CCA joins Korean Churches in a signature campaign calling for a Peace Treaty

03 December 2010_?xml_:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

CCA joins Korean Churches in a signature campaign calling for a Peace Treaty to replace the present Armistice Agreement in the Korean Peninsula

Dear Member Churches, National Councils in Asia and Ecumenical Partners:

On this Advent Season, we write to you with utmost urgency and prayers to support the current Signature Campaign calling for a Peace Treaty to replace the current Armistice Agreement in the Korean Peninsula.

The exchange of fire on Yeonpyeong on 23 November has lead to the deaths of two civilians and two marine soldiers. Eighteen more people were injured and a number of homes were destroyed in and on this small island that lies only seven miles from the North Korean border and fifty miles from the densely populated Southern port city of Inchon. The fighting and the mass exodus of residents from the island that is home to a fishing community and military bases is all too reminiscent of the Korean War that inflicted pain on the Korean people that none can forget. This transpired only months after the sinking of a South Korean warship, Choenan; the fragile peace along the dividing line between the two Koreas has been broken.

The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) mourns with the surviving victims and the families of those whose lives were so senselessly taken. It deplores the North Korean military for using powerful weapons against the civilian community in the most serious incident since the signing of the Armistice in 1953.

The Christian Conference of Asia is an active witness and supports the position taken by the Korean churches on the precarious and uncertain situation faced by both North and South Koreans on the peninsula.

The Tsuen Wan Declaration1[i]

The Tsuen Wan Communique, is a declaration passed by 137 church leaders from Korea and the rest of the world present in the Tsuen Wan International Consultation held in Tsuen Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong that marked the 25th anniversary of the Tozanso ecumenical process on 22-24 October 2009.

The Tsuen Wan Declaration reiterated support for the governments of North and South Korea for the full implementation of the June 15th 2000 and October 4th 2007 Declarations, spelling out further steps towards reunification on the peninsula.

Tsuen Wan also affirmed that the Koreans are one people, one culture, one nation, yet remain divided. Justice demands that they be reunited in peace and in common commitment to one another.

The participants in the Conference also affirmed that the gospel of Jesus Christ commits Christians to work against evil, injustice and suffering in all its forms, and to pray and work for God’s justice, peace and unity in the world.

CCA Public Issues Committee Statement, Kuala Lumpur[ii]

Based on the Report of the Public Issues Committee before the CCA Assembly, the following actions were passed –

1) calls for the parties to the Korean War to bring an end to the Armistice that is in place and to replace it with a peace treaty; and

2) calls on member churches and Councils to provide whatever humanitarian aid they can in support of the suffering people of North Korea.

Proposals from the NCCK and the Korean churches[iii]

The current unstable and precarious situation on the Korean peninsula in the aftermath of the recent violence in Yeonpyeong Island brought about an escalation of tensions between North and South Korea. Among proposals put forward by the Korean Churches, through the National Council of Churches in Korea include –

1) not to abuse resentments of the victims as a pretext of revenge, to restore humanitarian support to North Korea instead of engaging in hard line policies and sanctions and to resume dialogue and mutual exchanges, such as the Six-Party Talks and the North-South Red Cross Conference;

2) to establish the “Special Peace and Cooperation Zone in the West Sea” initiated by North and South Korea Declaration of October 4, 2007, and to stop the military drill in that area rather then continue to collide because of the controversial Northern Limit Lane;

3) to repeal the 1953 Armistice Agreement and replace it with a Peace Treaty, deescalating the threats of imminent conflict between North and South Korea and ensuring peace and security, not only in Northeast Asia but the whole world.

A signature campaign is being launched by the Korean churches to gather support for the making of a Peace Treaty.

The peace, security and reunification on the Korean peninsula is a significant and continuing ecumenical commitment and CCA has supported and accompanied the churches and Christians in North and South Korea in their journey towards this goal.

The Tozanso ecumenical peace process has been in the CCA agenda since Tozanso’s inception in 1984. The 2009 Conference to celebrate 25 years of the Tozanso process, the action passed by the Kuala Lumpur Assembly in April 2010, and the pastoral letters issued to the member churches in Korea and the NCCK underscore CCA’s role and commitment to reunification. Support for this signature campaign towards a Peace Treaty is one concrete ecumenical action endorsed and supported by CCA through its member churches and Councils in Asia.

Attached are the pertinent documents to guide you in your reflections and response to the Campaign. CCA enjoins its member churches and Councils to actively support the campaign, which it deems a timely response to the suffering of both North and South Koreans at this Season of Advent.

Yours faithfully,

Henriette Hutabarat Lebang

General Secretary

cc.: Members of the CCA General Committee

CCA Staff and Consultants

Attachments:

1) NCCK Letter on Yeonpyeong Island Incident

2) PROK Letter to ecumenical partners

3) Call for Signatures