Keep Space for Peace Week Begins

Keep Space for Peace Week (October 7-14) began with an event in South Korea opposing US deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) 'missile defense' system.

Global Network advisory board member Sung-Hee Choi reports:

On October 7, people gathered in Soseong-ri for song contest event and took a photo/video together with the banners of Keep Space for Peace Week and deceased Cho Youngsam (who immolated on Sept. 19 in opposition to THAAD).

We shouted slogan, "Pull Out the THAAD and plant the Peace!" It was after People's song contest which followed a 20 minute presentation on the relation between the No THAAD campaign and Keep Space for Peace Week.

Soseong-ri in Seongju is located just next to Gimcheon. It is a small village lived by around 160 people - mostly elderly women and men farming melons. The residents and their supporters have been protesting day and night since the former Lotte Skyhill Country Club (LCC) site in Soseong-ri was discussed as the planned THAAD deployment site in August, last year.

A radar and two launchers of THAAD system were forcefully deployed in the former LCC on April 26, this year. And deployment of additional four THAAD launchers were enforced on Sept 7. On the day, 500 people resisted for 18 hours. Even after the completion of THAAD deployment, people in Soseong-ri are continuing their daily protest demanding the removal of THAAD. They also hold a regular rally every Wednesday in front of Soseong-ri village hall, which started on Nov 30, 2016.

Recently a man named Cho Young-sam immolated himself against THAAD in Seoul on Sept. 19. On the day of his funeral on Sept. 23, a procession in memory of his will against THAAD was extended to Soseong-ri, too.

(Video by event participant)

Here in Maine we held a vigil at Bath Iron Works as the Saturday mid-day shift was getting off work.  We stood outside the South Gate with a new Aegis destroyer (outfitted with 'missile defense' systems) on-board looming in the background.  The warships will soon be heading for shores near Russia and China as the corporate-run US foreign policy tightens the noose.....

You can see the full list of space week actions here