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News Archive |
LAST UPDATE
July 11, 2005
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| July 2, 2004 |
Appeal to the Governments of the Republic of Korea and Japan for the military withdrawal from Iraq |
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The Honorable Roh Moo-Hyun,
President of the Republic of Korea
Office of the President
1 Sejong-ro, Jongro-gu,
Seoul 110-820,
Republic of Korea
Fax +82-2-770-2462
Email: president[a]president.go.kr |
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July 2, 2004
Appeal to the Governments of the Republic of Korea and Japan for the military withdrawal from Iraq
Your Excellency,
The undersigned members of the Global Partnership conflict prevention network in Northeast Asia (including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, China, Russia and Taiwan) are appealing for
- the immediate withdrawal of multinational armies from Iraq, specifically the participation of Korean and Japanese troops and;
- the cancellation of plans to dispatch additional Korean troops to Iraq.
On 22 June 2004, South Korean national Kim Sun-il was beheaded by armed resistance groups in Iraq despite efforts by South Korea and the rest of the world to secure his release. The Northeast Asian civil society network of the Global Partnership expresses grief over this incident, and conveys our deepest sympathy to Kim Sun-il's family.
The Northeast Asian civil society network of the Global Partnership condemns any violent acts carried out by militants against civilians. However, upon asking why Japanese and South Korean citizens continue to be taken hostage and even executed in Iraq, the causal link to be made with Japanese and South Korean military presence in Iraq is patently clear. By pledging support to US-led coalition forces, the Japanese and Korean governments have endangered Japanese and Korean civilians' lives.
Both the Korean and Japanese governments have maintained that deploying troops to Iraq is "in the national interest." There is no national interest that is more important than protecting the lives of its citizens. The release of hostages and respect for human life should be any government's utmost priority. Whatever justification the government may use for sending its troops, the events that are actually taking place are drawing citizens into the war that the US-led coalition continues to wage. Sending additional troops will certainly fuel the vicious cycle of violence and killing, and this will lead to the inevitable: the continued sacrifice of soldiers and innocent civilians.
Several Japanese citizens have also been taken hostage recently. With regards to negotiations for their release, the Japanese Government emphasized that the hostages should take responsibility for their own lives, and showed no sign of reconsidering plans to withdraw Japanese Self-Defense Forces. We are deeply saddened to think the deaths of journalists Hashida Shinsuke and Ogawa Kotaro last month have been influenced by the Japanese government's lack of care and co-operation.
Both the Japanese and Korean governments must observe closely the recent hostage crises to learn that these civilian hostage deaths were avoidable. The key countermeasure that could prevent similar threats in the future points to one policy-making action: the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Citizens worldwide continue to oppose the US-led coalition attacks on Iraq. In South Korea and Japan, voices of opposition to the dispatch of troops participating in unjust attacks in Iraq are loud and clear. Their voices must be heard by the governments of both countries.
We call on the Japanese and South Korean governments to collaborate with civil society organizations to pursue new ways of offering unarmed aid and assistance. We can no longer bear to have innocent and irreplaceable lives lost due governmental policy-making.
We strongly believe that this is the kind of partnership that the Japanese and South Korean Governments must form in order to realize a peaceful East Asia.
Signed
Members of the Northeast Asian civil society network of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict
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Signed:
AU Pak Kuen |
Vice-president of Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union |
Vadim GAPONENKO |
Director, International Research Center, Maritime State University |
JUNG Gyung-Lan |
Chairperson, Committee for International Solidarity, Women Making Peace |
KIMIJIMA Akihiko |
Professor of Constitutional Law, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto; Nonviolent Peaceforce Japan |
KODAMA Katsuya |
Associate Professor in Peace Research and Sociology, Mie University; Secretary General, International Peace Research Association |
LEE Hyun-Sook |
Representative, Women Making Peace; Council of Unification Education; National Council for Peace on the Korean Peninsula |
LEE Jae-Young |
Peace Programme Coordinator, Korea Anabaptist Center; Researcher, Conflict Resolution Center, Women Making Peace |
Dennis LIN |
Director of Research and Information Department, Peace Time Foundation of Taiwan |
Jeannie MANIPON |
Coordinator and Executive Director of Asian Region Regional Exchange for New Alternatives (ARENA); Steering Committee, Asian Peace Alliance (APA) |
MUSHAKOJI Kinhide |
Centre for Asia Pacific Partnership, Osaka University of Economics and Law International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), Japan Committee Member, APA |
Tatiana RUCHKINA |
Honorary President of NGO Future of Asia, Vladivostok, Russian Far East |
Phillip YANG |
Professor, Department of Political Sciences; Director, Taiwan Security Research Center, National Taiwan University |
YOSHIOKA Tatsuya |
Director and Co-founder of Peace Boat (NGO), Tokyo |
ZHU Cheng Shan |
Director, Nanking Massacre Museum; Professor, National Science Museum; Founder and Director, Nanking Peace Institute |
For further information, contact:
Peace Boat
Tel +81-3-3363-8047
Fax +81-3-3363-7562
Email gppac[a]peaceboat.gr.jp
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