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| Manifesto and Declarations - 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising (Part 12) |
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Date 2008.12.09
Hit 1266 |
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106. May 18, 1984: Manifesto, by Bereaved Families and the Injured of Gwangju Uprising
It has already been four years since we cried out aspiring for democracy in May 1980.
How long should we bear the pain and bitterness left for the bereaved families from the Gwangju Uprising? How long should we cry from the memory of our past? There are thousands of eyes closely gazing at the government which hypocritically proclaimed that it advocates national reconciliation, getting rid of the remnants of the old age, and violence-free politics! There are souls who are still unable to rest in the Mang-weol cemetery and the wounded who are painfully grieving in hospitals. Where should we go and get healed on the scar we suffered during the uprising. What should we do in the future? Even at this moment, the truth is distorted and the government oppression is still rampant.
Now we agreed that there should be no repetition of this tragedy in this land. We also agreed that the truth of the Gwangju Uprising should be clearly known to the people without distortion with the cooperation of those concerned in and outside the government in order the democracy to be practiced. We, bereaved families, the wounded, released prisoners and their families, are the witnesses of the historic incident. We are determined to make the dreams of the dead to be informed to the general public, to make the dreams come true, and to make the future history of this nation set in the right course.
In this regard we make the following declaration. We will take another step if this request is not accepted.
Our Request:
- Let the truth of the Gwangju Uprising known to the world. Those government officials who are responsible should apologize to the people.
- The government should establish the law to make compensation to the sufferers, and designate them as the special beneficiary of the government protection.
- The government should stop its initiative to remove the tombs of the killed from the current location.
- The government should stop human rights abuse by withdrawing the constant surveillance over the wounded and the bereaved families.
- The government should stop its plan to divide and dissolve the bereaved family's organization.
- The Jeonnam Regional Development Council should stop financial support only to the selected ones. It should be paid to all the bereaved families and the injured without condition.
Long live the spirit of the Gwangju Uprising!
107. Mar. 21, 1985: Launching the Fact-Finding Committee of Gwangju Incident, by Fact-Finding Committee on Gwangju Incident, Youth Association for Democratization
1. The Gwangju Incident of May, 1980 was a massacre of citizens which was committed by the military dictatorship to trample down the people's aspiration for the democracy.
After the Yusin dictatorship was over following the assassination of Bag Jeonghui on Oct. 26, 1979, the people's aspiration for democracy boiled up in factories, universities, on streets and everywhere of the nation. However the small number of power-hungry generals trampled on it with guns and bayonets after the first coup on Dec. 12, 1979 and the second coup on May 17, 1980. They sent paratroopers and committed a savagery crime by crushing Gwangju citizens who rose against the dictatorship. The military regime shrouded by blood and anger of the people launched the so-called Fifth Republic, proclaiming shamelessly that they advocate national reconciliation and the realization of social justice.
2. Oh, Gwangju! You are the eternal banner of democracy!
The history of the nation since May 1980 is a history of the people's struggle to keep the spirit of Gwangju Uprising against the anti-people, anti-democratic factions which try to bury it as a trivial incident by means of terrorizing people, or driving it into oblivion, and often stressing the personal comfort in daily life. Our duty is to realize the democracy with systematic cooperation based on the explosive potentiality, spirit of confrontation of Gwangju people, who overcame frustration and even death.
3. We the democratic forces should unite to find the truth of the uprising, and the persons responsible should be executed.
We want to suggest that all democratic organizations cooperate for the mission of fact-finding on the Gwangju Incident. We should overcome the obliviousness of the time to gather the historical scraps to sublimate the pains of Gwangju into the pain of the nation and then into the teaching of the history. We need to ask the National Assembly to form an investigation committee of the Gwangju Incident and to conduct inspection of the Incident. At the same time, we have to create materials for the public to be informed of this tragedy and massacre.
We should find out and prosecute those who are responsible for the massacre. We have to clarify how the high ranking generals got involved in the Incident, especially Martial Law Commander I Huiseong, Armed Forces Security Commander and the Chief of National Security Agency Jeon Duhwan, Seoul Defence Corps Commander No Taeu, Special Operations Commander Jeong Hoyong, 20th Division Commander Bag Junbyeong.
