[Declaration from the AINDF C.C]

Declaration on the Current Situation

Dear countrymen!

Now this land is violently seething with the mass struggle against the Lee Myung-bak regime.

The candlelight demos against the criminal moves of the Lee Myung-bak group to totally open the market to American beef are further intensifying day by day into an all-people uprising involving broader segments of the people.

The vigorous struggle of the people from all walks of life, regardless of their sexes, ages, jobs and affiliation appalls the reactionaries of history and greatly moves the public at home and abroad.

The grand sea of candlelight prevailing over south Korea is an explosion of the people's unbearable rancor and indignation toward the Lee Myung-bak regime which seeks only after its political ambition and commits sycophantic and traitorous acts in disregard of the dignity and interests of the nation, and an eruption of their strong volition to restore the sovereignty and the right to existence usurped by the outside forces without fail.

As was well known, the Lee Myung-bak group clamored about “a lost decade" from the very day it took power, abandoned all the deceptive presidential commitments and is frenzied in pro-US sycophantic acts and anti-north confrontational moves.

The Lee Myung-bak group characteristic of pro-US sycophancy prioritized the restoration of the “traditional south Korea-US relations” as an utmost task of its internal and external policy and committed the heinous crimes to further reducing this land into an American colony.

In particular, Lee Myung-bak begged the US for the stop of the reduction of the US imperialist aggression forces in south Korea and offered more funds for their upkeep, and still not content with it, he totally opened the beef market, directly concerned to the people's health, to America, glaringly revealing his colors as the ugliest pro-US stooge.

What he did uttering “he would revive the economy and serve the people” is nothing more than rendering benefits and privileges to a handful of the upper class and imposing the oppression and indigence upon the people.

Owing to the anti-people policy of the Lee Myung-bak group fraught with arbitrariness and hubris, now the consumer prices are skyrocketed and the people's livelihood is further plunged in distress.

Its crime of driving the favorably developing inter-Korean relations into an irretrievable impasse sparks a soaring anger among the fellow countrymen.

The Lee Myung-bak group which categorically negated from the outset the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 Declaration, which are supported by all at home and abroad, promoted the anti-north confrontational policy such as the anachronistic “no-nukes, opening, and raising the north’s per-capita income to 3,000$” and went back on the agreements concluded between the north and the south.

The regime also strengthened the military tie-up with the US and recklessly staged the north-targeted war moves, thus wrecked peace and stability of this land and drew the clouds of confrontation and war over the Korean Peninsula.

Lee Myung-bak’s nature as a wicked pro-US traitor, betrayer to the people and anti-reunification rascal was exposed lock, stock and barrel.

The furious shouts and the massive candlelit demos shaking the whole of south Korea is not a mere struggle to defend the right to existence against the American beef import but a righteous patriotic struggle to settle accounts with the treacherous crimes of the Lee Myung-bak group which swims against the trend of the times, and to secure the independent dignity and rights of the nation.

Nevertheless, the Lee Myung-bak group is staging a fascist, nefarious outrage resemblant to the past military dictatorship period by mobilizing lots of combatant police forces to squelch the daily on-going mass candlelit demos.

They drive the innocent people en masse into a swoon by firing water canons and fire extinguishers at them and cruelly attack the women carrying prams.

Now Lee Myung-bak is asserting that he would not renegotiate with the US on the beef import and driving the oppressive forces to the indiscriminate suppression by dint of the official announcement of the first rate contingency, clamoring of the “behind-scene manipulator”.

On the other hand he resorts to a base deception, making a noise about so-called “reshuffle of personnel”, “request on the stop of the beef export” and the “postponement of publishing the official notice” in a bid to stem the mass struggle demanding the nullification of the agreement on beef import by all means and get rid of the unenviable crisis of rule.

In actuality, the rash moves of the Lee Myung-bak group which directly challenges the just demand of the people eloquently show that if they are not resisted the people cannot avoid bigger misfortune and calamity.

The current situation urgently demands that all people turn out in the struggle to decisively punish the Lee Myung-bak group, safeguard the national sovereignty and dignity and defend their right to existence.

The AINDF which has fought always with the people of different social standings in the just patriotic struggle for independence, democracy and reunification declares, reflecting the adamant desire and willingness of all people to settle account with the unparalleled crimes of the Lee Myung-bak group, as follows.

