in Jeju.
 

Please spread this information which is a clear violation of the human rights against the foreign activists in Jeju.
 

15 minutes ago, Benjamin Mannet (Benji) the Jeju Immigration Office and sent to Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center in Hwaseong city in Gyeonggi-do province on the mainland.

He is still wearing his wet suit and has not been allowed to change since his arrest. Additionally, even though it is now 9 p.m. he also was not given any dinner before being sent away.

The order has been given for his deportation from Korea. After he arrives in Hwaseong he will be deported.

 
His lawyer is currently filing and objection regarding his human rights and against his deportation.
 

Angie Zelter is currently still in the Jeju Immigration Office and there is no update on her status.

 
More information will come when it is available. Please spread this information wherever you can.
 

EMERGENCY!!!!
 
 

 Angie Zelter protesting against...

Related articles:
☞ Police seek first arrest warrants for foreigners in naval base protests (Yonhap, 3.14)
☞ Arrest warrants sought for 2 foreign protestors on Jeju (K. Times, 3.14)
☞ 이명박 정부, 구럼비 지키던 '노벨평화상 후보' 강제추방한다 (VOP, 3.14)

 

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Media Today ("미디어오늘", 3.13) reports that for the fourth year straight, S. Korea has made Reporters Without Borders’(RSF/Reporters sans frontières) list of "Enemies of the Internet" as a nation under surveillance...

Read the RSF report in its entirety here. Not that it will surprise you. Here’s just the conclusion:

The National Security Law in particular, which is now too outdated to deal with the extent to which South Korean has evolved since then and embraced democratic ideals, should be revised or abolished as soon as possible so that the most connected country in the world can stop engaging in outdated and ineffective censorship and allow its citizens to form their own opinions about the futility of North Korean propaganda and freely criticize their political leaders online.
 

Related article:
☞ 한국 4년 연속 ‘인터넷 감시국’ 불명예 (미디어오늘, 3.13)