[EmergencyResponseforUSAttackonIranorSyria] Urgent! U.S.escalating UN sanctions against North Korea. Chicago action needed.
12.27
The March 19th Anti-War Coalition thinks there is an emergency situation following the new draconian sanctions passed last Friday, December 22, by the UN Security Council against The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea —which the DPRK rightly sees as an act of war.
Please consider the following factual information, and consider what action steps we can take in addition to attending the multi-issue rally at 1 p.m. Sunday, January 21 near Trump Tower to be followed by a march through the LaSalle Street financial district. (See more detailed information on this at the end of this posting).
The UN Security Council resolution is an attack on the right of the DPRK to its program of self-defense against threats by the U.S. of nuclear war, to wipe out North Korea. We think this calls for action from us in Chicago. What do you think?
What happened is that the 15-member UN Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to support most of a U.S.-sponsored resolution and add to the already severe economic blockade on the DPRK.
The new UN sanctions, added to four previous ones, forbids 90% of North Korea’s exports to its trading network of 120 countries; limits its imports of petroleum products by 90%; limits imports of natural gas, industrial metals, industrial equipment, and vehicles; limits its money transfers and international banking; and instructs governments to seize and impound any North Korean ships and planes suspected of violating the sanctions, and destroy the cargo. There are also restrictions on some North Korean officials.
This is obviously an attempt to force the DPRK to give up its political independence. The DPRK is being ordered to submit to the nuclear powers and “immediately abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs… and any other existing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.” (Resolution 2375)
The DPRK Foreign Ministry characterized the resolution as an “act of war,” tantamount to a blockade. “We define this ‘sanctions resolution’ rigged up by the U.S. and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the region, and categorically reject the ‘resolution.’”
Instead of agreeing to submit, the DPRK vowed to “further consolidate our self-defensive nuclear deterrence aimed at fundamentally eradicating the U.S. nuclear threats, blackmail and hostile moves.” The DPRK states it will accomplish this “by establishing a practical balance of force with the U.S.”
In other words, North Korea has understandably and justifiably rejected the new and already-existing sanctions which are aimed at starving the North Koreans to death. North Korea has expressed its unwillingness to lie down and die. They are also expressing tremendous anger at all those who are going along with the U.S. without even a hint that the U.S. bears any responsibility for the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
The US, China and Russia are all talking –hypocritically—about “a diplomatic solution”—without spelling out what they have in mind. South Korea is again calling for negotiations. Even if they all press for negotiations, we know they won’t be fair negotiations-- given all the lies the Trump regime has been spreading recently. For example, supposedly there have been negotiated agreements in the past, and they say North Korea has broken all the agreements. What agreements are they talking about? It can’t be the one made during the Clinton administration where the DPRK suspended its nuclear power program, but the U.S. failed to live up to its side of the agreement to provide light water reactors as a substitute for generating electricity. The U.S. never delivered those reactors.
In this situation what is our responsibility as Americans? There has been some effort by anti-war and peace forces in the U.S. to inform Americans, call to end to U.S. war games, sign a peace treaty, and enter into fair negotiations (which the North Koreans have been suggesting in this period and for years before. The DPRK proposal right now is to start with a “freeze for freeze” agreement where the U.S. would stop its war games, and North Korea would freeze its nuclear program.).
We must mobilize opposition now—not letting U.S. government propaganda against North Korea paralyze us. We mobilized against the U.S. plans to invade Iraq and continued to oppose this war despite all the government’s lies and their demonization of Saddam Hussein. Can we do less now—especially when nuclear war is on Trump’s agenda?
Let’s unite to carry out action among the people of Chicago as quickly as possible, including informational and discussion forums. Can you communicate with all those you know so we can plan what to do? What do you think we should be doing?
This is coming to you from the March 19th Anti-War Coalition (Chicago): [email protected]
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For Your Information—Here is information on the facts and historical background of the current crisis. This is from the speech at the December 10 Forum organized by Albany Park, North Park, Mayfair Neighbors for Peace and Justice. Please send us any questions or comments you may have.
…There is a lot of mis-information about the history of Korea and the current situation…This gets in the way of taking an active stand against Trump’s threats of war, which… include wiping out the North Korean people…which he stated at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
…Neither Republicans nor Democrats nor Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Socialists are promoting public discussion of these issues or talking about whether the people should be deciding questions of war and peace.
We hope… to clarify the relevant history and facts that have led to this dangerous situation…and to argue that fair negotiations are the only way to go and that we should stand for a peace treaty to acknowledge an end to the U.S. war on Korea, take the 30,000 U.S. troops out of Korea, and enable all of the Korean people to sort out their future without interference from the U.S…
We’ll start with laying out how and why the U.S. government has been threatening and carrying out war against North Korea in order to show the reasons the North Koreans are so focused on their self-defense…
To begin, this week [December 10], the Trump administration is telling us more loudly than ever that it is ready to launch an all out war against North Korea, possibly a nuclear war.
