National Campaign to End the Korean War

*This is from an Organization inside the US that wishes to bring more attention to this worthy issue.

Below is a letter to President Obama drafted by the National Campaign to End the Korean War. We have launched a letter-writing campaign to call for the de-escalation of military hostilities surrounding the Korean Peninsula, and we invite wide participation by all who support the return to diplomacy to achieve peace in Korea.

If you wish to forward an electronic copy of this letter to President Obama, the length of the text is short enough that it may be pasted into the electronic form on the "Contact the White House" website. At the bottom, instead of "Members of the National Campaign to End the Korean War," simply substitute your name.

In addition, hand-written letters are welcome and encouraged. Consult this page for the mailing address to the White House, and feel free to use this Open Letter as a template.

If you compose an original letter (hand-written or via the White House website), please consider sending us an electronic copy or a photocopy of your letter, and let us know whether we may publish it on our site. Our email is info@endthekoreanwar.org and our mailing address is NCEKW, P.O. Box 750061, Forest Hills, NY 11375. Thank you.

* * * * *

Dear President Obama,

We write as citizens in response to alarming developments in US foreign policy toward Korea. We are gravely concerned that recent military maneuvers not only by North Korea but also by the US and South Korea are pushing us closer to the brink of war.

The American people do not want more war. Given that another costly and dangerous war is not in US national interests, we look to you for leadership in defusing tensions in Northeast Asia. Given that our economy is in desperate straits and our military is overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan, now is the time to prioritize peace in Korea.

In doing so, let us heed the counsel of those most knowledgeable about past negotiations between the US and North Korea—including former US President Jimmy Carter, former US Ambassadors to South Korea, as well as prominent nuclear scientists and Korea policy experts—who have repeatedly advocated a peace process as the only viable path to de-escalate current tensions and dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program.

Yet, it has been disturbing to witness how the US has recently joined South Korea, a longtime US ally, in assuming an increasingly hostile war footing on the Korean Peninsula. We fear that such war preparations proceed from the reckless assumption that a war with North Korea would be quick and easy to win. Similar miscalculations were used to rationalize the Iraq War, only later to have proven unfounded after we had already become embroiled in a disastrous war.

We cannot stand by and allow this to happen again, not under the watch of a president who stands on the side of peace.

We urge you to withdraw US forces from the recurring joint US-ROK military exercises, the massive war games involving tens of thousands of American and South Korean soldiers, which aggravate an already heated situation. We object to the use of American taxpayer money to stage these unnecessary, costly drills. They intensify the risk that an accident could quickly spiral into general warfare, which could kill millions of innocent people.

The Korean War has continued for more than six decades without a peace treaty. We call upon you to choose the path to peace by returning the US to dialogue with North Korea and negotiating an end to the Korean War. We petition you, out of your convictions honored by the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, to seize this tremendous opportunity for achieving peace in Northeast Asia and bringing greater stability to the world.

Yours,

Members of the National Campaign to End the Korean War

Ann Wright Visits Guam

Ex-envoy warns against US plan for Guam
Wednesday, 22 July 2009 00:51 by Jude Lizama
Marianas Variety News Staff

A FORMER U.S. diplomat turned peace activist advised Guam residents to be
wary of the American government’s military buildup plan for the
island.Retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright speaks against war and
militarization during a presentation held Monday at the University of Guam.

“We need to be looking very carefully at what our federal government does
to us,” said Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel who spoke to a small
crowd on the implications of the relocation of 8,000 U.S. Marines from
Okinawa to Guam during a presentation held Monday night at the University of
Guam.

“While we all want to be safe and secure in the world, sometimes our federal
government uses this issue of national security to do things to us that we
normally wouldn’t put up with,” she added.

Wright accompanied members of the Code Pink Japan, a peace activist group,
who visited Guam to discuss the impact of the military buildup with local
activists. The group left Guam yesterday.

“Our delegation is here in solidarity with the people of Guam in terms of
the movement of 8,000 marines from Okinawa. The people of Japan,
particularly the people on Okinawa, have been working very hard to remove
some of the extensive military forces. Now, they seem to be coming to your
lovely island,” said Wright, a native of Arkansas.

“The [Okinawans] certainly understand that whenever the U.S. military lands
somewhere, it leaves a very large footprint. You all know it very well,
because much of your land is already occupied by the U.S. military,” the
former U.S. envoy told the audience.


