As part of the North American tour of Korean activists, meetings were organized in Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Vancouver to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the heroic Gwangju People"s Uprising. The aim of the tour was to raise awareness of the Gwangju uprising, discuss the prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula and to strengthen the solidarity between the Korean people and the peoples of Canada and the U.S. The meetings, also held in 15 cities across the United States, were addressed by Yoomi Jeong, acting-secretary general of the Korea Truth Commission (KTC), Kim Hyo-Seok, co-director of the KTC in Gwangju-Chonnam and a participant in the Gwangju uprising, and Lee Shin, a graduate student at Chonnam University and director of policy for the Reunificaiton Alliance in Gwangju-Chonnam and the Investigation for the KTC also in Gwangju-Chonnam.

Banners at the meetings declared "Korea is One," "U.S. Troops Out of Korea" and "From Gwangju to Re-Unification." This set the context for the discussion on the Gwangju uprising as a historic event in the struggle of the Korean people in defence of their sovereignty and against the U.S. occupation of their country. The documentary evidence presented by the KTC on the Gwangju uprising and the current situation on the peninsula clearly showed that the main threat to peace and re-unification is the U.S. government and its massive military presence in Korea.

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The interventions by Prof. Kim and Mr. Lee reflected the fighting spirit of Koreans and the deep conviction they hold that they are one people which cannot be prevented from re-unifying. Both gave insights into the links between the uprising in Gwangju, the current anti-war movement against Korean participation in U.S. war crimes in Iraq and the work of the Korean people to end the U.S. military control over their lives. They also discussed their view that the development of nuclear weapons by north Korea is defensive and a factor to prevent the outbreak of war, specifically a U.S. "pre-emptive" strike against Korea. They also affirmed that a unified Korea would have no need for U.S. troops and would block U.S. war preparations in Asia.

The lively spirit of the delegation was only topped by the profound appreciation of Canadians of Korean origin who were able to have their aspirations for peace and re-unification affirmed by the presenters. Resolutions were passed at the meetings which reflected the discussions and expressed that Canadians stand as one with the Korean people in their work for re-unification and against war. Another example of the success of the tour was a motion passed by the Detroit City council that called on U.S. forces to leave Korea and gave the full support of the Council to the tour.

Toronto Meeting

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The Toronto meeting was introduced by Philip Fernandez of the Korea Truth Commission (Canadian Chapter). He explained that Canadians have a duty to correct the historical wrong that was committed when the Canadian government sent troops to intervene against the Korean people"s liberation struggle during the Korean War. He also read a message of greetings sent by a member of the south Korean National Assembly who expressed the importance of the Gwangju uprising and the pride he felt to hear of its commemoration in North America.

<##IMAGE##>The program began with the playing of the traditional Korean song Arirang and the reading of a poem honouring the victims of the repression that followed the uprising in Gwangju. After the cultural presentations, a video was shown depicting scenes from events of May 18-27, 1980 when the citizens liberated the city of Gwangju. The video also described the struggle to reveal the truth about who was the real culprit of the brutal suppression of the uprising. Over the years it has been revealed that the U.S. government of Jimmy Carter had authorized the troops of the puppet south Korean government to turn their guns on their own citizens. This realization led to a powerful anti-U.S. movement that today is demanding the removal of all U.S. troops from Korea.

The first guest speaker, Prof. Kim, participated in the 1980 uprising as a high school student. He explained that the military dictator Chun Doo Hwan had declared martial law and begun arresting activists in south Korea on May 17, 1980 in response to the growing democracy movement which had spread since December 1979. The population of the city demonstrated the following day, demanding that the political prisoners be released and that the military government step down. The demonstration was attacked indiscriminately by special forces of the military, prompting the people to arm themselves and form a citizens" militia to protect the city from the state forces. The official press described the situation as anarchy but in fact there was no looting, arson or robbery while the citizens were in control of the city. Neighbours shared food and fuel to cope with the isolation of the city from the rest of the country by the military.

The city was liberated until May 27 when the special forces launched a bloody attack to regain control of the city. The citizens" militia exchanged fire with the attacking forces but the handguns and old rifles used by the militia were no match for the military weaponry of the special forces. The special forces killed 2,000 people in the ensuing repression and thousands more were injured or tortured. Since that time, the experience of the Gwangju uprising has come be seen as an inspirational landmark for a democracy movement whose demands today are for an end to foreign intervention in the military and political affairs of Korea and for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Korean peninsula.

The second guest speaker, Mr. Lee, was also a student activist and is now involved in the reunification movement in Gwangju-Chonnam and in investigations for the Korea Truth Commission. Mr. Lee described how the dispute of the U.S. with the Democratic People"s Republic of Korea over nuclear weapons has worsened under the Bush administration. Whereas the two countries signed an agreement in 1994 in which the U.S. agreed not to use nuclear weapons against the DPRK, the Bush administration has abandoned that policy. Bush has named the DPRK as part of an "axis of evil" and the U.S. government"s nuclear policy statement listed the DPRK as one of the states that should be considered a potential target for a nuclear attack. According to Mr. Lee, the statement by the DPRK on February 10, 2005 that it had become a nuclear weapon state, can be understood as a deterrent to a nuclear attack from the U.S. The DPRK, he said, has learned from the invasion of Iraq that a country could be attacked even though it truthfully states that it has no weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Lee expressed the view that, once peaceful relations are established between the U.S. and the DPRK, the reunification can proceed. He predicted a dramatic turnaround in the crisis this year but warned that any progress would depend on two key factors: a peace treaty between the U.S. and the DPRK and greater co-operation between north and south Korea.

In the discussion that followed, many questions were raised about the people"s movement in south Korea, including about the stand towards the government sending troops as part of the occupation force in Iraq. Prof. Kim explained that people have taken to the streets to demand the removal of Korean troops from Iraq and to oppose the U.S. control over the south Korean military. Mr. Lee pointed out that the decision to send troops to Iraq was done behind the backs of the people.

Following the discussion, a resolution in solidarity with the Korean people"s struggle was adopted. The text of the resolution reads:

We, the participants at the Toronto Meeting of the North American Tour of Korean Activists commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Heroic Gwangju People"s Uprising, resolve as follows:

We wholeheartedly support the Korean people"s just struggle for a peaceful and independent re-unification of the Korea nation.

We demand the dismantling of all U.S. military bases in south Korea and the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops, weapons, military aircraft and warships from the Korean peninsula and its vicinity.

We call upon the Canadian government to maintain a principled foreign policy that will contribute to progress for the Korean people, in particular by establishing a Canadian embassy in Pyongyang and by providing immediately whatever material assistance is needed for the well-being and prosperity of the people in the Democratic People"s Republic of Korea.

The meeting concluded with the playing of several patriotic Korean songs on violin and electric piano. The violinist, Mr. Yoon, was a partisan during the Korean people"s struggle against Japanese colonialism. Many people stayed after the formal program to thank the guests from Korea for breaking the wall of silence that exists in North America about the Gwangju people"s uprising and its historical importance for Korea and the world.

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