Demands for Peace on Korean Peninsula
Mass Protests in South Korea Demand an End to U.S. War Exercises and Resignation of President Yoon
Hundreds of thousands of workers, teachers, youth and others marched in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK), on October 22 to oppose the pro-U.S. and militarist government of President Yoon Suk-Yeol and called for his removal. Yoon, the leader of the People's Power Party, came to power in May having won the elections this past March with the slimmest of margins, less than one per cent more votes than his rival, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party.
The
ongoing actions for peace by the people of south Korea are of such
significance they were recently reported by Stars and Stripes which
identifies itself as the U.S. military's independent magazine. In a
September 7, 2022 article, the magazine reports on the popular
resistance to the
never-ending U.S-ROK military exercises, and quotes Lee Seung-bin, an
engineering student and anti-war activist stating: "The fact is that
this is not an exercise of a defensive nature but an exercise for
attacks against North Korea (DPRK). It is too obvious that these drills
do not bring peace to
the Korean Peninsula but can cause confrontation between North Korea
and the U.S. and a war crisis."
The magazine also stated that "Protests outside Yongsan Garrison in Seoul and 40 miles south at Camp Humphreys prompted gate closures." It noted that "Outside Humphreys, activists took turns holding banners with messages criticizing their government's relationship with Washington. In Seongju, roughly 130 miles south of the capital, protesters have regularly staged demonstrations in front of a south Korean military base that has housed the U.S.-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system since 2017. Protesters there previously blocked roads leading into the base and prevented the delivery of supplies."
The monopoly media in Canada deliberately does not report on the anti-war actions of the people in the ROK for peace on the Korean Peninsula but rather busies itself with reinforcing the American disinformation campaign targeting the DPRK as the aggressor.
The protests in south Korea clearly identify the U.S. as the main threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula and call for the removal of President Yoon. Yoon is condemned as a tool of U.S. militarization of south Korea and for undermining the prospect of the Korean people providing themselves with peaceful solutions for the future of the Korean Peninsula.
Yoon assumed office as president on May 10, 2022. Since taking office, his government has stepped up joint military exercises with the U.S. against the DPRK. He has agreed to deployment of American THAAD missiles, disregarding the legitimate concerns of both China and the DPRK as well as the people of south Korea. Yoon's government is strengthening the U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Alliance which threatens the peace and stability not only of Korea but China and the Asia Pacific region in general. Since coming to office, Yoon's government has also opened a ROK NATO office in Brussels and has joined NATO members in various military exercises, as well as providing U.S. weapons bought by the ROK to Ukraine to fuel the conflict there.
Korea is One! The Korean people are one people. Canadians must stand with the people of Korea, north and south, who are determined to oust the U.S. warmongers from their land so as to secure peace and reunification and a bright future for themselves and the people of the region.
(With files from Hankyoreh, Stars and Stripes)
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 40 - November 2, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520404.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca