The government has tried to forcibly take control of the school in Daechuri, Gyeonggi province, using 1,200 police. It sits on the 600 pyeong of land the Korean government is furnishing the U.S. military for a new installation. It is also the final stronghold of civil rights activists and the 300 local residents who refused to leave their land.
Fortunately the police gave up on their attempt and retreated. It was not because they lacked the physical strength. They did so because they just could not trample on the earnest desires of people who want to maintain the land on which they have forged a living for so long.
What about the government that ordered the move? Does it have the slightest idea of the sadness and hardship experienced by people about to be uprooted from their homes? Millions of Koreans were removed from their hometowns over the past century. Some 150,000 were forcibly moved to Manchuria after Japan invaded China, and some 40,000 were taken to Sakhalin. The 170,000 who settled in the Russian Far East because they wanted to avoid colonial exploitation were chased to the plains of Central Asia because of Stalin's policy against minorities. Maybe that was all part of Korea not having its own government. What about now? In a sovereign nation you cannot have the government forcibly moving citizens for a foreign military garrison. Or since Korea has abandoned its cultural sovereignty and independence in the area of foodstuff, is it perhaps not that big a deal?
The government needs to maintain some slight sense of pride. Even if having U.S. troops stationed here is unavoidable and there is no other place for them than Daechuri, the approach should not be to kick out one's own citizens. We need to meditate on this unfortunate situation and find a way to resolve it peacefully, even if it means swallowing tears. We hope to see the government work to persuade the people and not be hasty.
The Hankyoreh, 8 March 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] No Forced Requisition in Daechuri! |
