Video & Text Fwd: Video/Text: Libyan U.S.-Led Coalition Cluster Bomb

Stop NATO
RT
Libyan US-led coalition clusterbomb
March 25, 2011


AFP Photo / Eric Feferberg

Operation Odyssey Dawn struck with quick might. France and Britain campaigned for the military offensive into Libya, but it was America that led the way.

In six days, the US-led coalition has fired hundreds of Tomahawk missiles against Muammar Gadhafi’s tanks, compounds and Libyan air defenses.

Nearly one week after waging war, no country has been able to clarify a clear goal or exit strategy for Libya. US and Western allies sold the humanitarian intervention as a means of protecting Libyan civilians from Gadhafi’s firepower, but coalition strikes are now being blamed for mounting casualties.

"We have not choices. Only victory or death. We have no other reason to live,” said a Libyan woman whose relative was killed in the crossfire.

There is also little sign of anti-Gaddhafi forces gaining much traction with only a few government forces switching sides.

“They are randomly shooting. They are killing a lot of people and civilians. The Americans, the Brits and French,” said a Gaddhafi supporter.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama said the US will soon hand over control of the mission.

Question is, to whom?

As for the 22 Arab countries that pushed for the no-fly zone, their militaries are nowhere to be found. Only Qatar put up a handful of warplanes while being prohibited from flying too close to Libya.
....
With the cost of this odyssey at a reported $100 million per day, US lawmakers want some answers.

"We would've asked, what is the intelligence that we have. When Secretary Gates leads us to believe he doesn't know plan ‘B’. We would've pursued that," said US Congressman, Charles Rangel.

Just last month, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates publicly opposed American military intervention in Libya.A third US war he’s now forced to defend.

"This command and control business is complicated, and we haven’t done something like this kind ‘of on the fly’ before … so it’s not surprising to me that it would take a few days to get it all sorted out," said US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Also hard to sort out is US Senator John McCain’s position on Libya.The Republican has repeatedly called for Gadhafi’s removal in recent months.

“He has American blood on his hand because he was responsible for the bombing of Pan Am 103,” said US Senator John McCain.

Yet just 18-months ago, McCain flew to shake hands with the Libyan leader and peddling American military equipment.

Tripoli peddling American military equipment and shaking hands with the Libyan leader and his son "We intend to do everything we can to ensure relations between our countries deepen," said McCain.

Today, the rift between Libya and US couldn’t be further apart as Gadhafi has vowed to fight fire with fire.

In the short term, we will beat them. In the long term, we will beat them," said Gadhafi.
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Video & Some texts Fwd: [SPARK] The defense budget should be cut! 국방 예산 감축되어야

* Image source: same as the link

- The defense budget cut is the will of people who judged the [Lee Myung Bak government’s] hunting North Korea with the pretext of Cheonan ship [incident]!
- People-friendly welfare budget is a lie without cutting the wasteful defense budget!
- “Just society” without the cut of the illegal defense budget is a fair but empty phrase!
- It is time to reduce military budget not to build war power!
_______________________________________________________
* Related blog

Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Photos Fwd: [SPARK] The National Assembly should cut the defense budget and expand the public welfare budget!
국회는 국방 예산을 삭감하고 복지 예산을 늘려야
________________________________________________________
* The SPARK uploaded the report on its recent Peace Disarmament rally on Oct. 26, 2010. You can see some photos and video, HERE. Some translated excerpts can be seen underneath the below video.
________________________________________________________

관련 국문 기사는 여기를 가세요.
[평통사]106차 평화군축집회
국회는 국방예산 삭감하고 민생복지예산 확충에 나서라!
2010. 10. 26(화) 낮 12시/여의도 국회 국민은행 앞
________________________________________________________
* Video source: Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea



_________________________________________________________

_ 평통사와 민주노총, 진보신당등이 국회 국민은행 앞에서 군비축소와 민생복지예산 확충을 촉구하는 106차 평화군축집회를 진행하였습니다.

_ Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea (SPARK), Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and New Progressive Party, Democratic Labor party etc. held the 106th peace Disarmament rally that demanded the reduction of military budget and expansion of welfare budget, in front of the Kook-Min bank near the National Assembly, [on Oct. 26, 2010].

_ 10월 25일 부터 2011년도 국방예산에 대한 국회 심의가 시작됩니다. 2011년도 국방예산 요구안은 올해 29조 5,627억 보다 5.8%증액된 31조 2,795억입니다. 국방예산이 30조를 넘어선 것은 사상 처음입니다.

_ The National Assembly review on the 2011 defense budget began on Oct. 25. The 2011 defense budget proposes 31 trillion 279.5 billion won (* about $ 27 billion), that is 5.8 % increment from 29 trillion 562.7 billion (* about $ 25 billion), this year. It is for the first time that the ROK defense budget went over 30 trillion won.

_ 오혜란 평통사 평화군축팀 팀장은 “이명박 대통령이 예산안 시정연설에서 2011년도 예산안의 특징을 ‘공정사회’,‘서민희망/미래대비예산’이라고 주장했는데, 이는 말뿐이다. 방위비분담금 중 연합방위력증강사업비의 경우는 예산편성의 법적근거가 없는데도 312억원이나 편성되었다.

_ Oh Hye-Ran, director of Peace Disarmament said, “Even though Lee Myung-Bak government claimed that the 2011 budget featured ‘just society,’ ‘hope and future-readiness for citizen,’ they are only words. The budget for the Combined Defense Improvement Project (CDIP) among the defense-sharing budget, was estimated even as 31.2 billion won (* about $27 million), even if it has no legal basis.

_최창준 민주노동당 자주평화통일위원장은….지금은 MD, PSI참여 국방비 인상등 전쟁을 준비하는 것이 아니라 금강산 관광 재개, 대북 쌀지원, 하나로 건강보험등 평화와 복지에 예산을 사용해야한다."

_Choi, Chang-Joon, Chairman of the Self-reliance, Peace & Unification Committee, Democratic Labor Party said… “Now is not the time to prepare war such as increment of the defense budget by joining MD & PSI, but the time to use the budget for peace & welfare such as the resumption of the Geumgang Mt. trip [in N.K], rice support for N. Korea and Hanaro health care.

-안병순 공무원 노조 교육위원장은…[이명박] 파탄의 위기를 국민적 분노로 연결시켜 전쟁비용예산은 계속 감축시켜 평화유지비용으로, 서민복지비용으로 전환시켜야 한다."

- Ahn Byung-Soon, Education Director of the government workers’ union said, “ We should connect the crisis of Lee Myung-Bak government to people’s rage, continuously reduce the war cost budget and [convert it] to peace maintenance cost and commons’ welfare budget.

_조승현 부장은 "확산탄과 대인지뢰는 국제적으로 모두 금지되어있는 무기로써 그 피해대상이 대부분 민간인이다라는 공통점을 가지고 있다. 대인지뢰에 경우 2000년도 이후에 47명이 민간인이 죽거나 다쳤다.'세계에서 가장 넓은 지뢰밭의 고향' 이라는 말은 미국 도시사전 사이트에 KOREA를 넣으면 첫 줄에 나오는 문구다. 한반도가 확산탄과 대인지뢰에 의해서 대량으로 피해를 입을수 있는 지역이다."

_Cho Seung-Hyun, staff of the Peace Disarmament team said, “The Cluster Bomb Unit(CBU) and anti-personal mine is all internationally prohibited and have the common character that the targets of their damage are mostly civilians. In case of anti-personal mine, 47 civilians were killed or wounded since 2000. ‘The home of the largest mine field in the world,’ is the phrase that comes in the first line when you type the word, “KOREA’ in the city dictionary site, United Sates. The Korean peninsula is the region that can be enormously harmed by the Cluster bomb units and anti-personnel mine,”

_흡수통일을 추구하는 이명박 정부 하에서의 국방비 증액은 대북 방어가 아닌 선제공격과 침략, 무력흡수통일을 위한 한미연합전력구축에 그 목적이 있는 만큼, 국방비 삭감투쟁은 이명박 정권의 기반을 허물고 평화와 통일, 복지로 나아가는 전제를 마련하는 투쟁이라는 의의를 갖습니다.

