Statement of the CCA Delegation to Jeju Island

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

No preference updated.

17 August 2011
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity
STATEMENT
Of the CCA Delegation to JejuIsland
August 8-10, 2011

On June 15, 2011, in response to Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) information about a Consultation co-organized with the World Council of Churches (WCC) to be entitled ‘Peace and Security in Asia: Ecumenical Response’ and held in conjunction with the CCA Program Area Committee on Justice, International Affairs, Development and Service (JID) meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 1-6, the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) requested consideration of a solidarity visit to be made from CCA to Jeju Island.

The main focus of the solidarity visit was to witness the ongoing resistance of residents of Kangjeong village at the southern tip of Jeju Island to the construction of a Korea-United States Naval Base in the area and to understand the concerns about this construction with the aim of strengthening the international support to the resistance.
CCA received the invitation with interest, set the date for Aug. 8-10 and determined their delegation as:
  • ·Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad, General Secretary, National Council of Churches in India
  • ·Rev. Dr. Alistair Macrae, President of National Assembly, Uniting Church in Australia
  • ·Mr. Carlos Ocampo, CCA Executive Secretary, Justice, International Affairs, Development and Service

The delegation was accompanied by NCCK representatives:

  • ·Rev. Lee Hun Sam, Executive Secretary of the NCCK Justice and Peace Department
  • ·Rev. Shin Seung Min, Ecumenical Officer of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK)
  • ·Rev. Shin Bog Hyun, Methodist Church Ecumenical Officer
  • ·Rev. Catherine Christie, Ecumenical co-worker with PROK and NCCK

During the visit the delegation visited Kangjeong Village, participated in worship with the community, saw first hand a confrontation between villagers and the police, met with Christian leaders, visited the 4.3 Peace Park and Memorial and participated in a community Candlelight Vigil.

During the visit we identified the following concerns:

  1. Militarization. The proposed Jeju Island base would constitute an additional military base outside the mainland of the Korean Peninsula. Jeju, like Okinawa, will represent an expansion of the geopolitical influence and military control of the USA, countering China's growing economic and military influence in north-east Asia. The new Aegis fleet being prepared will add to the arms race taking place in this region. JejuIsland will potentially become a target of military attacks from contending powers in the region.

    The violent history of JejuIsland, within living memory makes this particularly poignant. At the 4.3 Museum we saw evidence of massacres and scorched earth policies that led to the 2005 designation of Jeju as the Island of Peace as a gesture of apology for the events of 1948-54.
  2. Destruction of environment and community. Kangjeong is a farming and fishing village and the naval base will destroy the livelihood of the farmers and fisherfolks of the area. Residents will be dislocated and social problems will emerge. The marine environment will be severely impacted. In Jeju there are rare plants, animals, corals which led to the designation of Jeju as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. These treasures will be threatened, possibly lost.
    We heard that environmental scientists claim that no credible environmental impact studies have been conducted. There is clearly a need for such study and a need for the results to be available for scrutiny.
    We also see an urgent need for a comprehensive social impact study.
  3. Concerns about government policy, processes and police presence. We heard reports that among the villagers more than 90% are opposed to the Base. Authorities claim a mandate on the basis of a meeting with a small non representative group at which only 80 of the 1800 villagers were present. In a democratic nation, a proper consultative process must be followed in any major decision like this one.
    We observed an overwhelming police presence. We are concerned about the intimidating nature of this presence. We are also concerned about cases of arrest and fines. We read an article saying "about 15 villagers have been charged with obstruction of official business and 3 are in jail. 14 villagers have been sued for 290 million won in damages". We met people currently facing such charges.
  4. We from CCA come from countries which have experienced similar situations through the establishment of military bases, mining projects and other transnational projects where local people have suffered a loss of sovereignty, disempowerment in relation to use of their land and their ability to make decisions affecting their lives (e.g. POSCO development in Orissa, India).

Recommendations

In light of the aforementioned observations we call upon:
  1. The South Korean Government to stop construction of the base.
  2. The US and other governments to support peace in North East Asia and promote human rights and security in the Korean Peninsula; and to protect the environment and seek alternative models of holistic development.
  3. Churches and NGOs to pray with the Korean people, to offer advocacy and solidarity support in terms of this issue.

Conclusion

We heard the cries and pain of the people in the village. We are encouraged by the passion and courage of the people to resist outside forces of destruction.
We are encouraged to witness the increasing awareness and solidarity support throughout Korea and the international community.

As Christians we believe that God the Creator calls human beings to be stewards of creation, carers of God's garden, not destroyers.

We believe that God's will is for peace in the world based on justice, and that we should pursue paths that lead to peace between peoples rather than relying on militarization for security.

We believe that God intends that communities, as far as possible, have power and influence over the direction of their lives.

We therefore commit ourselves to working for a just peace.