In response to 45’s (aka President Trump’s) invitation to the U.S. Senate to join him at the White House for a “briefing” on Korea, a “People’s Briefing for Korean Peace” was held in front of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office in the Financial District of San Francisco on April 27. The rally was called by Hella Organized Bay Area Koreans.

About 50 people came to demand no war on Korea. Hyejin Shim of the Korean American Coalition to End Domestic Abuse pointed out U.S. hypocrisy in calling north Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a threat to peace: “If a volatile leader, erratic media, political suppression, massive arms buildup and nuclear bombs are the hallmark of a threat, then we must look at the U.S. as the greatest threat to countries all across the world.”

Shim continued, “Since the Korean War, north Korea has not dropped a single nuclear bomb nor has it engaged in any other war or bombing. In the past few years alone, [U.S.] America has dropped bombs on seven countries, including the largest non-nuclear bomb dropped on Afghanistan just weeks ago. What is [U.S.] America’s moral standing vis-à-vis north Korea when it comes to war?”

HOBAK member Io Sunwoo said, “Feinstein claims that north Korea poses an existential threat and is the number one threat in the world.” Sunwoo went on, “Ask Feinstein to sit down and have a roundtable with trans women of color about an existential crisis, because she will learn from them that every day, they face a lethal dose of policing, misogyny, a lack of opportunities for meaningful work. … Every day, we build peace despite the state violence that shows up as overpolicing, racial profiling, police brutality, extrajudicial murders.”

HOBAK’s printed statement, promoting #KoreanPeace, reads in part: “From Korea to Syria to Afghanistan and beyond, we believe in a world without wars, where people can live in peace, self-determination and dignity. … The U.S. is rushing to deploy warships and submarines to Jeju Island and put the THAAD missile system in place in Seongju before the [May 9] election takes place. On Jeju Island, villagers have been opposing the construction of a naval base for the past decade. In Songju, people overwhelmingly oppose THAAD, and have been blockading access roads every day to stop military vehicles from entering. … The north Korean government has expressed willingness to freeze its nuclear program and engage in talks. China has urged restraint. The U.S. is the only party that continues to refuse talks.”

See the talks on video at tinyurl.com/n2zlt9p. Follow HOBAK at www.facebook.com/bayareakoreans/

(WW photo: Terri Kay)

(WW photo: Terri Kay)