_As the increment of the defense budget under the Lee Myung-Bak government who pursues the absorbing unification is not for the defense against North Korea but for the preemptive strike, invasion, and establishment of the ROK-US combined war power for the absorbing unification by military power, the struggle for the defense cut has the meaning that it tears back the base of the Lee Myung-Bak regime and prepare for the premise for the peace, unification, and welfare.

[국문] Press Release: [2010 Peace Disarmament Expo] Let’s Talk on Peace Now! 보도자료 [2010 평화군축박람회] 지금, 평화를 이야기하자!

이미지를 클릭하시면 확대됩니다.

* Image source: Peace Network평화 넷트 워크

* The below is the press release on the Peace Disarmament Expo during Oct. 2 to 2, 2010, by many Korean peace Organizations. Ms. Kim Hee-Soon, Center for Peace Disarmament, PSPD sent the below on Sept. 30. Sorry that it is only Korean now.

* 아래의 보도 자료는 2010년 9월 30일 참여 연대 김희순 님 보냄.
* 더 자세한 내용은 여기, 여기, 또는 여기를 클릭

보도자료 [2010 평화군축박람회] 지금, 평화를 이야기하자
2010년 10월 2일 ~ 3일 (토, 일) 조계사 앞마당

1. 14개 평화 및 불교단체로 구성된 2010 평화군축박람회 준비위원회(이하 박람회준비위)는 세계에서 일어나는 무장갈등과 군비확장에 대한 시민사회의 우려, 평화공존을 향한 시민 대안과 상상력을 시민들과 함께 나누는 「2010 평화군축박람회 지금, 평화를 이야기하자」(10/2~10/3, 조계사 앞마당)를 개최합니다.

2. 미국의 이라크와 아프간 전쟁 비용은 1조 달러가 넘는 것으로 추산됩니다. 세계금융위기 이후 국제금융기구가 조성한 긴급융자재원 총액(9,850억 달러)보다 많은 돈입니다. 전 세계가 보유한 핵무기는 10,000개 이상입니다. 이는 지구를 수십 번 파괴할 양이지만 지금도 핵무기 생산 금지 및 핵군축을 위한 국제조약조차 합의하지 못하고 있습니다. 남한의 국방비는 북한의 GDP(국내총생산) 수준에 육박하지만 여전히 국방비는 증가하고 있습니다. 한국은 대표적 비인도적 무기 집속탄 수출국입니다. 분쟁지역으로 수출된 집속탄은 수백 개의 작은 폭탄으로 흩어져 무고한 민간인과 아이들의 목숨을 빼앗고 있습니다. 한국정부는 방위산업을 국가전력산업으로 육성하고 국방비 지출을 늘리고 있으며 방위산업박람회, 에어쇼, 대규모 국군의 날 행사 등을 대규모로 개최해오고 있습니다. 그러나 이러한 무기들의 살상력, 파괴력, 공격력이 야기할 수 문제점, 비인도성에 대한 검토나 사회적 토론은 이루어지지 않고 있습니다.

