Text Fwd: Ssangyong's fired workers end plant occupation

* Image source:
1. Voice of People
2. Voice of People
3. Yonhap News: same as below

Yonhap News
Ssangyong's fired workers end plant occupation
2009/08/06 15:23 KST


PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of fired workers Thursday voluntarily ended their 77-day seizure of a painting shop of Ssangyong Motor Co. after union leaders and management agreed on a broad framework for a layoff plan, police said.

About 400 laid-off workers started moving out the painting facility at around 2:50 p.m. while police verified identifications. "Work is in progress to check all identifications," a police official said.

The protesters will be sent to nearby police stations for questioning, according to the official.

Thursday's agreement came after several days of raids by police commandos to disperse the fired workers who have been occupying the facility since late May in protest against the layoffs, authorized by a court in February when Ssangyong entered bankruptcy protection.

Earlier in the day, the Ssangyong union proposed a resumption of talks with a new offer and the management accepted it, both sides said, describing the talks as "final."

Park Young-tae, one of two court-appointed managers for Ssangyong, and Han Sang-kyun, the union leader, began the talks inside the plant at 11:00 a.m. in this rural town of Pyeongtaek, about 70km south of Seoul.

The union proposed to accept a plan to save 48 percent of some 1,000 laid-off workers by giving them unpaid long-term leaves of absence, according to a source close to the talks. Ssangyong had previously offered to save 40 percent of the laid-off workers.

"I understand that both sides reached a deal to save 48 percent of the fired workers," the source said.

Some 1,000 fired workers occupied the painting facility on May 22, with more than half of them having voluntarily given up the occupation after police stepped up their siege of the facility.

On Wednesday, police commandos seized all facilities in the plant with the exception of the paint shop as it is filled with flammable materials. Scores of protesters and police were injured in violent clashes earlier in the week.

Ssangyong, the smallest carmaker in South Korea, received bankruptcy protection in exchange for implementing a turnaround plan calling for 36 percent of its workforce, or 2,646 employees, to be cut.

Since then, some 1,670 workers have left the company through voluntary retirement plans, while the remaining 976 workers have been on strike.

The standoff has darkened prospects for the carmaker's survival, costing nearly 316 billion won (US$258.3 million) in lost production.

Also on Wednesday, several creditors of Ssangyong filed a petition with a bankruptcy court in Seoul demanding the court swiftly liquidate the strike-hit carmaker to recoup their debts.

The creditors represented some 600 suppliers of Ssangyong, which owes 276 billion won to them.

The petition is not legally binding, however, and a decision by the court is expected to come after Sept. 15, when Ssangyong is required to submit its restructuring plan.

China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. retains 51 percent ownership over Ssangyong, though the parent lost management control after the carmaker entered bankruptcy protection.


* Related English article

Hankyoreh
NHRCK asks police to stop crackdown at Ssangyong Motors plant:
The organization is monitoring the human rights situation and concludes several auto workers’ human rights are being violated
Posted on : Aug.6,2009 12:04 KST Modified on : Aug.6,2009 12:13 KST

http://www.workers.org/2009/world/korea_0813/
Solidarity with Korean workers
Published Aug 5, 2009 4:03 PM

* Related blogs

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/2.html
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Text Fwd: KCTU Statement : Violent Suppression of Ssangyong Motors Workers: A Declaration of War on Its Own People

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-union-members-lives-are-at.html
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Text Fwd: Union Members’ Lives are at Stake

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-ssangyong-motors-factory.html
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Text Fwd: Ssangyong Motors factory occupation attacked by police

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-police-storming-ssangyong.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Text Fwd: Police Storming Ssangyong Plant

Text Fwd: [Analysis] Clinton’s visit to Pyongyang could be a turning point in N. Korea-U.S. relations

* Image source/ description: same as below

'Journalist Laura Ling speaks in front of Euna Lee, former Vice President Al Gore and former President Bill Clinton after Ling and Lee arrive at Hangar 25 on August 5, 2009 in Burbank, California after being released by North Korean authorities yesterday. Ling and Lee, of San Francisco based Current TV, were both arrested by North Korea in March for illegally entering the country on the Chinese border. Yesterday Commissioner Kim Jong-Il pardoned them after a meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Ling and Lee had been sentenced to 12 years in prison in June. (AFP)'

Hankyoreh
[Analysis] Clinton’s visit to Pyongyang could be a turning point in N. Korea-U.S. relations: Although White House says Clinton’s visit was a private mission, a KCTV report suggests it is a sign of possible improvement in relations
Posted on : Aug.6,2009 11:48 KST Modified on : Aug.6,2009 11:50 KST

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton left Pyongyang on Wednesday morning with the two U.S.　reporters who had been detained in North Korea and arrived in Los Angeles late at night (Korea time).

