평화군축센터 미분류 2007-07-23   860

[Statement] Call for Immediate Withdrawal of the Korean Troops and Safe Return of the Korean Hostages from Afghanistan

An incident involving the kidnap of 23 Koreans happened in Afghanistan. The kidnapping group has announced that the hostages will be executed if the Korean troops would not withdraw immediately. As the lives of 23 persons are imperiled, not only the families of the hostages but also the entire nation fall into a state of tremendous shock and anxiety. With heavy heart for those whose lives are at stake, all of us gathered in the Korean Action against the Dispatch of Troops (KADT)* express our deepest concerns for the hostages and urges the government the following.

1. We wish all the kidnapped Koreans return home safely and offer our sincerest comfort to their families.

The abduction of civilians who are not immediate party to any hostilities or military conflict ought to be denounced as an unacceptable criminal act, unjustifiable on any ground. KADT, working for the withdrawal of Korean troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, believes that such an abduction of civilians has an adverse effect to the evacuation of the troops and demands immediate release of the kidnapped Koreans.

2. It is now in the hands of the Korean government to guarantee the release of the hostages.

The families are anxiously waiting for “the government to at least give a verbal promise to withdraw the troops.” The desperate cries of the captives’ families should not be ignored. Mr. Song Min-soon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced that “the troops will be withdrawn as scheduled (by the end of the year).” As this is no different from rejecting the conditions given by the kidnapping group, the Taliban, we are deeply concerned that such a political choice would lead to a disastrous result that we all want to avoid. We still vividly remember the tragic death of Mr. Kim Sun-il, who was kidnapped and executed in 2004 following the declaration of the Roh administration to “enforce the dispatch of forces.” That there is no actual preparation of the withdrawal of the Korean troops alarms us. Acknowledging the urgency of the situation, we strongly urge the Korean government to consider the families’ plea and the concern of the public and announce ‘immediate withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan’.

3. The current crisis involving 23 human lives is a direct outcome of the wrong policy of the Korean government partaking foreign occupation with the use of its own military forces in Afghanistan.

The occupation, now approaching its 7th year, is dragging Afghanistan into a misery. Over 10,000 people have died from the invasion and 6,500,000 people are suffering from starvation. The ‘Freedom and Democracy’ that the bush administration has promised never came. This is why resistance movements against the occupation are increasing. The pro-U.S. Karzai administration has not even succeeded in securing control over Kabul, the capital. The Korean troops are stationed in Afghanistan with blind eyes to this reality. The Korean government has been giving support to the occupation from the very beginning of the postwar days. Although the Korean troops are known to bear humanitarian mission, we highlight that the National Assembly has specifically identified the dispatched units as “anti-terrorism support units” each year. While the Korean government had agreed to troop withdrawal by this year, it has also expressed its position recently to continuously support the occupation. When the U.S. government has requested continuation of the Korean troops’ mission in Afghanistan, the Minister of National Defense of South Korea hastily made a favorable response to it by promising to participate in the US’ Provincial Reconstruction Team. The overall blind support of the Korean government to the US occupation has created serious danger to both military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Yoon Jang-ho, who was killed in a bomb attack at the Bagram base early this year being the precursor example.

4. As a desperate appeal to save all the lives of the kidnapped civilians, we strongly call for an immediate announcement of the withdrawal of the Korean troops. At this moment, the withdrawal of irresponsible troops is urgent and pivotal to avoiding unnecessary loss of lives. The Roh administration should place it prime responsibility in protecting the safety of Korean citizens rather than in giving military support to the US occupation of Afghanistan.

* The Korean Action against the Dispatch of Troops is a collation of 351 peace and human rights NGOs working against the dispatch of Korean troops in Iraq

Center for Peace and Disarmament

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