Dear friends,
Thank you for taking action yesterday. Emails made a huge difference.
Today, Governor Woo of Jeju Island demanded postponing the blasting of the sacred Gureombi rocks, but the South Korean Ministry of Defense has refused to comply and is violating Korean law by moving forward in the project without the consent of the governor.
The blast is set for "around March 8," Korea time. That's Wednesday for those of us on this side of the Int'l. Dateline.
Several buses carrying dozens of riot police have been shipped in from the Korean mainland to handle protestors anticipated at the blast of Gureombi Rocks. The blast will require 400,000 tons of explosives.
Meanwhile, the S. Korean Ministry of Defense says, "The Jeju naval base is an important national project linked directly to national security. Unnecessary debates and social conflicts should be stopped for the construction to normalize as soon as possible."
If you have not already done so, please send a letter asap to the following officials to STOP THE BLAST OF GUREOMBI ROCKS! STOP THE NAVAL BASE CONSTRUCTION! Also send your letter to the nearest South Korean embassy. (A list of embassies follows.)
SAMPLE LETTER:
To your Excellency, the President of the Republic of Korea, and to other heads of state, departments and consulates:
People from all over the world are shocked and disturbed that the government of South Korea would consider building a navy base on Jeju Island. It is a moral crime to cover Jeju's fertile farmlands with concrete, and to destroy its rare, soft-coral reef. The Gangjeong villagers depend on their farms to live, and the planet depends on healthy reefs to live.
Jeju-do is sacred to all the people of the world, not only to the Korean people. Please do not allow Jeju Island to become militarized. If current tensions between China and the U.S. escalate in the South China Sea, if there is a naval base, the first target of attack by China will be Jeju Island. Please stop the militarization of Peace Island.
The South Korean government needs to listen to its people and not build a base to port US Navy Aegis missile destroyers and aircraft carriers. Please protect Peace Island and DO NOT BLAST THE GUREOMBI ROCKS! STOP CONSTRUCTION OF THE NAVY BASE!
Sincerely,
(your name here)
Mr. Kim Kwan-Jin
Minister, Ministry of National Defense
No. 1, Yongsan-dong 3-ga
Yongsan-gu, Seoul # zip: 140-701
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +82 2 748 1111 / +82-02-795-0071 (in the MND website above)
Fax: +82 2 748 6895 / + 82-02-703-3109 (in the MND website above)
E-mail: cy...@mnd.go.kr
http://www.mnd.go.kr/mndEng_2009/main/index.jsp
Mr. Lee Myung-Bak
President
1 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu
Seoul, 110-820
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +82 2 770 4751
Email: for...@president.go.kr or pres...@cwd.go.kr or pres...@president.go.kr
Mr. Woo Keun-Min
Governor
The government of Jeju-do
312-1, Yeon-dong, Jeju-si, Jeju-do
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +82 64 710 3009
E-mail: jejum...@jeju.go.kr
EMBASSIES:
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN
New York
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea
Los Angeles
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea
Seattle
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea
New York
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea
Houston
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea
Boston
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea
Honolulu
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea
Atlanta
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea
San Francisco
Consulate Agency of the Republic of Korea
Hagatna, Guam
South Korea Embassy
Washington, DC
Consulate of the Republic of Korea
Tamuning, Guam
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