The visit to North Korea lasted only two days and one night, but its significance is great. The visit has provided a possible stepping stone for a turning point in the political situation on the Korean Peninsula, which has been growing increasingly tense since North Korea’s long-range rocket launch and second nuclear test.

The Barack Obama administration’s decision to approve Clinton’s visit is a “gift” to North Korea to see if a change in the North Korea-US relationship is possible.

In a report on the visit results released Wednesday morning, North Korea’s Korea Central TV (KCTV) said Clinton had respectfully conveyed a verbal message from President Obama on his views on plans to improve relations between North Korea and the U.S.

There is controversy over whether there was a verbal message from Obama, but it appears that Clinton may have conveyed an outline of the Obama administration’s North Korea policy. One diplomatic expert said he must have explained at least as much as his wife, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, did last month at the ASEAN Regional Forum. At the time, Secretary Clinton said if North Korea gives up nuclear weapons, everything was possible, including economic aid and the construction of a peace regime and normalization in relations with North Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s “return courtesy” for former President Clinton’s visit, in addition to the pardon of the two U.S. journalists, has not yet been released. Some believe it is possible that North Korea, which has been claiming it would never abandon nuclear weapons, may have made a gesture of good faith concerning denuclearization. On the matter of “dialogue,” some believe Kim may have indicated some direction for possible follow-up by saying something along the lines that North Korea has only rejected a six party framework that abandons the spirit of mutual coexistence as embodied in the September 19 Joint Statement made in 2005, and not the six-party talks themselves.

In addition, KCTV reported that Kim and Clinton shared a frank and deep discussion concerning pending issues between North Korea and the U.S. and that both agreed to resolve issues through dialogue. Some see this as suggesting Kim is promising not to take additional actions to aggravate the situation in order to contribute to building the necessary atmosphere needed to for North Korea-U.S. talks.

Thanks to Kim and Clinton’s “unofficial dialogue,” moves toward official talks between North Korea and the U.S. are expected to take place. Some analysts suggest changes may be made in the internal power structure of the Obama administration concerning North Korea policy. Kim Yeon-cheol, the head of the Hankyoreh Peace Research Institute said until recently, those in favor of sanctions had been the loudest. He said that while arguments for sanctions would not completely go away, the atmosphere in Washington for a resolution through dialogue might gain strength.

Meanwhile, at a briefing Tuesday afternoon (local time), White House press secretary Robert Gibbs repeatedly stressed that the issue of the journalists’ release is seen separate from North Korea policy matters, and Clinton’s visit was a “solely private mission.”

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]


© 2006 The Hankyoreh Media Company


* Related article

Hankyoreh
U.S.’s N. Korea policy remains unofficially unchanged since Clinton’s visit
Officials say Clinton pressed for release of South Korean and Japanese individuals while asking for pardon of two U.S. journalists
Posted on : Aug.7,2009 12:26 KST


Hankyoreh
[Analysis] Can President Lee keep pace with North Korea-US relations?: As Clinton takes the limelight for North Korea issues, analysts suggest Lee’s August 15 address will be critical for sounding out any changes in strategy on inter-Korea relations
Posted on : Aug.6,2009 12:06 KST
© 2006 The Hankyoreh Media Company

* Related blogs

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-analysis-clinton-and-kim-jong.html
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Text Fwd: [Analysis] Clinton and Kim Jong-il may discuss a big deal to break nuclear deadlock

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-n-korean-leader-receives.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Text Fwd: N. Korean leader receives Obama's message from Clinton: state media


* Related article

Chosun Ilbo(The most conservative right wing newspaper)
Freed Journalists 'Treated Well' During Captivity in N.Korea
Aug. 07, 2009 09:10 KST

Text Fwd: Activists to run "East Sea" ads in U.S. newspapers

* Image Source/ description: Same as below
'Seo Kyoung-duk (L), Kim Chang-hoon (R)'

Yonhap News
Politics/Diplomacy 2009/08/06 17:54 KST Activists to run "East Sea" ads in U.S. newspapers By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- A group of South Korean activists said Thursday they will run full-page ads in major U.S. newspapers in the coming days stating that the waters between South Korea and Japan is called the "East Sea," not the "Sea of Japan," as claimed by Tokyo.

The ads will appear in The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal this and next week, said Prof. Seo Kyoung-duk, who runs an extensive national promotion campaign. Seo will run the ads with the help of South Korean pop singer Kim Chang-hoon and a volunteer group.

Seo, who had paid for similar ads in the U.S. dailies before, said he decided to renew the campaign after the Wall Street Journal again labeled the waters the "Sea of Japan" in an article dated July 3. He called it a "small but significant error."