Anti-war
Wright is a former U.S. deputy ambassador who was assigned in Sierra Leone,
Afghanistan, Mongolia and Micronesia. She joined the military at the time
when the U.S. military was invading Vietnam.

On March 19, 2003, the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Wright cabled a
letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell, stating that
without the authorization of the UN Security Council, the invasion and
occupation of a Muslim, Arab, oil-rich country would be a isaster. Since
then, she has been writing and speaking out for peace and is now a resident
of Honolulu.

“It has been deeply emotional for all of us. Here we are in war again. The
United States has started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,” she said. “When you
look at the number of civilians who have been killed in Iraq, Afghanistan,
and Guam, it brings home to us all what we should be working on.”

“The history of the United States is not a peaceful history,” said Wright,
who added that the U.S. has, “a history of invading other countries.”


Land grabbing
With regard to the local military buildup, Wright told the audience that,
“You have been seeing your own lands being taken from you,” adding that,
“The federal government builds without your agreement. They build enormous
facilities that have disastrous effects on your environment.”
The retired colonel suggested that people weigh the importance of their own
lands, and whether or not it is worth it to lose those lands for an increase
in short term values such as trade and business.
“Once the federal government gets its hands into something it never
gets it out. With the Obama administration I certainly hope that we will all
join together to throw out many of the provisions of the Patriot Act that
are really curtailing our own civil liberties,” she said.


Threatened
Japanese parliamentarian and Code Pink member Sumi Fujita said that because
of the long military presence and all of the rape cases in Okinawa, “women
[there] now feel threatened.”

“All of the military promises to help the Okinawan economy have been a big
lie,” Fujita said, through interpreter Hisae Ogawa.

As for the rape issue, Wright said, “This is a failure in leadership that is
coming to you, that will allow this to continue.”

“Sometimes being an activist leads to things that you’d never thought you’d
be doing,” said Wright.

The former U.S. diplomat also stated that we should all be aware of the
“isms” created by policy makers. “Our government has been very good, meaning
very bad, in using the ‘isms’ like communism, terrorism, and fascism to
frighten and scare the American public so that they can do things that
normally we would protest,” she said. “It something we should always be very
wary of, when there’s another ‘ism’ coming up.”

Japanese Peace Groups in Guam

Retired Army officer, Japan peace delegation tour Guam
By Michele Catahay
Published Jul 20, 2009
KUAM News

A peace delegation from Osaka, Japan is on island to study and tour Guam and to hear from the locals on their thoughts about the Marines' relocation from Okinawa to Guam. Joining them is a retired U.S. Army colonel who says the move won't be good for Guam.

During the eve of Liberation Day, a peace delegation from Osaka took a tour around the island today to visit the many sites where Chamorros suffered the atrocities of war. The group toured various locations and memorials, to include here at the Tinta caves, where they paid respect to those Chamorros who died during the Japanese occupation of Guam. Joining them is retired Colonel Anne Wright, who says their mission is to study the impact Guam will have on the move.

In fact, Wright says there will be a negative impact, noting, "I'm very concerned about the militarization of Guam. Of course, it is a dilemma. Where does the U.S. put its military forces, but to put it in such small islands that are going to be negatively impacted by such a large increase in population. Plus, the weapons that are going to be used, the toxic materials that are used as a part of war, fighting and practicing the exercise training areas that will be used here on Guam."

Wright was once a diplomat in Micronesia and visited Guam in the past. She says Guam's pristine lands will be greatly impacted by the increase of Marines and their dependents. "I would urge our military to take our military to other places and put it in an area that has the capability of absorbing so many people and so many war-fighting materials," she said.

Wright will be speaking at several conferences as she joins the peace delegation back to Japan.

Meanwhile, trip organizer Ako Miamoto from Osaka says her group currently promotes peace in a nuclear-free world. She says the trip will give them insight on what happened during World War II and what could happen once the Marines move to Guam. "Today we're traveling all around Guam to study what our Japanese military did during the Second World War and now the relocation issues," she said. "They are already so many concerns about it. So that's why we invited 18 people." She also said, "It's our common issue. We're all against the relocation of U.S. Marines."

The group also met with native rights groups. They will leave the island tomorrow.