We also should clarify the role of the U.S. government which agreed to dispatch the army to Gwangju and betrayed the conviction of the Gwangju people who believed that the U.S. government dispatched the seventh fleet to protect Korean people.
We declare that any attempts to interfere with the fact-finding activities are to be condemned as a crime to the people.
108. May 16, 1986: On the Sixth Anniversary of Gwangju Uprising, by Catholic Priests Council of Gwangju Archdiocese
On the Sixth Anniversary of Gwangju Uprising, we now declare without reservation that our nation has crossed the Rubicon in the long march toward the democracy. We have never forgotten the lesson of the history that justice defeats injustice. It is all because of our faith in God who helps us to find good from evil and justice from injustice.
We now witness that the sacrifice of the dead and the uproar of the democratic citizens are the bases for the democratic development of the nation. We are happy to see the movement of the people toward democracy cannot be stopped even while the suppressive government instigates division and gives rise to conflicts among people.
We now see that we should work to harvest the democratic crops, getting rid of the hatred and bitterness of the past. We are ready to accept even the current government which lacks the legitimacy from the beginning, to realize the democratic aspiration of the people only if it is willing to participate in the long march for the democracy. We inform those who committed atrocities in the past that they are to repent their past sin. We are ready to accept them with the love of God.
In this occasion we declare our determination to make our children to live in a democratic society, full of justice and freedom, based on the spirit of Gwangju Uprising.
1. The government should stop human rights abuse by withdrawing the constant surveillance and inhumane oppression to the wounded and the bereaved families by the law enforcement organization.
2. We are worried about the violent suppression of labor movements by the police, which reveals the violent nature of the current government. We denounce the violence of the government and we request that the violence should be removed from this land forever.
3. We consider it is natural for Korean people to be hostile to the U.S. government on its ambiguous attitude that it showed during the Gwangju Uprising. In addition, the rudeness of the contemporary U.S. Secretary of State boosted spreading the hostile sentiment all over the nation. We request the apology from the U.S. government.
4. We consider it is appropriate to have resentment to the Democratic Justice Party (DJP) officials who intimidated the people by the possible response of the government to the people as they did in May 1980. The DJP should remember that the government power is not to be robbed from the people but to be committed by the people. They should discard their personal interest in order to steer the government for the people and for the future of the nation.
5. We know that the students have sacrificed their own whole existence to save the nation from dictatorship. We believe that their dreams should be realized in the society to open a new chapter of the nation's history.
6. We are happy to take side with the declaration of the college professors and secondary school teachers on the democratization of the education with full understanding that the school system has been inhuman and uneducational. We request that the suppressive measures to the teachers should be removed instantly.
7. We now realize that there exist conflicts among the movement groups. We request them to avoid the current danger of division among themselves and to carry a movement based on people's cooperation among laborers, farmers, students, civic leaders, and even the groups whose names are not known. They should keep in mind that the democratization is not to be monopolized.
We will devote ourselves to the call of Gospel and the truth by taking side with the people in their aspiration toward democracy.
109. May 18, 1986: Manifesto, by Jeonnam Branch of National Council for Democratization
On the Sixth Anniversary of Gwangju Uprising,
We know that the history does not simply follow a set course. And Korean people set a new course for our history facing the guns and bayonets with their bare hands and bodies. Now we are clearly changing the flow of the history with our own struggle into the new history of democracy.
We now pay our tribute to the deceased for their noble cause and sacrifice. The new historical development was possible by their sacrifice. We also pay our respect to those who have struggled to keep the spirit of the May Uprising and to the students, laborers, farmers, and the intellectuals who were courageous enough to stand in front of the long march toward democracy.
The new era is still in its dawn, and the sun of the new day is not high enough in the sky to make the world bright. The thick cloud is still hanging over the world and we are all in a hurry and do not have time to take a rest. The reality obliges us to execute bolder and more practical actions. Even though the dictators' grip is no ominous and strong, the military dictatorship cannot have the legitimacy while the dead souls are hovering over the heaven without rest, and while the citizens who witnessed the atrocities by the current dictators are still alive. The new historical flow will not accept their evil and injustice.
For the last six years since the uprising, we consistently insisted that the current constitution should be revised because it is the basis of the current injustice and evil. We also insisted that the sufferers should be compensated and restored to their former jobs. Now the historical flow gave rise to a consensus of the people toward the revision of the constitution and democratization as an inevitable measure. It is a historical development that nobody can interfere with. However, the current government never stopped its evil practice to distort the truth, to create injustice and to ruin the appropriate development of democracy, with all kinds of conspiracies against the flow.
Now we want to reconsider our past attitude toward the policy of the U.S. government, which has supported the dictatorial government that is anti-people, anti-nation, and anti-democratic. The U.S. government is more concerned with their own interest than the interest of the people of Korea. The recent visit of Schultz, the U.S. Secretary of State, made it even clearer that the U.S. supported only the dictators while disregarding the requests of the Korean people. Even though Korean people agreed among themselves to revise its constitution toward direct presidential election, Schultz advocated indirect election, overlooking the people's aspiration toward democracy. The constitutional amendment for the direct presidential election is agreed upon by the people as the key prerequisite for democracy. We have to repeal the conspiracy of the U.S. government which is trying to advocate the current dictators with the euphemism of silent or gradual change through the cabinet system.
Such an improper meddling into the internal affairs of Korea will only increase the anti-Americanism among students. In this regard the current anti-Americanism is a consequence from the inappropriate policy of the U.S. government but not from the radicalism of students. The anti-Americanism will continue to grow as a natural means for self-determination of the people. The current regime should stop its foolish attempt to distort our movement against the U.S. government policy as an act to advocate communism.
The May Uprising is a great revolution of the people in which the Gwangju citizens fought in one against the dictatorship even risking their lives. We will continue our united struggle to realize the unrealized revolution. We have to reorganize ourselves to win the war against the dictators. The Gwangju Uprising taught us only the untied people's power can win in the end. We will continue to fight for the Constitutional amendment in 1986, for the direct presidential election in 1987, and for a new government in 1988. We have to set a new course of the history, giving up the futile attempt to unite with the conservative factions. Instead, we should set a clear goal for a democratic society in the future. This is the only way to console the people who died in Gwangju Uprising.
We have to continue our struggle to construct a democratic society with a new constitution for the direct presidential election.
Our requests:
- Release the prisoners of conscience and restore the political rights of the democratic leaders including Gim Daejung.
- Clarify the democratization process through the constitutional amendment for the direct presidential election.
- The U.S. government should stop supporting the military government and apologize on their past wrong-doings that interrupted the democratization process.
- Stop any foolish attempt to make the students' warning against the U.S. policy as an act to advocate communism.
- Let us stop watching the TV and refuse to pay the subscription fee until freedom of speech is guaranteed.
- Compensate for the sufferers of the Gwangju Uprising to relieve the bitterness of them.
- Execute the killer of the people of Gwangju.
- The U.S. should apologize to the world on its support to the Korean `dictators.
110. May 13, 1993, Presidential Address to People on Gwangju Democratization Movement, by President Gim Yeongsam
My dear people!
Today, in remembrance of the Gwangju Democratization Movement of May, 1980, I intend to reveal the government's plan for the remedy of Gwangju citizens' pain and for the restoration of their reputation inappropriately damaged. First of all, as the president the nation, I want to render the words comforting to those who suffered in the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement and their surviving families and to Gwangju citizens.
As I look back, the Democratization Movement of May, 1980 was an enormous frustration at that time. However, in the difficult history of struggling to achieve a democratic people's government, the Gwangju Democratization Movement is holding a towering peak. Sure it is. The bloodshed of Gwangju in May, 1980 laid the foundation of Korean democracy. The sacrifice became the very foundation of the democracy of this country. Through the Gwangju Democratization Movement of May, 1980 and the June Uprising of 1987, we finally established a democratic government by the people in our nation.
My dear people!
As an opposition leader in the period of miserable Gwangju Democratization Movement, I was the first to struggle against the government controlled by the military faction. I informed the whole world of the tragic situation of Gwangju through a press interview. Because of that, I had to undergo a house arrest for three years. On May 18, 1983, at the third anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, I carried out a hunger strike for 23 days at the risk of my life during the house arrest. It was from my sense of responsibility of not being able to prevent the bloodshed of Gwangju and it was aimed at regaining of the democracy that was lost.