3. 이에 평화군축박람회는 군비축소와 평화를 위한 투자로 정부의 정책 우선순위를 변화시킬 것을 촉구하는 시민의 목소리를 연결하고 모아낼 계기와 공간을 마련하고자 합니다. 평화군축박람회에는 한반도를 포함해 동북아시아의 군사적 긴장과 대결을 고조시키는 14 분야의 문제점을 지적하고 대안을 제시하는 60여 점의 판넬을 전시하는 《전시마당》을 엽니다. 전시마당은 <몹쓸무기, 나쁜무기, 비싼무기展>, <한반도 평화와 군축을 위한 시민제안展>으로 구성되어 있습니다. 길거리에서 이야기하는 평화 《강연마당》, 세계 각국에서 끊임없이 이어지는 평화운동의 모습을 담은 짧은 영상 및 「멈추지 않는 대량학살 : 대인지뢰」를 상영하는 《영상마당》, 직접 그리고 만들고 읽으면서 평화감수성을 키워하는 《체험마당》이 준비되어 있습니다. 그리고 저녁에 열리는 《공연마당》은 「원자폭탄」 영화영상여과 원폭피해자 2세와의 대화(토), 왁자지껄 문화제(일)를 즐길 수 있습니다.

4. 이번 조계사 앞마당에서 열리는 평화군축박람회는 끝이 아니라 시작입니다. 국회를 비롯하여 전국 각지에서 박람회 전시를 통해 박람회 취지 공감대를 확대하는 동시에 관련 정책 모니터링을 지속할 계획입니다.

5. 2010 평화군축박람회 세부 프로그램은 다음과 같습니다.

더 많은 보기는 여기 클릭

Photo Fwd: Stop Rain of Death, Cluster Bombs

* All the image source: Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea, July 29, 2010

No Missile Defense, No Cluster Bombs!

No arms race in the North East Asia!! No MD!(SPARK)

No Poongsan, cluster munitions production & export company! (SPARK)
Remove the non-humanitarian cluster munitions, weapons of mass destruction! (SPARK)

Join the Convention on Cluster Munitions! (SPARK)
No MD that makes China enemy! (SPARK)
Stop the plan to join the MD (SPARK)
Stop the HHOP (Humphreys Housing Opportunity Program)) construction business
that makes the USFK as the invasive forces to overseas! (SPARK)
(* The HHOP here concretely means rental housing for the USFK and their families, Pyeongteak)

'South Korea, join the Convention on Cluster Munitions! (SPARK)'

South Korea, join the Convention on Cluster Munitions! (SPARK)


* SPARK means Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea

* Below is rough translation from the SPARK site.

[98th SPARK Peace Disarmament Rally for the abolishment of the cluster munitions and for joining of the convention on the cluster munitions]
: Simultaneous actions for the abolishment of the cluster munitions in front of the Defense Department, Poongsan headquarter (Seoul), and Angang factory of Poongsan (Kyungjoo)

Noon, Feb. 23 (Tuesday), 2010
Place: In front of the civil service consultation center, Ministry of the National Defense dept.


1. Cluster munitions of which a big bomb contains the small bombs, from 2~3 at least to 2,000 at most, and that bursts by spreading those, are the weapon that indiscriminately scorch the vast areas and an anti-humanitarian weapons, to the degree that 98% of the killed by them are the civilian.

2. Even though South Korea is one of the representing cluster production and export countries, she has not joined the Convention on the Cluster Munitions. And at least $80.8 billion won budget[about $ 76 million] of the cluster munitions [for storage] is included in 2010 defense budget.

3. Hanwha is exporting 2.75 inch MPSM (Multi-Purpose Sub-Munition) that is jettisoned from the helicopter or aircraft, while Poongsan is producing, selling and exporting the 155mm Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DP-ICM) that is used by K-9 self-propelled gun. The South Korean cluster munitions production companies of Hanhwa and Poongsan are becoming the targets of the international denouncement as those are designated as the ‘companies for investment ban’, each in Dec. 2006 and Jan. 2008, by the Norwegian GPDC whose motto is the ethical investment.’

4. On Feb. 23, Tuesday, the SPARK [did] the 98th SPARK Peace Disarmament Rally; for the abolishment of the cluster munitions; for urging the South Korean government to join the convention on the cluster munitions; for stopping the negotiation to join the US MD system; and for urging to stop the permission on posing and conditional use of the rental housing for the USFK families (The cost for that illegal practice would be from South Korean people’s bloody tax]. The SPARK [has also done] one-man protest simultaneously in front of the Poongsan headquarter, Angang factory of the Poongsan.