Reclaim Guahan Rally

Reclaim Guåhan: Chule' Tatte Guåhan

A Community Rally to Educate, Express and Empower
Hosted by Guåhan Youth

Saturday, May 23
2:00pm - 8:00pm
Skinners Plaza

The people of Guam have been watching in silence as the future of our island drastically changes before our eyes. Due to our political status and current leadership, we have had little-to-no say in plans for our future.

A collective of youth and grassroots organizations have come together to organize a rally for change entitled “Reclaim Guåhan: Chule’ Tatte Guåhan.” The collective aims to break the silence and empower people to express what they envision for our island.

The rally will take place May 23, 2009 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Skinner’s Plaza and will feature honored speakers, poetry, local bands, art, film showings, carabao rides and much more. The rally will end with a candle light vigil at 7: 30 p.m.

“Reclaim Guåhan: Chule’ Tatte Guåhan” will be a space for education, expression and empowerment. The people of Guam are invited to:

• Learn about the most critical issues affecting our island, including political status, the military build-up, going green and protecting the land, the threats to Chamorro culture and ways of life, and the importance of uniting as a community during this time. Information tables with personal notes, creative work, research, documentaries, and other published literature pertaining to these issues will be available.

•Speak out on open mics and express things normally only discussed around the BBQ grill or in the outdoor kitchen (kusinan sanhiyong). Only there will be more people listening and sharing.

•Contribute to the “UNITED art PEACE,” a 12-by-6 foot wall for expression.

•Share and listen to stories from our past, and create stories for our present and future.

•Ask questions and seek answers from each other.

•Come together consciously to be more aware of how we exist as a people.

•Promote and practice unity by being open to different ideas and accepting of people's opinions.

•Take actions that will make a difference.

•Embrace diversity and celebrate the struggles we experience together.

For more information please email reclaimguahan@gmail.com.

Guam Should Be Wary

BOSTON GLOBE - LETTER TO THE EDITOR
GUAM SHOULD BE WARY
January 11, 2009

"US PLANS for military buildup leave Guam wary" (Page A9, Jan. 4) reminded me why the Chamorro people are increasingly fearful of the destruction of their environment and culture, and why many are doing all they can to prevent the massive US military expansion in their occupied land.

Guam remains the colony designed to reinforce US dominance in Asia that William McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt envisioned when they seized it from Spain in 1898. Twenty-five years ago, members of the Guam Land Owners' Association worked with two maps. One depicted Guam's best fresh water supply, agricultural land, and fishing grounds. The other showed the US military bases in their homeland. The maps were nearly identical.

Now, with many Okinawans and other Japanese saying that they've had enough of US nuclear-powered ships based in their cities, and that they are fed up with the terrifying noise of night-landing and low-altitude flights and the seizure of their lands, the idea is to transfer some of this nightmare to Guam. Guam's isolated 155,000 people are a frail force to resist the imperium.

As a nation, we feel shame when we recall the genocide and cultural destruction of our country's first peoples. We should not repeat it with the military corruption and destruction of Guam.

Joseph Gerson
Director of programs
American Friends Service Committee
New England Region
Cambridge

New WWII Monument on Guam

Japan peace groups to unveil WWII monument in Guam
Kyodo News
May 2 02:38 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, May 2 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japanese peace groups are set to unveil a cenotaph in Guam on May 18 to honor the more than 20,000 Japanese and U.S. soldiers as well as islanders who lost their lives in the Battle of Guam in 1944.

Peace Ring of Guam, a Guam-based nonprofit organization, and its Japanese arm have erected the monument by the sea in Agat Village, one of two locations on the western coast where U.S. forces landed and fought with Japanese troops.

Kensuke Haga, vice president of the Guam group, said he hopes many Japanese tourists will visit the Agat WWII Peace Memorial Monument and learn about wartime incidents on the resort island including massacres by Japanese soldiers of members of the local Chamorro ethnic group.

"We want to share the pain Japan inflicted on the Chamorro people during the war to create true friendship between Japan and Guam," Haga, 59, said.

Guam, a popular tropical resort for Japanese tourists, is known as the site where some 8,000 Marines based in the southern Japan prefecture of Okinawa will be relocated in line with a 2006 Japan-U.S. agreement on the realignment of the U.S. military.

"But the number of people who know about Guam's war history is very limited" and it was this reality that prompted the peace group to build the cenotaph, Haga said.

The Chinese "kanji" character for the Japanese word "wa" (harmony) is engraved in the center of the marble cenotaph, which is 2.4 meters wide and 1.7 meters high and cost 3.6 million yen.

