Urgent Appeal and Call for Action from Korea
A month ago, the Korean government agreed with the US to place THAAD(Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) in a small and peaceful city of Seongju in South Korea, which will threaten peace in the world as well as South Korea and the North East Asia region, driving a new cold war.
This huge radar system, as a part of the US missile defense system(MD), designed to help the US hold hegemony in this region, will be only harmful to human health and the environment. A majority of the Korean people are absolutely opposed to this government’s unilateral policy decision.
Particularly, residents of Seongju have been holding rallies almost everyday since the announcement, demanding that this war-provoking action should be terminated.
“The U.S. and South Korean governments, against wide opposition of South Koreans (and strong subsequent backlash from local citizens of the deployment site), have agreed to deploy U.S.-made THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) system in South Korea. This measure is supposedly to counter North Korean ballistic missiles and provide additional security, yet this is a controversial move that will likely to escalate tension in the region, by provoking North Korea, China and Russia into a spiraling arms race in the region that is already heavily militarized with weapons of mass destruction. Now, more than ever, is the time to step back and de-escalate tensions by pursuing negotiated settlements that will provide sustainable peace mechanism in the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding region.”, Says Geumsoon Yoon, South-East East Asia La Via Campesina.
CALL FOR HELP!
“I want to call for your support for our struggles for the right to be safe and for the world peace.
Please visit the website below to sign the petition against the deployment of THAAD. This petition will be only effective only when the signatures reach 100,000 by August 14 to make an appeal to the White House. But, we have difficulty spreading this campaign inside Korea due to the language barrier. Please help us get your attention and participation in the petition for the sake of peace in my hometown, my country and the whole world.”, added Geumsoon Yoon.