Peace Disarmamnet team, SPARK


The endorsers

Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea
Sharing Culture
All Together
Share Culture of the University Students
And New Progressive Party


* There are other organizations who actively protest against the Cluster munitions, as well. Please see HERE.

Photo Fwd: Afghans Protest NATO's Killing Of Children, Other Civilians

* Image source/ caption:Press TV
'Afghan civilian death prompts anti-US rallies
Thu, 31 Dec 2009'

* Image source/ caption: TVNZ News

'Source: Reuters:
'Afghan protest the killing of 10 civilians, most of them teenagers, in a military raid'

"In Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, which borders Kunar, around 200 university students rallied in the streets to protest, demanding those responsible for the weekend attack be brought to justice.'

* informed at StopNATO

TVNZNews
Afghan protest the killing of 10 civilians, most of them teenagers, in a military raid
Dec. 31, 2009

* informed at Information Clearing House
Press TV
Afghan civilian death prompts anti-US rallies
Thu, 31 Dec 2009


* Related articles

Information Clearing House
Afghan Civilians Handcuffed And Killed By US Occupation Forces: Report
Western troops accused of executing 10 Afghan civilians, including children
December 31, 2009 "The Times"

StopNATO
Christmas In Afghanistan: NATO Cluster Bombs And Maimed Children
25.12.2009

StopNATO
NATO-Afghanistan-Pakistani Tripartite Escalation Of South Asian War
December 30, 2009

Photos Fwd: Peace action: No Cluster Bombs on Dec. 3

* All Image source: World Without War(South Korea). Click 1. 2. 3

* All Image source: World Without War(South Korea). Click 1. 2. 3

The black banners says, “South Korean government that produces and exports the cluster munitions,
join the Convention on Cluster Munitions: Stop Rain of Death, Cluster Bombs”

Some young peace activists in South Korea did a peace action on Dec. 3, the first anniversary of the Convention on Cluster Munitions(CCM).

According to the Korean email on Dec. 10, sent by the organization, World Without War,

“ The cluster munitions have the high misfire rate and most of their victims are civilians thus the international society with 94 nations participating signed the agreement in Oslo on Dec. 8, 2008 to prevent the humanitarian damage by them. However, the South Korea that produces and exports the Cluster Munitions has not participated in the agreement. Therefore, we decided to do the campaign to inform those facts on the 1st anniversary of the CCM."
(unofficial translation)

The representing corporations to produce and export the Cluster Munitions in South Korea are Hanwa and Poonsan, according to the activists.


* Related blog

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/11/poster-fwd-no-cluster-munitions-on-dec.html
Poster Fwd: No Cluster Munitions on Dec. 3, 2009

SPARK: Largely Cut the 2010 Defense Budget!

SPARK: Largely Cut the 2010 Defense Budget for Feeding the USFK(United States Forces of Korea), Ignorant of People’s Welfare, and Countering Peace!

The Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea (SPARK) denounced the review upon the way of rough and ready method by the Defense Committee, National Assembly of ROK, in the 96th Peace and Disarmament rally on Nov. 23, 2009. The SPARK denounced the committee for adding more of the unnecessary items to the original defense budget submitted by the government .

According to SPARK, ‘among the defense budget, about 3 trillion 300 billion won [about $2.7 billion] is related to the South Korea-United States alliance. Many parts of the amount are not based on the laws.’ For example, among the defense sharing cost of 790.4billion won [about $750 million], the CDIP budget of 44 billion won [about $4o million] has no legal base. See the detail in the below.

The SPARK also said the South Korea is No. 1 country that imports the U.S. made weapons and is trying to stablize the system for purchasing the US arms through the FMS

(* For reference, the South Korean defense budget in 2009 was 28 trillion 500 billion won [about $19~20 billion] and the 2010 defense budget submitted by the government is 29 trillion 600 billion won [about $25 billion], 3.8% increase from last year while
the increment of general budget is 2 % from last year. The South Korean military expenditure as of GDP is 2. 7% in 2006 while the amount of its total military expenditure was within 15 in the world. )

They had also a rolling one-person protest in front of the National Assembly in the morning.

