Statement on the Peace Process in Korea


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Statement on the Peace Process in Korea_English version

Statement on the Peace Process in Korea_Japanese version

Joint Statement to Support Peace Process in Korean Peninsula

 

The participants of the 5th South South Forum on Sustainability held on June 13-18, 2018 at Lingnan University, Hong Kong, support the summit peace talk between the USA and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and the peace processes between Republic of Korea (ROK) and the DPRK which will contribute to terminating the Korean War and the Cold War regime on the Korean Peninsula. 

The Korean Peninsula is a remnant of the Cold War which has so far cost us enormously, in life, wasteful military expenditures, as well as in property. The Korean War in 1950 still continues under a fragile armistice. Last year, people on the Korean Peninsula and surrounding countries in particular trembled with fear of imminent war that might eventually lead to a breakout of a Third World War. We are opposed to any type of war, because war in this age of nuclear technological development will have catastrophic consequences for all life. There will be no winner, but instead, will extensively devastate all parties involved as well as the ecological system.

Unimaginable developments towards a peace process suddenly occurred on the Korean Peninsula this year. Dialogue and exchange between ROK and DPRK was revived at the time of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The summit leaders of the two Koreas met in Panmunjom to announce the Panmunjom Declaration on April 27, ensuring that both Koreas stop hostile actions to each other, move towards declaring the end of the war, expand exchanges on the various levels and areas, and proceed with gradual disarmament with the aim of completely denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

 

The historical summit meeting between President Trump of the USA and Chairman Kim Jung-Un of DPRK was held in Singapore on June 12, 2018. The two leaders announced the initiation of moves to eventually denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, and the guarantee of security for DPRK. This meeting of the two parties is an epoch-making event for the peace process, because the USA and the DPRK have been in hostile confrontation against each other for seventy years. The will for peace and mutual trust between the two leaders was confirmed. In this way, the peace process took a major step forward. DPRK has stopped nuclear bomb and long-distance missiles tests since November 2017. DPRK voluntarily destroyed nuclear test sites in May this year. In addition, DPRK released three US citizens from the detention center in May this year. President Trump also announced the end to heavily-armed US-ROK joint military exercises which posed a serious threat to DPRK.

We, as peace-loving global citizens, resolutely support the ongoing peace process on the Korean Peninsula, and are opposed to moves of any party to obstruct, slander, and invalidate this invaluable peace process. This is a rare and precious opportunity for people in this region to win peace. We are convinced that only peace, not war, can guarantee genuine and comprehensive security for people’s life. We stress that all these favorable developments were triggered by the people’s candlelight movement in ROK as part of the decades-long civil rights struggles for peace, especially by the women’s movements.

We support and advocate the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. We, as global citizens, will build and expand solidarity networks to support the negotiation process between the two Koreas, and between the USA and the DPRK. We hope that the negotiations between the concerned parties will be rapidly concluded so that people in the region can enjoy security, prosperity, and human rights.

We, as peace-loving citizens of global society, will work to eradicate and dismantle the legacy of the Cold War regime that has been deeply embedded in legal, institutional, cultural and educational systems.

Here is a particular appeal to intellectuals and activists of East Asian countries, as well as globally, to sign this statement and participate in the solidarity movement to make advances towards a nuclear weapon-free zone in East Asia and extend it to other war-infested areas of the world.

 

June 17, 2018

Lingnan University, Hong Kong

 

[Please send the following information to [email protected] if you support the Statement]

 

Joint Statement to Support Peace Process in Korean Peninsula

Signature: (Name and Affiliation)

 

Ananeza Aban, University of the Philippines

Au Yeung Lai Seung, Lingnan University of Hong Kong

Beatriz Bissio, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Chiang Mai University

Chantana Banpasirichote, Chulalongkorn University

Chow Yin Man Alice, South South Forum on Sustainability, Hong Kong

Dai Jinhua, Peking University

David Barkin, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco

Erebus Wong, Lingnan University of Hong Kong

Filomeno III Sta. Ana

Fatima Harrak, University Mohammed V, Rabat – Morocco

Francis Loh, ALIRAN, Penang, Malaysia

Gustave Massiah, INTERCOLL

HERRERA Rémy, researcher at the CNRS (Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne), Paris

Isagani R Serrano, President, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)

Jung Ok LEE, Daegu Catholic University, South Korea

Lau Kin Chi, Lingnan University of Hong Kong

Lau Kin Ching, South South Forum on Sustainability, Hong Kong

Lee Kiu Chi, Lingnan University of Hong Kong

Lee Seejae, The Catholic University of Korea

Lu Aiguo, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China

Manoranjan Mohanty, Council for Social Development, India

Margo Okazawa-Rey, San Francisco State University

Michael Brie, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Germany

Mina Watanabe, Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace (WAM), Tokyo, Japan

Muto Ichiyo, People’s Plan Study Group, Japan

Pedro Páez Pérez, the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador

Teng Wei, South China Normal University

Tungyi Kho, Lingnan University of Hong Kong

Sit Tsui, Southwest University, China

Víctor Hugo JIJON, National Coordinator of the Commission for the Defense of the Human Rights of Ecuador

Wen Tiejun, Renmin University of China

Wang Hui, Tsinghua University

Yan Aibin, East China University of Science and Technology

Yanti (T) Kusumanto, TYK research & action consulting, the Netherlands

 

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