The U.S. threats defy the international principle and international law that no country has the right to attack or even threaten to attack another country that has not attacked it. This principle is essential for world peace. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about the government of North Korea. Every country has the right to be free of outside interference and attacks.
Just a few days ago, the U.S held the biggest air war practice exercises it has ever held, including practice for dropping nuclear bombs. And they call these “war games.”
During the long U.S. buildup to war, North Korea, in self- defense, has tested various weapons, including another intercontinental ballistic missile test on November 29.
The foreign ministry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea said this week, “We do not wish for a war but shall not hide from it.”
North Korea’s leaders have explained that they are testing to warn the U.S. that it will not get away with any attacks on North Korea, that U.S. verbal and military threats only confirm North Korea’s decision to not stand helpless against massive U.S. nuclear power.
What stand should we take to all this? What should we do?
What is the historical background of U.S. brutality and attacks against Korea--which the Korean people have always resisted?
Korea, as you may know, is a country that is some 1500 years old, with its own language and culture. There are about 75 million people living on the Korean peninsula, which abuts China and Russia and is just west of Japan.
The people of Korea have a long history of resisting attempts by Western imperialist powers, including the U.S., to invade it and dominate it in the 1700s and 1800s, and even earlier.
From the late 1800s and early 1900s the growing Japanese empire began moving into Korea and trying to run everything and set up sweat shop factories and mines. Many, many Koreans joined in the resistance against the brutal occupation by the Japanese Empire, which turned many Korean people into slave labor and tried to stamp out the people’s use of the Korean language and culture.
The Japanese occupiers insisted on making people take on Japanese names, and tortured and murdered hundreds of thousands who resisted all these crimes.
There were some traitorous Koreans who collaborated with the Japanese Empire, working in the Japanese administration or military and police.
But most Koreans fought back in towns and villages throughout the Korean peninsula.
Tens of thousands of Koreans escaped Japanese rule in Korea by going north into China. There, thousands joined with Mao Tse Tung’s forces as valuable allies fighting against Japanese imperialism.
Many of these Korean fighters went back and forth, fighting in Korea as well. One of the leading fighters was Kim Il Sung, who later became head of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
When the Japanese were defeated in 1945, the situation on the Korean peninsula was unsettled. The Soviet Union and the U.S. made an agreement to go in temporarily—the U.S. to the south and the Soviet Union to the north--to move all Japanese troops out and stabilize the situation. Both withdrew in 1948, leaving a small number of their forces behind.
In this whole period after the end of the war, the U.S. sent troops north to fight against the national liberation fighters (as well as suppressing liberation fighters in the south).
Nevertheless, the liberation forces in the north were able to set up the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948-- with the intention of continuing from there to free the rest of the peninsula from foreign control—
In the south the U.S. had prepared the ground to set up the Republic of Korea in 1948 based on the Koreans who had collaborated with the Japanese—and headed by Syngman Rhee, who had lived in the U.S. and was the U.S.’s “man” who would insure cooperation with the U.S.
But the U.S. was not sure that the Republic of Korea’s troops would be able to hold off the liberation forces coming from the north and uniting with the liberation forces in the south, who were quite numerous and active.
So, in 1950 the U.S. decided that if it was to make Korea part of its Empire, now that the Japanese Empire was out, it needed to wipe out all the national liberation forces—north and south.
U.S. corporations and the politicians representing them certainly didn’t want Korea to become a socialist country and interfere with its plan of extending U.S. capitalism in Korea in order to control the markets, resources, labor power and strategic position of the Korean peninsula.
However, the U.S. had a problem: It did not want the world to see the U.S. as an aggressor-- right after the U.S. and its allies had defeated the fascist aggressors.
Note also that this was right after the U.S. had used two atom bombs against civilians in Japan –which sent a message to the world-- that the U.S. was prepared to use weapons of mass destruction to get its way.
So in 1950 the U.S. went to the United Nations organization to cover itself by getting authorization for war in Korea--using the lie that it was the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea which was the aggressor—and not the U.S.
The U.S. got the UN Security Council’s OK to start an all out war-- with the help of Britain and France and others.
Note that the Soviet Union was boycotting the UN at that time and was not available to veto the U.S. scheme, and the People’s Republic of China was not a member.
So the U.S, was all set to go, under the military command of the U.S., not under the command of the UN except in name, as a cover.
This scenario was like what the U.S. did later in demonizing Saddam Hussein before the U.S. invaded Iraq, and similarly with Libya, and using the name of the UN.
And the U.S. was so successful in its lies and cover up in Korea that a lot of people still do not know today the facts and how brutal the U.S. was.
The U.S. ended up wiping out over 20% of the Korean population, 3 million people! The U.S. carpet bombed North Korea so that almost every single building was destroyed! The U.S. dropped napalm on villages in North Korea, and unleashed bacteriological weapons! The U.S. hit dams vital for agriculture and electricity.
The only thing the U.S. did not do, though it openly considered it, was to drop atomic bombs.
All these crimes against humanity in Korea, and then U.S. moves toward and against China, made China decide that it had to enter the war.
The war ended in a stalemate that we are still dealing with today.
The U.S. had not been able to win militarily and, in fact, had nearly been driven off the Korean peninsula.
In 1953 there was a cease fire agreement but the U.S. would not sign a Peace Treaty. And ever since the U.S. has refused to officially end the war by signing a peace treaty. 164 countries have recognized North Korea, while the U.S. continues its threats and war exercises, and is escalating sanctions to starve the people of North Korea, and try to destroy their trade with over 120 countries.
Around the world anti-war groups and countries are demanding that the U.S. enter into negotiations that would bring about a peaceful settlement, and allow the Korean people to decide their own future by themselves.
Instead the U.S. has maintained 30,000 troops in South Korea, on 91 bases, a situation the people of South Korea do not accept, as shown by frequent demonstrations in opposition and for normalizing relations with North Korea, for reunifying the country. This desire has been shown, for example, in the Joint Declaration signed 17 years ago, and a South Korean government delegation this year had no problem going to North Korea to be part of celebrating that anniversary.
But what the people want has never been accepted by the U.S. governments. Now, under Trump, the U.S. government is threatening to completely wipe out North Korea.
Under these conditions what do you think the North Koreans should do? Do they have the right to defend themselves?
They have determined that they must go all out to avoid losing their country to U.S. occupation or being wiped out altogether. This is why North Korea has developed the fourth largest military in the world.
So—in the face of all U.S. efforts to stop North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons–North Korea has managed to build up a stronger and stronger capacity to try to stop the U.S. from contemplating war.
North Korea is a poor country, but that hasn’t stopped it from fighting to be free to determine its own destiny.
The North Koreans have long called for an alternative to war—peaceful negotiations. Its proposal right now is to start with a “freeze for freeze” agreement where the U.S. would stop its war games, and North Korea would freeze its nuclear program. We need to emphasize this freeze-for- freeze proposal and North Korea’s long standing call for negotiations, because this is not widely known.
Not surprisingly, neither the corporate-owned media nor the politicians whose election campaigns are financed by corporations want to discuss this so American working people can make up their own minds.
People need to know the facts about Korean history, and they need to know that not only are North Koreans and people throughout the world holding demos against the U.S. threats, but there are also 222 peace organizations in SOUTH Korea that want the U.S. to get out of their country..
Our view is that we and other progressive people have a responsibility to bring out the facts. We need to play a conscious and active part in the struggle for peace and justice if we are to actually get it, and work toward an anti-war government based on peace and social justice for all and a modern democracy. We need to unite in action to the maximum here in Chicago to rebuild the anti-war movement to oppose the U.S. war threats on North Korea, and elsewhere.
What do you think?...
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Sunday, January 21, 1 p.m.
Trump Tower, Wabash, north of Wacker Drive
March to La Salle St. (Chicago’s Wall Street)
Join the facebook event and share widely
Download the initial leaflet and share widely now: PDF – For Social Media
When Trump and the 1% attack, we will fight back!
A year into his and presidency, Trump, the 1% and the establishment, feeling more confident that they will not have to face resistance in the streets, have gone on the offensive, approving the racist travel ban, empowering racist police departments and ICE, attacking Native lands and the environment, passing the Tax Plan assault, threatening LGBTQ rights with the phony “religious liberty” nonsense, funding and escalating the Saudi genocide in Yemen, preparing for a disastrous war against perhaps Korea or Iran, backing an election coup in Honduras, threatening net neutrality, attacking the Arab and Muslim world by declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel and much, much more.
We will not be idle! We will not wait another minute, month or year to take action. We will march in the largest numbers possible. Spread the word! Bring your signs, banners and voices of resistance!
The initiating cosponsors of this action are BLM Women of Faith, Answer Chicago & People United Against Oppression. We welcome cosponsors as full partners. Give us a call at 773-885-3991.
Additional cosponsors: Chicago Students Union; Freedom First International; Gay Liberation Network; Illinois Green Party; Centro Autónomo de Albany Park, Chicago; Anakbayan Chicago: International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines – Midwest; Free from Harm; Chicago Chapter of Veterans for Peace; La Voz de los de Abajo; Chicago Campaign to Expose Crisis Pregnancy Centers; Kofi Ademola, an activist in the Movement for Black Lives; International Socialist Organization; Refuse Fascism Chicago; Chicago Workers World Party; The Party for Socialism and Liberation Chicago; Chicagoland Teamsters Against chump; Albany Park, North Park, Mayfair Neighbors for Peace and Justice; Chicago Stop Moving Backwards; No War on North Korea; Party for Socialism and Liberation – Milwaukee; Wisconsin Bail Out The People Movement; March 19th Anti-War Coalition
Trump and the congress of millionaire’s agenda of unrestrained capitalism and white supremacy and the warmongering and fake resistance of democratic politicians can only be defeated by a united people’s movement to stop racist police terror, imperialist war, environmental destruction, the fascist mobilization and the attacks on immigrants and all oppressed people.
We stand with and will continue to defend immigrants, LGBTQ people, Muslims, People of Color, women, workers, the youth, poor people, the disabled and all those who are under attack!
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