The SPARK pointed out the 13 items to be first cut. (The exchange rate here was calculated 1$=1,160 won)

* Image source: SPARK
‘Cut the Illegal budget [for the law-baseless support of the United States Forces of Korea] ’,
‘Denounces the Defense Committee who supports the illegal budget’,
and ‘Cut the budget of 17.5billion won [about $15million] for the expansion of the Mugeonri training field’

* Image source: No base stories of Korea

Top: Fund for the creation of the social jobs instead cutting 32.5billion won [$ about 29 million] while cut the 0.3 ~21 billion won[about $0.25~19 million] for the excessive human cost for the high ranking military officers instead budgeting it!

Bottom: Fund 54.1billion won [about $ 50 million] for the lunch for the children going without a meal while cutting 27.2 billion won [about $25million] for the new construction of the seven military golf fields instead budgeting it!

* Image source: No base stories of Korea

Right: What on earth the talk on importing the special Presidential airplane[about $ 25milion]
while cutting the social welfare for the disabled!

Left: Cut the budget of 80.2 billion won [about $76 million] for the cluster munitions,
for the peace of the Korean peninsula

* Image source: SPARK
‘Cut the budget of 17.5billion won [about $15 million]
for the expansion of the Mugeonri training field’

* Image source: SPARK

'one-person protest in front of the National Assembly:
Largely Cut the 2010 Defense Budget for Feeding the USFK,
Ignorant of People’s Welfare, Countering Peace!'

* Related Korean articles:

SPARK
Largely Cut the 2010 Defense Budget for Feeding the USFK, Ignorant of People’s Welfare, and Countering Peace!
Nov. 23, 2009


*Below is the summary translation (unofficial)of the SPARK letter to the Defense Committee of the national Assembly of the ROK on Nov. 23, 2009.
* It was updated on Dec. 25, 2009, referring to the article at the bottom.


For the National Assembly that has the right of review and confirmation for budgets, to do its proper job:

1. It must first greatly cut the illegal budgets that have no legal basis in the government submission for the defense budget, 2010. Those are the costs for

__Combined Defense Improvement Project (CDIP)
:44 billion won [about $ 40 million]

Why? : Even though the Ministry of the National Defense(MND) claims the cost for the CDIP on the base
of the 8th Special Measure Agreement(2009~2013), the fact is that the 1st article of that agreement has no clause on CDIP because of no more need for demand for it by the USFK.

__ Research of the environmental contamination and healing business for the
returned USFK base
: 81.2 billion won [about $80 million]

Why?: There is no agreement between the United States and South Korea that the Koreans should cure the environmental damage of the returned U.S. base. By the ‘principal of the responsibility of the party that provided the cause of contamination’ acknowledged as the international law, it should be charged by the United States.

___Creation of the Cyber Defense Command Headquarter
: 3.1billion won [about $ 2.9 million]

___Construction of the Golf Field
: 4.3billion won [about $ 4.0 million]

Why? : While the former has no legal base for budgeting as the defense Committee has pointed out itself before, the latter is a violation of the ‘law on the special accounting on the relocation of the Defense military facilities’


2. The Defense Council must great cut the budget for the waste, ignorant of people’s welfare. They are:

___Excessive human cost for the high ranking military officers. In the item of soldiers’ welfare fund

Creation/ expansion of the seven golf fields
: 27.3billion won [about $ 24 million]

Fix of hotel and Condo
: 3.9billion won [about $3.5 million]

Rent fee for the Presidential special airplane
: 29.1 billion won [about $2.5 million]

• The President has rather told to cut all the waste in the government budget.