I say this with great certainty that today's government is a democratic government which stands at the extension of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. This government stands in the side of Gwangju citizens, while agonizing with Gwangju citizens in order to restore the impaired reputation of the Gwangju Democratization Movement and heal the wounds and pain of the past.
The establishment of the democratic government by the people and its reform are also the process of realizing the historic meaning of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. The Gwangju issue should not continue to be a bitterness any longer. It should not be an object of political exploitation nor a target of political dispute. It should be given an appropriate evaluation and a right historical description. I believe that the pain of Gwangju is to be healed and the restoration of its reputation should be achieved, which I believe should be done in the way of sharing the pain of the Gwangju with all the people and spreading the democratic spirit of the Gwangju to the whole nation and of satisfying Gwangju citizens and evoking people's sympathy.
First, I will actively propmote the projects to spread and honor the spirit of the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement. Above all, I hope that Gwangju city will set up a commemoration day for the Gwangju Democratization Movement so that all the people can celebrate the day. I will provide all possible resources such as extending the cemetery in order to develop the Mang-weol cemetery to be a sacred symbol of democracy.
Based on the opinion of Gwangju citizens and the people in Jeonnam province, I will positively review and support the plan to move the Jeonnam Provincial Hall, which is now in the downtown of Gwangju, into Jeonnam province in which a Memorial Park will be formed and a memorial tower will be built in commemoration of the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement in the very location of the movement. I will also support the plan of allowing the Gwangju city government to utilize an additional properties of the Sangmu army base to create a citizens' park without additional expenditure.
Second, I will do my best to console those who are still in unjust situations in relation to the Gwangju Democratization Movement.
I will extend the period of notification for the dead, the missing, and the wounded during the Gwangju Democratization Movement to get proper compensation by law.
I will restore the appropriate honor to those who devoted themselves to the democratization of this country by voiding their criminal records of being arrested, convicted and pardoned.
I will provide continuous proper medical treatment to those who were injured during the Gwangju Democratization Movement when they need further treatment.
I will take a measure to exclude the people from the wanted list of the police in case they have been wanted for the activities in connection with the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement, and furthermore I will take all the reasonable and balanced measures in our legal system to reinstate those who were dismissed for the Democratization Movement.
My dear people and Gwangju citizens!
I am aware of requests for truth of the Gwangju Democratization Movement and the punishment of those who are responsible for the incident. I have also heard that there is a claim that special measures should be taken for the punishment process. That claim does not surprise me, because I have been at great pains regarding the same issue.
However, disclosure of the truth is meaningful when it helps the history stand upright and helps people get just evaluations. It's not aimed at reviving the memory of shameful, dark days, causing troubles or punishing someone. Therefore, at this point, it is important for all of us to establish the honor of the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement. If there is any unsatisfactory aspect in the fact finding process of the Gwangju Democratization Movement, I think it is reasonable to let future history clarify it. It is my conviction that truth is revealed in history without fail at the end.
Now, it is time to break the fetter of hatred and conflict with our own hands. There shouldn't be any repetition of retaliatory avenge today. Let's just not forget what we have seen and what we remember, but let's make peace through drastic forgiveness. There is no courage as big as forgiveness. Let's be free from the 13-year-old nightmare and yoke by forgiveness. Let's forget the bitterness of the past and step forward for the creation of all new Korea.
The spirit of the Gwangju Democratization Movement should lead to people's participation and contribution of their creativity to the creation of the new Korea. I am already thankful for Gwangju citizens' participation and support in the changes and reforms for the creation of the new Korea. I will do my best to capitalize the possible means of the government to help Gwangju to be born again as a city that lights up and opens the future of our country as its name but not a city that clings to the past.
As I promised to the people of Korea, I will devote myself to a national reconciliation. Through changes and reformations, I will put a corner stone for the creation of a new Korea with the determination of re-establishing a new nation, and I will be willing to be the first to move on. I want to achieve that goal with citizens of a new Gwangju. Let's create a new Korea with me, the president of Korea. And let's make it possible for our descendants to inherit a new country so that they will feel proud of being born in Korea, where everyone enjoys prosperity and justice.
Source: http://gshin.chonnam.ac.kr/cnu518/
Rights: Chonnam National University May 18 Institute |
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