"We would like to inform you that the sea between Korea and Japan is called 'East Sea,' not 'Sea of Japan,' as it is labeled in one of your articles on Asia. This body of water has been referred to as the 'East Sea' by many nations for the past 2,000 years," the ads read.

"There is no 'Sea of Japan' in the world. It only exists in the thinking of the Japanese government in its attempts to distort the history," it says.

Japan has been lobbying international organizations to officially name the body of water the "Sea of Japan." South Korea has been backing "East Sea" by presenting centuries-old maps and documents.

"I tried to find the use of the name 'East Sea' in some of the prestigious global newspapers, such as NYT, WSJ, WP, for the last 10 years, but I couldn't find one," Seo said.

"So my colleagues and I decided to place an ad in these newspapers so that we can expect stronger impact around the globe."

ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)

Text Fwd: KCTU Statement : Violent Suppression of Ssangyong Motors Workers: A Declaration of War on Its Own People

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
KCTU Statement : Violent Suppression of Ssangyong Motors Workers: A Declaration of War on Its Own People
2009.08.06 13:13:45

[Statement] Violent Suppression of Ssangyong Motors Workers: A Declaration of War on Its Own People

5th, August

In the morning of August 5th, the police started its raid to forcefully break the strike at Ssangyong Motors Pyeongtaek Plant, literally turning the factory into a war zone. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) strongly condemns the insane police raid that can bring deaths, and demands the immediate withdrawal of police forces. The police operation is taking place in collaboration with company goons, without any consideration for human lives or safety measures.

Containers hanging from cranes, water cannons, teargas concentrate, taser guns, to name a few, have been mobilized, and during the process of the raid, two workers fell from the roof of the assembly line building and were seriously injured. One of the workers broke his 3rd and 4th vertebrae. 23 workers were arrested and 7 of them are undergoing treatment in the hospital for various injuries.

The police beat workers collectively, even those who had given up resisting, before arresting them. Workers who were in dire need of medical treatment were neglected for more than an hour. Fires broke out in several places nearby the paintshop building, which houses a large amount of inflammable chemicals and is thus extremely dangerous, however, the police were too busy beating the workers to quickly put out the soaring flames. The police have turned into a private militia that follows orders of the management and its puppet goons, and tramples upon human lives.

The company goons, armed with metal pipes, wooden sticks, huge slingshots, molotov cocktails and other lethal weapons, showed no remorse when violently beating down on people in and outside the factory. The encampment tents set up in front of the factory by civil society activists, political parties and religious groups were completely demolished by the metal pipes swung relentlessly by these goons. Many of these goons were smirking in the process – enough to sense murderous intentions. As previously experience, the police merely stood aside and watched the criminal acts of these goons.

The police raid is in complete contradiction to the earnest yearning of Ssangyong workers, their family members, labour/human rights/religious/civic organization members for a peaceful solution to the Ssangyong crisis. Unions and civic organizations have repetitiously warned that if police raids into the paintshop 2 building, where the striking workers have locked themselves in together with tons of inflammable material, there can be a catastrophe incomparable to the Yongsan Massacre, during which 5 evictees were burnt to death.

The KCTU considers the forced suppression of Ssangyong Motors workers as a declaration of war by the government on its own people including the working class. We sternly announce that we will implement even stronger, full-fledged struggles against the Lee Myung Bak government. President Lee Myung Bak, who seems to have given up his role as a head of state, should realize that the pain, anger and sadness that Ssangyong Motors workers felt today will be avenged on him.

5th August 2009

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU)

* Related blog
http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-agreement-was-reached-at.html
Friday, August 7, 2009
Text Fwd: Agreement was Reached at Ssangyong Motors

Text Fwd: [Analysis] Clinton and Kim Jong-il may discuss a big deal to break nuclear deadlock

* Image source/ description: same as below
'Kim Jong-il, the Commissioner of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, left, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton pose together at the Baekwhawon State Guest House located in Pyongyang, August 4.'

Hankyoreh
[Analysis] Clinton and Kim Jong-il may discuss a big deal to break nuclear deadlock: While Clinton’s visit to North Korea is the strongest card played for journalists’ release, the resumption of denuclearization dialogue will require further diplomacy
Posted on : Aug.5,2009 12:11 KST Modified on : Aug.5,2009 12:49 KST

Observers are saying former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s surprise visit to North Korea on Tuesday morning might have been the best card available for the two countries to make the shift from deadlock to dialogue.

