Institute for Policy Studies and the National Association for Korean Americans present events to call for peace in Korea
When: Wednesday, July 27, 2011, Workshop: 5:30 -7:00 PM; Candlelight Vigil: 7:30-9:00 PMWhere: Workshop: Institute for Policy Studies, 1112 16th Street NW Washington D.C. 20036; Candlelight Vigil: Lafayette Park, White House
Speakers: Changsoo Kim, Solidarity, Peace, and Reunification for Korea; Ikhwan Kim, IPS-Foreign Policy In Focus; Shiran Sheng and Ketian Chang, IPS-Foreign Policy in Focus; Ben King, Washington Peace Center; and John Feffer, Co-Director of IPS-Foreign Policy in Focus
Washington DC – 58 years after the signing of the Korean War Armistice, most American citizens do not know that the war has not ended. With only a temporary ceasefire agreement, the U.S. and South Korea remain in a deadly standoff with North Korea. As the wars in Afghanistan, and now in Libya, continue, the U.S. Government faces severe financial constraints during a time of economic distress that is costing billions of U.S. tax dollars. The United States alone spends over $1.13 billion per year to maintain more than 28,500 troops at 62 bases in South Korea. U.S. citizens have a direct interest in bringing about peace on the Korean peninsula as part of a larger need to bring war dollars home.
“For Koreans constantly living under the threat of renewed war in their homeland, converting the Korean War Armistice to a peace treaty is a welcome step towards building a more permanent peace on the Korean peninsula and the Northeast Asia region,” said Hyuk Kyo Suh, a community leader with the National Association of Korean Americans. “This step would also be conducive to arranging more reunions of separated family members who have been separated due to the war and division of Korea.”
On July 27, 2011 scholars from the Institute for Policy Studies, South Korea, and the Washington Peace Center will hold a special discussion on the status of the Korean War Armistice and why a peace treaty to end the Korean War matters today in the context of the current military issues facing East Asia and the overall need for peacebuilding in this region.
Following the discussion, local peace activists, Koreans, and Korean Americans will be gathering in front of the White House for a candlelight vigil accompanied by traditional Korean drumming in honor of the nameless spirits who sacrificed their lives during and since the Korean War and to demand a permanent peace settlement on the Korean peninsula.
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Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is a community of public scholars and organizers linking peace, justice, and the environment in the U.S. and globally. We work with social movements to promote true democracy and challenge concentrated wealth, corporate influence, and military power.
National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA) is a non-profit, civil and human rights organization of concerned Korean Americans who contribute to the peaceful, independent reunification of Korea.
Sponsoring Organizations: Bongha Washington (Sah Sah Sae), Washington Peace Center (www.washingtonpeacecenter.net), June 15 Committee for Peace and Reunification (U.S. Committee) Nodutdol for Korean Community Development (www.nodutdol.org), the World Student Christian Federation of the North American Region, World Student Christian Federation of the Asia-Pacific Region, Veterans for Peace NYC (http://www.veteransforpeaceny.org/)
For further information about the event please contact Grace Park, 973-906-2066, gp1160@gmail.com