hankyoreh

By Huh Ho-joon, Jeju Correspondent

The Association of Major Religious Women (AMRW) in Korea and the Catholic Assembly for Saving Jeju Island held a press conference on Jan. 16 at Jeju Provincial Assembly to denounce the police for having arrested 29 people including 18 Catholic nuns and a monk.
AMRW is a group of female Catholic missionaries. The Catholic Assembly for Saving Jeju Island is a coalition of 19 Catholic organizations including the Justice and Peace Committee and the Human Rights Committee.
They demanded that the construction of Jeju naval base be terminated and requested the government and police apologize for arresting religious figures.
“Even under military rule, nuns in robes were never hauled to the police station,” they said. “We shall not remain silent about their suppression during a sacred practice.”
They plan to visit the police in the near future in addition to ruling and opposition political parties in order to inform them of the current situation in Gangjeong Village where a naval base is under construction. Catholic nuns and priests nationwide plan to hold a prayer meeting to protest the construction of naval base in Jeju Island at 11:00 am on Jan. 31 at the Francisco Hall in Jeong-dong, Seoul’s Jongno District.
Seoguipo city police in Jeju on Jan. 10 arrested those nuns and activists in the midst of a service held in front of the naval base construction site on charge of impeding work. They were released the following day.
(Translated by Kim Min-ji, Intern)

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