Given the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and structural constraints on North Korea-U.S. relations, it has not been realistically feasible for either President Obama or U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to visit North Korea. In light of this, the former president’s visit to North Korea represents the most powerful card the U.S. has to present to North Korea as an alternative. Former President Clinton may be in a position to present the Obama administration’s arguments, while avoiding the formalities of bilateral dialogue between the North Korean and U.S. governments. At the same time, a visit by Clinton, whom former South Korean Unification Minister Lim Dong-won describes as the “big shot among big shots within the U.S.,” could save North Korea’s face.

Former President Clinton occupies a significant place in the history of North Korea-U.S. relations, and his stature in the U.S. remains high as well. He is considered by many as the most forward thinking of all U.S. Presidents in terms of advancing relations with North Korea. During his term, he concluded and executed the 1994 Geneva Agreement, took part in the October 2000 North Korea-U.S. Joint Communique, and had planned to become the first sitting president to visit North Korea. In sum, he is likely the figure most preferred by Kim Jong-il and North Korea. In addition, he has enormous potential and maintains realizable clout in Washington political circles. Furthermore, he is on friendly terms with President Obama, and is the husband of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

This North Korea visit recalls the precedent set by another former president, Jimmy Carter, who visited North Korea in 1994 and played a decisive role in averting war on the Korean Peninsula. Experts are forecasting that Clinton’s visit, in comparison, will have even greater significance and a greater influence on the U.S.’s North Korea policy and its relations with North Korea. “We should note that whereas the U.S. administration was displeased with Carter’s visit to North Korea in 1994 at first, Clinton’s visit to North Korea visit has been realized after close fine-tuning with the Obama administration,” said Hankyoreh Peace Research Institute head Kim Yeon-cheol.

The formal objective of Clinton’s North Korea visit is to bargain for the release of two U.S. reporters currently being detained there. A Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) official says that the U.S. government has “not wavered in its policy of handling humanitarian issues and political negotiations separately.” However, few accept that Clinton’s objectives in visiting North Korea are limited to that issue alone. Some observers are asking why someone as prominent as a former president needs be sent if the goal of the visit is to simply bargain for the release of imprisoned journalists. For this reason, former South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun calls the visit “a hint at the beginnings of a comprehensive deal between North Korea and the U.S.” Meanwhile, Lim says that the visit signals the “two countries’ intent to find a breakthrough in turning the situation around.”

In fact, North Korea has welcomed Clinton with honorable treatment. Kim Jong-il welcomed Clinton during the evening of his first day in North Korea, and the National Defense Commission, the most powerful government body in North Korea, provided a reception dinner for Clinton at the Baekwhawon State Guest House.

The Korean Central Television reported on the meeting between Clinton and Kim Jong-il by saying, “They exchanged opinions on matters of mutual concern.” The report can be interpreted to suggest the two discussed issues concerning the two countries beyond the journalists’ release, including the nuclear issue.

Experts say Clinton’s visit to North Korea could help Kim to quell rumors by foreign media regarding Kim’s health and possible instability within North Korea.

Regardless of the details of these meetings, the majority view remains as a result of North Korea’s second nuclear test and public announcement regarding their status as a nuclear state that Clinton’s visit will inevitably be followed by a long and difficult diplomatic struggle and compromise between North Korea and the U.S., and among the nations taking part in the six-party talks.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

© 2006 The Hankyoreh Media Company.

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-n-korean-leader-receives.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Text Fwd: N. Korean leader receives Obama's message from Clinton: state media

Text Fwd: Ssangyong Motors factory occupation attacked by police

* Image source/description: same as below
'Ssangyong Motors union members try to block the special attack unit from entering assembly shop buildings in the Pyeongtaek plant that are located close to the paint shop where they have been demonstrating, August 4.'

Hankyoreh
Ssangyong Motors factory occupation attacked by police: Police seize one of the paint shop buildings after engaging in an unsuccessful land-air assault against union members on the previous day
Posted on : Aug.5,2009 12:41 KST

In just two days since talks between management and labor broke down, the Ssangyong Motors plant in Pyeongtaek has once again been transformed into a war zone.　

On August 4, police and company security clashed violently with union members, as the former attempted to push its way into the plant paint shop where the workers have assembled. The automaker also had the tent camp that had been set up in front of the plant’s gate taken down as the operation unfolded. The Democratic Labor Party had pitched a tent in front of the plant to serve as its temporary office. Other lawmakers and religious and civic group members had set up an additional eight tents.

The police SWAT team deployed a land-air assault on the paint shop Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. They sent in around 10 companies (1,000 men) on the ground while helicopters armed with tearing agents were flown above the paint shop. Police attempts to enter the paint shop from three directions include an effort to secure a path from the roof of a nearby building. Union members, however, used slingshots and Molotov cocktails to provide strong resistance against the assault. The police were forced to withdraw in failure after a three hour-long struggle. At around 12:30 p.m., some 50-company security personnel armed with slingshots and metal pipes attempted to make their way into the paint shop by accessing the roof of a nearby building, but this too, was unsuccessful.

