'저는 그들의 땅을 지키기 위하여 싸웠던 인디안들의 이야기를 기억합니다. 백인들이 그들의 신성한 숲에 도로를 만들기 위하여 나무들을 잘랐습니다. 매일밤 인디안들이 나가서 백인들이 만든 그 길을 해체하면 그 다음 날 백인들이 와서 도로를 다시 짓곤 했습니다. 한동안 그 것이 반복되었습니다. 그러던 어느날, 숲에서 가장 큰 나무가 백인들이 일할 동안 그들 머리 위로 떨어져 말과 마차들을 파괴하고 그들 중 몇몇을 죽였습니다. 그러자 백인들은 떠났고 결코 다시 오지 않았습니다….' (브루스 개그논)





For any updates on the struggle against the Jeju naval base, please go to savejejunow.org and facebook no naval base on Jeju. The facebook provides latest updates.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Text Fwd: USFK Tyranny in Pyeongtaek; Entertainment businesses subject to armed crackdowns by US military police

http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201105111228037&code=710100
USFK Tyranny in Pyeongtaek; Entertainment businesses subject to armed crackdowns by US military police
Posted on : 2011-05-11

Burwell Bell, Commander of US Forces Korea, delivers a speech marking the launching of construction for Pyongtaek military base for US Forces Korea at Daichuri, Pangsungup, Pyongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Nov 13, 2007. US Forces Korea stationed in Pyongtaek is effectively exercising "the right to crack down on and punish" foreigner-only entertainment businesses, thus igniting Koreans' criticisms of their "tyranny." (File photo by Yonhap News, Caption by Seol Wontai )

It has emerged that United States Forces Korea (USFK) in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, is effectively exercising “the right to crack down on and punish” foreigner-only entertainment businesses.

USFK is exercising thorough control in the fields of health, hygiene and public order. This includes entry by armed US military police into entertainment establishments and demands that employees present proof of identity.

Based on crackdowns, USFK is indiscriminately declaring “off limits” measures that effectively amount to suspension of business. According to entertainment businesses, 33 out of 40 establishments have been declared off limits or received warnings in the last five years.

Crackdowns by armed US military police

News of crackdowns was first revealed by the Kyunghyang Shinmun on May 10, after the newspaper acquired “an official document sent by the commander of ‘Base X’ of the Unites States Air Force in Pyeongtaek to the owner of a nearby entertainment business, by the name of Choe.”

The document states that USFK declared Choe’s business “off limits” to USFK personnel twice: once in June 2009 and once on January 21 this year. The reason stated for this was that the establishment allowed “bar fines” (female employees who receive alcohol from USFK personnel) and employed foreign workers in possession of “E-6” (entertainment) visas.

USFK stated in the documents that [a foreign female employee at the establishment] had refused to present her ID when requested to do so by patrolling USFK military police personnel, and that, having considered the circumstances, USFK had concluded that the establishment was in violation of the agreement not to employ Filipino women. This, the document said, was USFK’s reason for declaring the bar “indefinitely” off-limits.

This is not an isolated case. According to Pyeongtaek people’s Solidarity for participation and Autonomy (PPSPA) and the Songtan branch of the Korea Foreigner Tourist Association, the US military has declared 33 out of 40 US military-only establishments off limits since 2005.

From 1992, USFK controlled such businesses arbitrarily, according to a type of agreement reached with Pyeongtaek city authorities. When official documents upon which “off limits” measures were based were made public and caused a scandal in 2005 (as reported on the front page of the Kyunghyang Shinmun on March 31, 2005), this agreement was abolished.


Regulations not contained within SOFA

Even since then, however, USFK has been running a system of parallel crackdowns and punishment of businesses close to bases, by communicating regulations and guidelines orally and sending armed military police on patrol.

Under the pretext of protecting its own citizens, USFK has been creating irrational regulations that are not found within the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Korea and the US, and arbitrarily exercising what amounts to a right to carry out crackdowns.

Entertainment establishments have protested, saying, “For businesses that operate exclusively for foreigners, being declared ‘off-limits’ is a punishment equivalent to suspension of business. There are 500 more establishments that would effectively go out of business if US military personnel did not visit them.”

Despite the circumstances, however, Pyeongtaek city authorities are refusing to consider remedial measures or even look into what disadvantages are being incurred by the businesses in question. An association for Korea-US cooperation, created to aid conflict resolution between the two countries and headed jointly by the mayor of Pyeongtaek and the local USFK base commander, is also proving ineffective.

Civic groups including the PPSPA plan to hold a press conference on May 12 in front of the main gate of Base X and call for the off limits measures to be lifted. (News, The Kyunghyang Daily News. May 11, 2011. Reported by Choi In-jin; Translated by Ben Jackson. )

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