IPTV business
: 13.4 billion won [about $11 million]



3. The Defense Council must cut the cost for the purchase of all the aggressive weapons that counters against the Peace in the Korean peninsula

__Purchase for the next generation tank Heukpyo:
: 88.2 billion won[about $ 84 million]

Why? : The tank force of the South Korea is already super-higher than the North Korea and other vicinity countries. It also increase the military tension. The economic effect is also suspicious.

__Cluster Ammunition storage cost
: 80.8 billion won[ about $ 76 million]

Why? : The misfire rate of the cluster ammunition is higher than any other bullets. Furthermore about 98% of the causalities are the civilians. Because of that, the convention agreement against the production, use and handing-over of it was adapted in 2008 by 110 countries. It is anti-human itself.

__E-X (The Airborne Early Warning Controlling System) is the typical aggressive arm
: About 233 billion won [about $ 220 million]

Why? : The E-X is fundamentally for controlling the F-15K that carries the core mission in the pre-emptive strike against the North Korea and is for supporting the performance of the North East Asian theater operation by the United States air forces of Japan and Korea

__Joint Standoff weapon (JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) level
: About 5 billion won[ about $4.7 million]

Why? : The budget layout for the 400 Km range weapon, under the pretext of the North Korea nuclear weapon not only increases the unnecessary military tension but also has a function problem. That is why the executive rate for the budget allotted it was 0% despite the fact that its 2009 budget was [about] 11billion won.

__ Development for the aggressive helicopter has also been pointed out of its unnessecity and its suspicious economic effect


4. The Defense Council must reconsider the cut for the items that ignore people's will and are against peace in the Korean peninsula.

__Jeju Naval Base
: About 92.5 billion won [about $90 million]

Why?: Despite the opposition by the village people, the plan has been enforced to be driven. Review on its rationality is needed./ The business executive rate for the naval base for last 4 years has been 33.2% while the executive rate to the current budget cost preparation was only 18. 6% as of July, 2009./ Still, the 2010 budget on it is 2.56 times bigger than 2009.

_Expansion of the Mugeonri Military Training Field
: About 17.5 billion won [about $16million]

Why?: The business executive rate of the Mugeon-ri military training field for last 4years has been 52.2% while the executive rate to the current budget cost preparation was only 15.1% as of July, 2009/ The village people have suggested the rational counter-measure that guarantees people’s survival right while keeping the existing size of the field without expansion of it. To hear their opinion would be helpful to greatly reduce the defense budget. Talks with the village people are more needed.


* For more details (Korean)

http://www.spark946.org/bugsboard/index_young.php?BBS=nuri_1&action=viewForm&uid=982&page=1
[Current Agenda] At Least These should be Cut in 2010 Defense Budget
SPARK Magazine No. 90
Oh Hye-Ran, Chief of the Peace and Disarmament Team, SPARK
Dec. 14, 2009
2010년 국방예산 이것만은 삭감해야
::90호:::<현안> 2010년 국방예산 이것만은 삭감해야 ----- 평화군축팀장 오혜란
평화군축팀 오혜란
2009/12/1418:31

Poster Fwd: No Cluster Munitions on Dec. 3, 2009

* Poster forwarded from Jieun(Peace and Disarmament Center, People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy(PSPD) on Nov. 23, 2009



A Korean group called, “Weapon Zero (무기 제로팀)” calls the protest against the Cluster Munitions on Dec. 3, the first anniversary of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The convention ‘was adopted in Dublin by 107 states on 30 May 2008 and signed on 3 December the same year’. ‘The Convention enter[ed] into force six months after the 30th state has submitted its instrument of ratification, and is open for ratifications and signature at the United Nations headquarters in New York.’ See the Convention website.

The poster urges the South Korea government who did not sign the convention yet to immediately sign it. The nations who did not sign yet include the United States, China, Russia who are the main product and use nations of cluster munitions. The South Korea (Hanwha Co, Poongsan Co.) is said one of the most active countries to produce the Cluster Munitions in Asia, with China. About 34 countries are heard to produce the cluster bombs. See the signatory countries.