Afterwards, police deployed 40 companies (40,000 men) to the plant, and the company ordered 2,200 employees back to work.


On August 5, it took the police SWAT team twenty minutes to seize one of the paint shop buildings after landing a special attack unit onto the shop’s roof in an armored box by helicopter at 9:50 a.m. This followed the police seizure of the buildings housing the third and fourth assembly line in the automaker’s plant at 8:10 a.m. By that point, most union members had retreated to an adjacent paint shop building, and there was no major clash between members and police officers.

Two union members were injured in a fall from the roof of the paint shop.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]


* Related blogs

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-police-storming-ssangyong.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2009 Text Fwd: Police Storming Ssangyong Plant

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/specters-of-liquidation-surround.html
Monday, August 3, 2009 Specters of liquidation surround Ssangyong Motors as talks break down

Text Fwd: Japanese government efforts to obstruct progress on nuclear disarmament

Text Fwd from Jackie Cabasso and Agneta Noberg

'Few people are aware that the Japanese government is emerging as one of the biggest barriers to progress on nuclear disarmament. It is busily doing all it can to block progress on President Obama's agenda for nuclear disarmament. No matter what reservations one might have about the details of President Obama's April 5 speech in Prague, the role that the Japanese government is now playing must be exposed and opposed.

CNIC is supporting efforts by other Japanese groups by providing English information and suggestions for action. See the following link:
http://www.cnic.jp/english/topics/proliferation/campaign/nfu/index.html

If this link does not work, try the link at the top of CNIC's English home page:
http://www.cnic.jp/english/

Please forward the above information to English-speaking acquaintances in Japan.

Philip White

Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
2F-B Akebonobashi Coop, 8-5 Sumiyoshi-cho, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo, 162-0065, Japan
Phone: +81-3-3357-3800 Fax: +81-3-3357-3801
Email: cnic@nifty.com Web: http://cnic.jp/english/


Japan Obstructing Progress on Nuclear Disarmament

On July 17, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) held a meeting in Tokyo to inform the Japanese public of the way in which their government is obstructing progress on nuclear disarmament and to urge the nuclear disarmament movement to take action.

In his Prague speech on April 5 this year President Obama said, "we will reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy and urge others to do the same". In the same paragraph he went on to say, "we will begin the work of reducing our arsenal." But in between these two landmark pledges he made the following qualifying statement: "as long as these weapons exist, we will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and guarantee that defense to our allies."

The way Japan views US extended nuclear deterrence (otherwise referred to as the "nuclear umbrella") is turning out to be a key sticking point, which may end up blocking progress on nuclear disarmament.

Unless the role of nuclear weapons in US national security strategy is reduced, the number of nuclear weapons in its nuclear arsenal will not be drastically reduced. There are too many targets to cover. But the Japanese government is concerned that reducing the role of nuclear weapons will reduce Japan's national security. This is a dubious presumption, but regardless of the validity of the concern, we have it on good authority that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Ministry of Defense (MoD) are lobbying vigorously against such a change in US nuclear weapons policy.

The key test for the vision spelt out by President Obama in Prague is the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which his government is now preparing. It is expected that the NPR will determine the direction of US nuclear weapons policy for the duration of the Obama Administration. It will be completed by the end of this year, but because of the timetable of disarmament negotiations with Russia, it must be essentially ready by September or October.

A reduction in the role of nuclear weapons in national security strategy is being seriously considered in the context of the NPR. Unfortunately, not all people involved in the process support such a change. The principle argument being used by the opponents is that the Japanese government will not accept it. This is probably surprising for people who take for granted that Japan is one of the strongest advocates for nuclear disarmament, but the fact is that Japan is being used as an excuse to prevent the US making the single most important policy change necessary to enable a drastic reduction in the size of its nuclear arsenal.

The specific reduction in the role of nuclear weapons that is being contemplated is that they would be retained for only one purpose. Their sole purpose would be to deter the use of other people's nuclear weapons. However, the Japanese government has long taken the view that the US nuclear umbrella should also cover threats from biological weapons, chemical weapons and even conventional weapons. To maintain this expanded role in the context of the US nuclear umbrella, the Japanese government is willing to jeopardize progress on nuclear disarmament.

