Jeju civic groups demand American apology ahead of 70th anniversary of April 3 Massacre

Posted on : 2017-10-17 18:03 KST Modified on : 2017-10-17 18:03 KST
More than 30,000 Jeju residents died during the US military occupation of South Korea following WWII
Families of Jeju island residents killed during the April 3 Massacre walk through the Jeju City Peace Park past headstones marked “unknown” on the 69th Anniversary of the incident. Over 30
Families of Jeju island residents killed during the April 3 Massacre walk through the Jeju City Peace Park past headstones marked “unknown” on the 69th Anniversary of the incident. Over 30

Groups remembering the Jeju Uprising of April 3, 1948, are demanding an official US apology for the massacre ahead of the incident’s 70th anniversary next year.

The Jeju April 3 Victim Family Members’ Association, the Jeju Chapter of the Jeju April 3 70th Anniversary Commemoration Project Committee, and the Pan-National Committee for the 70th Anniversary of Jeju April 3 announced on Oct. 16 that they would hold a joint ceremony in front of the King Sejong statue on Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square at 10 am on Oct. 17 to declare a 100,000-signature campaign calling for “responsible action from the US and UN” on the Jeju Uprising.

After their press conference that day, the groups began an online and offline campaign to collect signatures urging an investigation into the incident, the assignment of responsibly, and “protection of the values of human rights and peace.” In a previously delivered press conference statement for the ceremony, the groups described the incident as a “massacre that occurred at a time when the US military government was in power.”

“The US government has yet to say anything about the more than 30,000 Jeju residents who wrongly lost their lives at a time when the US military government was in power and a group of US military advisors exercised operational control authority over the South Korean military,” the groups said.

000 people were killed on the island when South Korea was under US military occupation from 1945-1948. Civic groups are demanding an official American apology in the lead-up to the 70th Anniversary. (by Heo Ho-joon
000 people were killed on the island when South Korea was under US military occupation from 1945-1948. Civic groups are demanding an official American apology in the lead-up to the 70th Anniversary. (by Heo Ho-joon

The groups went on to insist that the US “must now tell the truth about April 3.”

“[The US] needs to acknowledge its responsibility for the April 3 massacre, formally apologize, and take corresponding action,” they urged.

“The governments of the South Korea and US must begin discussions toward an investigation and responsible measures in connection with the US military government and military advisor group’s role in [the massacre of] April 3,” the groups said, adding that the UN “must also be urged to investigation and take appropriate action with regard to the US and South Korean government’s massacre of civilians.”

The groups plan to conduct an initial signature campaign through Mar. 31 of the year, followed by a second one from Apr. 1 to Oct. 31. Following the press conference on Oct. 16, the groups delivered their press conference statement to the US embassy in Seoul.

 

By Heo Ho-joon, Jeju correspondent

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