March 04, 2003

Urgent Call from The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions to Organize an International Labour Delegation to Iraq!!

Wesentliche Punkte für den Ablauf:

• Anmeldung bis 10.3 bei : inter@kctu.org.
• Angabe ob gewerkschaftlicher Delegierter (in dem Falle zwei Bürgen angeben) oder Freiwilliger, Beschreibung der gewerkschaftlichen Tätigkeit
• Kostenpunkt ca 800 US Dollar plus Flug nach Amman
• Ankunft Amman (Jordanien) am 16.März, 17.März: Briefing, 18.März Weiterflug nach Bagdad, 22.März Rückflug
• Das Programm besteht aus Besuchen bei besonders gefährdeten Stellen und Gesprächen mit den jeweils dort Beschäftigten, vor Ort organisiert von der US-NGO "Voice in the wilderness"
• Teilnahme auf eigene Gefahr!

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

On the eve of war on Iraq by the U.S. government and its allies, KCTU urgently calls on workers all over the world to organize an International Labour Delegation to Iraq.

The threatened invasion of Iraq is not in the interest of workers or people ­ in Iraq or the rest of the world. An invasion of Iraq would be illegal, counter-productive in terms of its stated objective of increasing world security, undemocratic and would devastate the tremendously vulnerable Iraqi society and people ­ over half of whom are children.

KCTU is also concerned with events in Iraq because the U.S. government is driving another war on the Korean peninsula with regards to the North Korea nuclear issue. Regardless of the demands of the Korean people to solve the issue in a peaceful manner, the U.S. government is increasing military tension on the Korean peninsula by considering a preemptive nuclear attack option.

We are aware that the U.S. government’s only objective for these kinds of warlike actions and threats is to maintain and strengthen their political and economic hegemony over the world.

We could hear the voices of tens of million of people around the world who oppose the war and militarism of the U.S. government and its allies on February 15. It is incumbent on workers to develop these protest actions against the war as well as against the hegemony of the U.S. government across the world.

As an act of solidarity with the people of Iraq as well as the peoples of the third world, and to increase resistance to the invasion, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is urgently appealing to labour activists and union representatives around the world to participate in an international labour delegation to Iraq.

The delegation of 15 to 20 people would send a powerful signal of solidarity with the workers and people of Iraq, and help to build worldwide labour resistance to the invasion.

Demands of International Labour Delegation are :

• Oppose a US-led war against Iraq and its unilateral militarism!
• Oppose the plans of every single government that is preparing to join the war on Iraq!
• Stop the military threat of the U.S. over other points targeted by its government’s ambition for economic and political hegemony!

March 04, 2003

Yoo Duk-Sang, Acting President, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

Details of delegation

Delegates would spend a total of four days on the ground in Iraq, meeting with international NGOs and UN humanitarian workers, making official visits to workplaces, participating in tours of hospitals, schools and other public institutions, visiting civilian sites such as bridges, communications towers and electricity plants likely to be bombed during the invasion, and meeting with the international media. The tentative schedule would see the delegation assembling in Amman, Jordan on 16 March, holding a day of orientation on 17 March, flying to Baghdad on 18 March, and spending three full days in Baghdad, to leave for Amman on 22 March.

The organising body on the ground in Iraq is Voices in the Wilderness, a Chicago-based NGO which has been working to end sanctions and the ongoing bombing of Iraq since 1996. Responding to the threats of invasion, Voices in the Wilderness established the Iraq Peace Team, which has been maintaining a constant solidarity presence of internationals in Iraq since September 2002 (www.iraqpeaceteam.org).

Individual Participation

Volunteers and union representatives need to send their names, passport details, description of union involvement, and the names and contacts of two people holding positions within labour unions to act as references by 10 March to inter@kctu.org. They should also indicate if they are volunteering or have the official endorsement of a labour body.

All participating in the delegation need to be aware of and prepared to accept responsibility for the risk. The war is being staved off by mounting global opposition. However, it is ready to proceed at any time. Fund-raising is also the responsibility of individual participants (about US$800 plus airfare to Amman). Participation in the delegation therefore represents a very serious commitment ­ and a serious opportunity to express solidarity with the people of Iraq in a meaningful way.

Union Support

KCTU is calling on trade unions around the world to endorse the action, provide financial support to participating representatives and affiliates, as well as support media work and arrange speaking opportunities for delegates from their country.

Brief Introduction to KCTU

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU, Minju Nochong) was officially established on November 11, 1995, with 862 enterprise unions and a total membership of 418,000. As of December 2002, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has increased its membership to over 595,000 in 914 unions. In less than seven years since the establishment, KCTU has emerged, not only as the representative organisation of Korean workers and the trade union movement, but a leading force for democratisation.

As the successor to a century of unflinching struggle of Korean workers, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is committed to advancing workers' empowerment by combining struggles for economic, social, and political reform.

KCTU rejects state-unionism and any unionism controlled by employers, and fully supports democratic trade union movements across borders through joint activities in education, policy development, and campaigns. In order to engender greater international worker solidarity, KCTU is also committed to supporting workers' fighting abuse by Korean companies abroad and struggling for their trade union rights.