At first glance, reducing the role of nuclear weapons, without discarding the doctrine of deterrence entirely, might not seem to represent very significant progress. Those of us campaigning for the elimination of nuclear weapons believe that the doctrine of deterrence is one of the biggest barriers to achieving this goal. However, the reality is that the US is not going to discard this doctrine in a single step. Reducing the role of nuclear weapons to the sole purpose of deterring other people's nuclear weapons would be a major step towards reducing the relevance of nuclear deterrence doctrine. It is also a prerequisite for reducing nuclear weapon stockpiles. This step should, therefore, be supported by all people working for nuclear disarmament.

It is a great irony that the greatest obstacle to taking this key step towards nuclear disarmament is Japan, the only country to have been attacked with nuclear weapons.

Citizens' Nuclear Information Center (CNIC)
July 27, 2009

Appeal from the Union of Concerned Scientists

The Union of Concerned Scientists' Gregory Kulacki recorded a statement explaining how people involved in the NPR process are using Japan to block progress towards nuclear disarmament. He appealed to the Japanese people to take action during the vital two-month period before the NPR is set in concrete. His statement, with Japanese subtitles, is available on YouTube at the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itFI87hixy0

Ideas for Action

Here are some actions you might like to consider:

1) Send this article to your English-speaking friends (Japanese and expats).

2) Use it as reading material in English classes.

3) Send letters to newspapers in Japan and the US.

4) Ask candidates for the forthcoming Japanese elections what their position is on this issue.

5) Inform candidates that you will only vote for people who support nuclear disarmament and who also support, as a vital first step, a reduction in the role of nuclear weapons in the national security policies of Japan and the US.

6) Tell NHK to cover this issue in their August 15, 2009 program on nuclear disarmament. A Japanese questionnaire is available on the following link:

http://www.nhk.or.jp/korekara/

7) Call for a change in Japanese government policy by attending events in Hiroshima in October coinciding with the 4th meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmamament (ICNND). Click here for a Japanese leaflet.

8) Find out more about this issue. The following Japanese web site has lots of information:
http://www.kakujoho.net/

We hope to post additional action ideas on our web site as the campaign gains momentum, but don't wait for us to tell you what to do. Take whatever action you can in the limited time available.

[국문 번역]Text Fwd: DOMINATING PALAU

Text informed in Bruce Gagnon blog
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
DOMINATING PALAU

I made my first trip to Japan in 1984 to attend the World Conference against A & H Bombs. While at the event one evening I attended a film showing about the island of Palau in the Pacific. I don't think at that time I'd ever heard of Palau. The documentary told the sad story of their efforts to resist US pressure to give up their Nuclear-Free constitution. One scene I will always remember was a family sitting in their thatched hut watching TV and seeing President Ronald Reagan come on the screen urging Palauans to vote down their constitution in order to help the US fight the Communism. Below is a part of one moving statement from the conference here in Hiroshima.

By Balhaim Sakuma
Executive Director, Belau Cares Palau

After more than 200 years under foreign domination Palau was "allowed" by the US to become an independent nation. We were told by the US that we could choose the kind of government we want and write our own constitution. Thirty-one years ago, in 1978, the people of Palau wrote the first Nuclear-Free Constitution in the world and adopted it by an overwhelming majority vote of 92%. This took the US by surprise. Immediately a team from Washington DC arrived in Palau with a message that Palau could not choose a Nuclear-Free Constitution government.

The succeeding 10 years were years of turmoil and conflict between the US and Palau because we stood up and told the US that we would not allow any kind of nuclear to enter within the 200-mile territory of Palau. Palauans suffered so much and went through so much hardship during the 10 years of fighting with USA for our right to be Nuclear-Free. The President Haruo Remeliik, who supported the nuclear-free constitution, was assassinated. At that time I was fighting with him as an advisor to him. Some of us lost their lives. When women activists held a meeting at a house, a bomb was thrown to them. When I was attending the World Conference in early eighties, my house was burnt out. I myself was also attempted to be killed several times. The US forced us to hold a national referendum about six times to get the people's support for the revision of the constitution. But it did not meet the requirement of the constitution, 75% of the people's support. The US finally came up with some kind of legal maneuvering to lower the 75% requirement to 50% and forced Palau to accept the Compact of Free Association. But Palauan people fought against such violence, intimidation and bribery and no one can dispute the fact the majority of Palauans are against nuclear weapons.
People of the Pacific have been suffering not only from war but from damage of nuclear weapons. The US conducted 57 nuclear tests at Bikini and Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands after WW II. France tested their bombs in Tahiti. UK tested at Christmas Island and Australia. Thus, the Pacific has been used as a nuclear playground. The people are still nomads with no place they can call home because their islands are highly contaminated.

After the nuclear-free constitution was neglected by the US, Palau was forced to conclude the Compact of Free Association, which substantially made Palau a colony of the US. The US can use our lands for its military if and when the US chooses to.