The character is based on calligraphy by former Imperial Japanese Army soldier Shoichi Yokoi who was found in a jungle in Guam in 1972 believing that Japan and the United States were still at war.

The village of Agat has provided a site for a planned tourist center where the cenotaph stands.

Agat Mayor Carol Tayama told Kyodo News that she welcomes the project as she has worked hard to "encourage harmony between the Japanese and Chamorros." She also said, "I am very proud we can have the monument to signify the feeling we have."

The old imperial Japanese military invaded Guam, a U.S. possession since 1898, in December 1941 and the U.S. military reoccupied the 550- square-kilometer island after landings July 21, 1944 on the western coast at Agat and Asan. It is believed that nearly 20,000 Japanese soldiers and more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers as well as some 700 islanders were killed in the battle, according to Haga and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Peace Ring of Guam Japan, based in Tokyo, plans to send a delegate to the ceremony. The group comprises former Japanese soldiers and people who lost their relatives in the fighting in Guam as well as their supporters.

Heitaro Matsumoto, a 67-year-old corporate executive who heads the Tokyo group, said, "We should not let the history of the Battle of Guam fade with time."

Peace marches expected to snarl Okinawa
By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida,
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, May 11, 2007

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa • If you're driving along major highways on Okinawa now through Sunday, expect delays due to a three-pronged peace march by thousands of people commemorating the 35th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan.

Local residents, peace activists and labor union members from Okinawa and mainland Japan are expected to take part in the marches that were slated to begin Thursday and end Sunday with a massive attempt to encircle Kadena Air Base.

The Okinawa Peace March is an annual event that began in 1978, six years after the U.S. ended its WWII occupation.

Organizers say 3,000 people will participate in the marches, beginning with a gathering in the northern village of Kunigami on Thursday that will proceed south to Nago for a 6 p.m. protest rally against plans to build a Marine air facility on Camp Schwab to replace Marine Corps Air
Station Futenma.

As of Wednesday, military officials on Okinawa had not issued any advisories concerning the protest activities.

On Friday, the marchers will take off on three routes.

The Eastern March will start Friday at the Henoko fishing port at 8:30 a.m. and will proceed south along Highway 329, stopping briefly for a rally in front of the main gate to Camp Hansen, organizers said.

On Saturday the eastern route will continue, starting at 8:30 a.m. in Uruma and heading south down Highway 329, diverting to Highway 330 and a rally in front of Kadena Air Bases' Gate 2.

The Western March starts from Onna village at 8:30 a.m. Friday and proceeds south along Highway 58 to Highway 6 in Yomitan and west to Torii Station, where another rally will take place. The western marchers then will pick up their walk at the Yomitan village office Saturday at 8:30 a.m., walking along Highway 6 and back to Highway 58, passing by Kadena Air Base's Gate 1, where they plan to have a brief rally.

The southern marchers step off Friday morning at Peace Prayer Park in Itoman. On Saturday they will start in Urasoe and walk north up Highway 330, pausing for brief rallies in front of the U.S. Consulate General's Office, MCAS Futenma's Gate 2 and Camp Foster's headquarters gate.

The three groups are scheduled to meet Saturday at the Chatan Town Ball Field for a rally at 6 p.m., organizers said.

Okinawa Peace March organizers say they expect about 20,000 people in an attempt to encircle Kadena Air Base in a protest expected to start at 3 p.m. Sunday and last one hour.

*"Although Okinawa is marking the 35th anniversary of its reversion to Japan, the U.S. and Japanese governments continue to pursue a military-first policy for the island,"* said Shiko Sakiyama, chairman of the Okinawa Peace Activity. He cited *plans to build the new air
facility on Camp Schwab and the recent move of Army PAC-3 missile batteries at Kadena Air Base as signs that Okinawa will continue "to bear the burden" of U.S. bases.*

*"Encircling Kadena Air Base is a way to express the voice of the Okinawa people against this military-first policy," he said. "It is also a way for us to send a message to the rest of the world that Okinawa aspires to world peace." *

Anti-base protesters last circled Kadena in July 2000, during the Group of Eight summit, drawing international attention to the Okinawa base issue. Then, 18,000 to 27,000 people, depending on who was doing the counting, *managed to join hands around the 10.8-mile perimeter of the air base*.