1. The south Korean people should hold the candlelight higher until the Lee Myung-bak regime kneels down to the nation.

Now the Lee regime, instead of reflecting and apologizing for its intolerable acts, cunningly schemes to mislead the public opinion and quell the struggle of the south Korean people.

The south Korean people’s struggle would be fruitless and they would fall to victim, should they are taken in by deceitful garrulity of the regime.

Uncompromising struggle and do-or-die resistance are the way to defend the interests and lives of the nation.

Let us kindle candlelight against Lee Myung-bak across south Korea.

Let us totally nullify the negotiations on resumption of American beef import.

Denounce every treacherous acts of the Lee regime.

Let us turn the country into a square of struggle by waging a nationwide candlelight rallies across the country.

Unity is power and a guarantee for victory.

The south Korean people should unite as one in the front against the Lee Myung-bak, transcending the party affiliation and ideas.

Overcome spontaneous struggle and take joint actions.

Disclose the ruthless suppression of the Lee regime upon the demo participants.

The entire south Korean people should deal a fatal blow to Lee Myung-bak by waging the second June popular uprising.

2. Develop the anti-Lee Myung-bak campaign into independent struggle against the US.

The independent struggle against the US is the fundamental one to exterminate the Lee regime and drive the US, the source of misfortune and misery, out of south Korea.

The US is a prime mover of sparking the struggle against the US mad cow.

The US instigates the Lee regime to suppress the people, insulting the south Korean people’s strong demand for the renegotiation.

Without putting an end to domination and intervention of the US, the tragic reality where the pro-US traitors such as the Lee regime sell off national interests to the US cannot be ended.

The entire south Koreans should hold aloft the banner of independence against the US.

Turn out in the struggle as one to terminate colonial domination and military presence of the US and regain national sovereignty.

The south Koreans from all walks of life should take active part in the candlelight rallies to denounce the sinister aims of the US.

Let us prevent the import of American beef threatening lives and health of the nation through the anti-US struggle.

Let us censure the US reckless war maneuvers against north Korea and withdraw the US troops and military bases from south Korea.

Let us make a sea of candlelight in south Korea like the one waged by the death of two schoolgirls killed by the US armored vehicle.

3. Let us conduct the struggle against Lee Myung-bak together with the reunification.

Inter-Korean relations face jeopardy and difficulties are on the way to reunification owing to the Lee regime’s confrontation against north Korea.

Now the Lee regime puts harsh suppression upon the people to liquidate pro-north Korean sentiment against the US and makes desperate efforts to instigate the inter-Korean confrontation.

Denounce despicable acts of the Lee regime that denies the historic June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration.

Let us make the candlelight sternly punishing the anti-reunification acts of the Lee regime.

The pro-reunification organizations and the people from all walks of life should take the lead in the candlelight rallies.

Let us intensify the struggle to defend and glorify the June 15 reunification era.

Open up a new era of independent reunification, peace and prosperity with united efforts of the nation.

Dear countrymen!

The Korean nation has a proud history of struggle that sternly punished the traitors to the nation without mercy.

The April 19, the May 18 and the June popular uprisings that recorded in history of the nation instill righteousness and patriotism on the nation.

The destruction of the Lee regime is inevitable and victory of the nation is certain only when the entire nation turns out in the struggle as the martyrs did in the past.

Let us struggle for the final victory by intensifying the nationwide uprising with firm confidence and spirit.

Central Committee,

Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front

Seoul

June 10, Juche 97 (2008)

[Press release by the representative of the AINDF Pyongyang Mission]

Let Us Ostracize the Treacherous Lee Myung-bak Regime

Through All-people Struggle!

(Press Release of Zo Il Min, representative of the AINDF Pyongyang Mission)

Now the struggle of the south Korean people from different social standings against the policy of market opening to American beef pursued by traitor Lee Myng-bak, a pro-US sycophantic element, is developing into a massive uprising with participation of broader segments of the public.

The candlelight kindled at first by middle and high-school students in their teens is further intensifying into an all-people uprising involving the people of all ages and both sexes.

Taking advantage of the prevailing public opinion, not only schoolgirls but also workers, farmers, students, professors, white-color workers, housewives, religious men, lawyers, artists, pressmen, sportsmen and even politicians, government employees, members of the “Homeland Reserve Forces” and former policemen joined in the struggle.