Our lands, our life, the future of our children are still determined by big powers. Even if we are a small island nation, we have national pride. It is us who should determine how to use our lands and what nation we should establish relationship with.


팔라우를 지배하기
2009년 8월 4일, 브루스 개그논 씀

저는 1984년 원자 폭탄 및 수소 폭탄에 반대하는 국제 회담에 참석하기 위해 일본으로 첫 여행을 간 적이 있읍니다. 한 저녁의 행사에서 저는 태평양의 팔라우라는 섬에 관한 영화를 보았읍니다. 저는 당시 제가 팔라우라는 섬에 대해 들어 본 적이 있다고 생각하지 않습니다. 그 다큐멘타리는 그들의 비핵 헌법을 포기하도록 압력을 가하는 미 정부에 저항하는 그들의 노력에 관한 슬픈 이야기를 들려 주었읍니다. 제가 항상 기억할 장면은 한 가족이 초가집에서 TV를 보는데
스크린에 나온 로널드 레이건 대통령이 미국이 공산주의에 맞서 싸우는 것을 돕기 위해 팔라우 인들에게 그들의 헌법에 반대표를 던지도록 촉구하는 것이었읍니다. 아래는 여기 히로시마 회담에서 나온 것으로 마음을 움직이는 성명의 한 부분입니다.

발하임 사쿠마 (Balhaim Sakuma)
벨라우 캐어스 팔라우의 상임 감독 (Executive Director, Belau Cares Palau)

200년이상 지속된 외세의 지배이후 팔라우는 미국으로부터 독립적인 국가가 되도록“허락”받았읍니다. 우리는 미국으로부터 우리가 원하는 정부를 선택할 수 있으며 우리 자신의 헌법을 쓸 수 있다고 들었읍니다. 31년전인 1978년에 팔라우 인들은 세계에서 첫번째로 비핵 헌법을 썼고 92%라는 압도적인 대다수의 찬성으로 그 것을 채택햇읍니다. 이는 미국을 놀라게 했읍니다. 수도 워싱턴에서 한 팀이 즉시 팔라우에 도착해 팔라우는 비핵 헌법을 선택할 수 없다는 메시지를 주었읍니다.

이 후 10년간은 미국과 팔라우 사이 혼란과 갈등의 세월이었읍니다. 왜냐하면 우리는 일어섰고 미국에게 우리는 팔라우 영토로부터 200마일 이내 어떠한 핵도 허락하지 않겠다고 미국에게 말했기 때문입니다. 우리 팔라우 인들은 우리의 비핵 권리를 지키기 위한 10년간 미국과의 싸움에서 많은 고통을 당했으며 너무나 많은 역경을 겪었읍니다.

비핵 헌법을 지지했던 대통령 하루오 레멜리이크는 살해되었읍니다. 당시 저는 그의 자문 위원으로서 그와 함께 싸우고 있었읍니다. 우리중의 몇몇은 그들의 생명을 빼앗겼읍니다. 여성 활동가들이 한 집에서 회의를 했을 때, 폭탄이 그 들에게 떨어졌읍니다. 제가 80년대 초기 국제 회담에 참석하고 있었을 때, 제 집이 불타버렸읍니다. 제 자신에게도 몇 번 살해 시도가 행해졌읍니다. 미국은 헌법 개정에 대한 팔라우 인들의 지지를 얻기 위해우리가 국민 투표를 약 6번이나 하도록 강제햇읍니다. 그러나 그것은 75% 민중의 지지라는 헌법의 필요 요건을 충족시키지 못했읍니다. 미국은 마침내 75% 필요 요건을 50%로 낮추는, 법적인 책략 같은 것을 들고 나왔고 팔라우 인들이 자유 연합 계약 Compact of Free Association 을 받아 들이도록 강제했읍니다. 그러나 팔라우 인들은 그러한 폭력, 위협, 그리고 뇌물에 저항했고 아무도 팔라우 인등의 대다수가 핵무기에 반대한다는 사실을 논박할 수 없읍니다. .

태평양의 사람들은 전쟁 뿐만이 아니라 핵 무기로 인한 손상으로부터 고통을 겪어왔읍니다. 미국은 2 차 대전 이후 마샬 제도의 비키니와 에니위토크에서 57회의 핵 실험을 단행했읍니다. 프랑스는 타히티에서 그들의 폭탄을 실험했읍니다. 영국은 크리스마스 섬과 호주에서 실험했읍니다. 그러므로 태평양은 핵 운동장으로 이용되어 왔읍니다. 사람들은 그 들이 집이라 부를 수 있는 곳이 없는 유목민들인데 그 들의 섬이 심하게 오염되었기 때문입니다.

