[Editorial] When 'Dialogue' Means 'Deception and Threats'

On April 7 the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced it would engage in dialogue with residents of Daechu-ri, in the city of Pyeongtaek, who are resisting forced removal from their places or residence. This is the MND that unilaterally decided the area would be the location of a new United States military installation, and then never had any real dialogue with the people living there once the government invoked eminent domain to remove them. It relied on hired hands and the physical strength of the police to get the job done, and subsequently there were repeated clashes with citizens there. Its change of attitude, given the situation, was something you should have been able to have high hopes in.

Not twenty days later, however, it has again informed people in the school there that they are going to be forcibly removed. It said it is going to charge them the W180 million it will take to have them gone. It is threatening them by saying it will designate the spot a "military protected area," even though it doesn't contain any military facilities. In the meantime it has not once offered to engage in official dialogue, nor has it responded to residents' demands. On the surface it says it wants dialogue, but in actuality it has pursued "war."

The reason winning the agreement of local residents is of the greatest priority is not just because land people have lived on for ages is being taken away from them, but because the U.S. military which is about to be stationed there maintains the attitude that it is ready to engage in war on the Korean peninsula, including with a preemptive strike. This is a military that could get involved not only in an emergency on the peninsula. It could also turn the peninsula into an international war zone if it gets involved in incidents in Northeast and Southeast Asia. Such concerns also need resolution.

There is discussion regarding the reorganization of U.S. forces in Japan as well. There the government has gotten involved and accommodated citizens' demands and had bases reduced or modified. Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi emphasizes the need for dialogue, saying he will continue to talk to local residents and get directly involved in persuading them should need be. Reportedly, plans to move the air facility at Futenma, in Okinawa, has seen no less than three revisions because of local opposition to previous ones. That is in sharp contrast to our government, which still pushes ahead unconditionally, now just as it always has, when the U.S. military makes demands.

The Hankyoreh, 25 April 2006.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]