The south Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the National Federation of Peasants Associations, the south Korean Federation of University Student Councils and other organizations turn out in the struggle and the opposition parties including the Democratic Labor Party and the New Democratic Party for Great Unity stage out-of-parliament campaigns against the government.

All press organs except few conservative ones support the people's struggle and bitterly denounce the treacherous clique’s suppression of the people's demos.

At the sites of the candlelit demos staged day in and day out in Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daegu and many other parts of south Korea, such slogans as “Down with Lee Myung-bak”, “Oust the Lee Myung-bak regime”, “the dictatorial regime, out” are resonating.

All the family take part in the demo, baby-prams of mothers march toward Cheongwadae, workers occupy the cold warehouses storing American beef, students are in strike and the government employees totally refuse the authority’s instructions.

There occurs a never-heard reality such as doctors voluntarily formed “medical service teams” and “first aid rescue teams” to treat the wounded and the “Homeland Reserve Forces” in their uniform protect the demonstrators in face of the riot police

Moreover, the citizens formed “legal rescue teams”, “watchdoging team of human rights abuses” and “on-the-spot photographing team” to expose and denounce the brutal crackdown by the police, inspiring the indignation and fighting spirit of the broad segments of the people.

The anti-government struggle has expanded to over 100 cities and the number of participants in the struggle reached over 100,000 a day and the angry candlelight spread over every nook and corner making south Korea a huge sea of candlelight.

As all facts show, the current struggle against American beef in south Korea is the biggest anti-government struggle ever since the June Popular Uprising of 1987 in terms of its nature, scope and intensity.

This vigorous struggle is the explosion of the pent-up rancor and indignation toward the ruling Lee Myung-bak gentries who are committing acts against the nation, people and reunification by trampling upon the people's will running counter to the trend of the times, and a righteous patriotic struggle aimed at safeguarding the sovereign dignity and rights of the nation and wiping out the sycophantic and treacherous group, not a mere struggle to defend their right to live.

Nevertheless, the Lee Myung-bak group is clamoring about so-called “agitation of leftwing forces” and “hands behind scenes” instead of apologizing for its anti-people crimes and renegotiating with the US on beef import, and frenzied in desperate attempts to reveres the situation in its favor through the cruel crackdown on the demonstrators.

The ruling quarters drove tens of thousands of policemen and even the police commandos to suppress the demonstrators. They fired water canons straight at the demonstrators, letting some of them fall into coma, drubbed them with shields and clubs and stamped them down with military boots, took away hundreds of people including younger students and housewives.

This crackdown by the security authorities remind us of the barbarous suppression conducted by the airborne commandos who were hurled into the killing fields of Gwangju in May 1980, and the people are bleeding by the suppression more brutal than in the period of the military fascist dictatorship.

I vehemently condemn in the name of the entire people of south Korea the Lee Myung-bak gentries who drove the people's livelihood to a distress by enforcing the anti-people sycophantic policy like the American beef import, submitting to the outside forces, and are brutally cracking down the people's just struggle against them.

The regime which runs counter to the tendency and the people's mindset, curries favor with the outsiders and deceives the people is doomed to end soon.

The Lee myung-bak gentries must roll back the anti-nation and anti-people policy including market opening to American beef at once and apologize for it, and immediately stop the suppression of the demonstrators.

The patriotic people from all walks of life should rekindle the flame of the 2^nd June Uprising of all people with the spirit of the April 19 Popular Uprising of 1960 and the indomitable militant will of the May 18 Uprising of 1980, deal a heavy blow at the treacherous Lee Myung-bak regime crazy in sycophancy and dependence on foreign forces, and gain the final capitulation from it.

And they should sublimate the anti-government struggle to an anti-US independence struggle to drive out the US, root cause of all sorts of misfortune and pains of the people, from south Korea.

The AINDF will more vigorously conduct the struggle against the US and Lee Myung-bak group with the people from different social standings who turn out in the struggle to defend the national independence and the people's right to live, not tolerating the injustice.

Availing myself of this opportunity I express the expectation and belief that the progressive organizations and personages over the world will extend firm support and solidarity to the just struggle of the south Korean people for achieving independence and democratization of the society, people's right to live and the independent reunification of the country.

June 6 Juche 97(2008)

Pyongyang