비핵 헌법이 미국에 의해 무시된 이후 팔라우는 자유 연합 계약을 결론지도록 강제되었읍니다. 그 자유 연합 계약은 팔라우를 미국의 지속적인 식민지가 되게 했읍니다. 미국은 원하기만 하면, 그리고 언제 선택하느냐에 따라 우리의 땅을 그 군대를 위해 사용할 수 있읍니다.

우리의 땅들, 우리의 삶, 그리고 우리 어린이들의 미래는 아직도 강대국들에 의해 결정됩니다. 비록 우리가 작은 섬 나라이지만 우리에게는 민족적 자랑이 있읍니다. 어떻게 우리의 땅을 사용해야 하고 우리가 어떤 나라와 우리가 관계를 맺어야 할 지를 결정해야 한는 것은 우리인 것입니다.


-역주 링크-

팔라우:

영문
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau

한글
http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%8C%94%EB%9D%BC%EC%9A%B0

Text Fwd: Union Members’ Lives are at Stake

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
Union Members' Lives are at Stake!
2009.08.05 21:39:51

Stop Brutal Raid against the Ssangyong Motor Workers!
Our Union Members' Lives are at Stake!

Please see video : http://www.tagstory.com/video/video_post.aspx?media_id=V000348803
For full text, please open the attached document - Ssangyong_August_5_Update.doc

Yesterday, the company goons ripped apart the shelters of solidarity supporters encamped outside the plant and arrested KMWU Vice President WOO, Byeong-kuk at the scene. When the news of the all-out raid spread, a swell of workers and students kept streaming to Pyeongtaek and spontaneous rallies began with first 100, then 200, then 600-700 . Right now supporters are peacefully marching to the plant and some two dozen are being arrested with police firing water cannons on the march.

Currently, we have hundreds of injured sit-in workers with some extremely serious injuries such as spinal cord injury (from falling off roof of building when SWAT team began chasing the workers on the roof), from rubber bullets, taser gun shocks, and a fire broke out in the buildling next to the paintshop building. An all-out raid on a paintshop with hundreds of thousands of liters of flammable chemicals is incredibly risky and an excessively violent way to end the dispute ; it is deliberately putting the lives of our union members at risk

Please call on the Korean government

; to call off this extraordinarily dangerous raid!

; to participate in negotiations over alternatives to dismissal and a future for the plant .

Our union members' lives are at stake.

- Any international solidarity actions should be taken in front of the Korean Embassy now (no more Ssangyong dealerships)
- Any diplomatic pressure on the South korean government to stop this extraordinarily dangerous raid, to stop denying the sit-in strikers food, water, proper medical attention, electricity (they are treating each others wounds by candlelight) etc would be appreciated
- Please send us photos of your action so we can let the workers inside the plant know

in solidarity,

Korean Metal Workers' Union(KMWU)
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU)
You would..

* Ssangyong_August_5_Update.doc (1.38MB)(18)

Text fwd: S. Korea's first space rocket launch may be postponed

Yonhap News
S. Korea's first space rocket launch may be postponed
By Lee Joon-seung

SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Tuesday it may have to again postpone the launch of its first space rocket because further examination of a critical combustion test conducted last week is needed.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said that while Russia successfully completed the "hot fire test" last Thursday, some "technical issues" still have to be clarified, requiring more time.

"A notification on the need to conduct more checks arrived from Russia," said Yoo Guk-hee, head of the ministry's space development division.

South Korea has never launched a space rocket, and has been working with Russia on the development of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1).

Yoo would not say whether the scheduled launch date of Aug. 11 will have to be changed to deal with the new developments, although a delay may be inevitable as the ongoing assembly of the rocket at the Naro Space Center will likely be affected.

"Once more details on the technical issues involved are known, a more definitive plan for the rocket will be made public," the official said.

Others in the ministry said that because Seoul set the "launch window" from Aug. 11 through Aug. 18 to deal with unforeseen developments in weather, experts will determine if the rocket can be launched within that time period.

The launch of the KSLV-1 has been delayed several times in the past, mainly due to technical reasons associated with the construction and certification of the new rocket, along with delays in the building of the launch pad and systems checks.

Originally, when the project was started in August 2002, work on the rocket design was set to be completed by late 2005 with the launch scheduled for October 2007. This was pushed back to December 2008 and then to the second quarter of this year before being set at July 30. It has since been rescheduled for next Tuesday.

The rocket, developed at a cost of 502.5 billion won (US$412.5 million), stands 33 meters tall, has a diameter of just under 3 meters and weighs 140 tons. The first stage main booster rocket has a thrust of 170 tons, while the smaller, second-stage can generate 8 tons of thrust. The rocket is designed to put a 100kg satellite into orbit.

yonngong@yna.co.kr