Despite the ongoing uncertainty of the Trump-Kim Summit in Singapore, the drive for peace by the people of both North Korea and South Korea is unstoppable. The peace train has left the station, according to women peace and security experts who were in Seoul last week.
Led by Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire and Women Cross DMZ founder Christine Ahn, an all-women delegation of peace activists was in South Korea to support the historic peace process between the two Koreas.
“Peace can only come if the people build it,” said Mairead Maguire. “But peace also needs political leaders. We call on Kim, Moon and Trump to sign a peace treaty for the people of Korea and for the world.”
On the same day that President Moon and Chairman Kim were at Panmunjom in an attempt to bring inter-Korean relations back on track, the international women’s delegation and over 1000 Korean women were just a few miles away crossing the Unification Bridge in the De-militarized Zone (DMZ).
The women, the first civilians ever to walk across the bridge, were calling for an end to the Korean war and chanting “No War. Yes Peace.”
“When I was walking in the DMZ, I heard a father say to his son, ‘We are the same people but we can’t see each other’”, said Christine Ahn. “This is a conflict that has lasted seven decades. This is a strip of land that is the most symbolic manifestation of a long-term division. Let the Korean people see peace on the Korean peninsula. That’s what they want. And the international community should support it.”
In the aftermath of Trump’s cancelation of the June 12 Singapore Summit, the delegation met with government officials and foreign ministries in Seoul. The American members of the delegation also met with diplomats at the US Embassy to discuss how women can play a constructive role in establishing a diplomatic peace process between the United States and North Korea.
“It was an extraordinary time to be in Seoul,” said Erica Fein of Win Without War. “Peace and genuine security on the Korean peninsula will only happen if the international community — but especially the United States — follows the lead of the Korean people and their leaders, who are already driving this train forward.”
“No matter which way the winds in the White House are blowing, we women will be moving forward in lockstep with our Korean sisters who are determined to put an end to this disastrous 70-year-old conflict,” said Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK and a member of the delegation.
The delegation is calling for women to be included in the peace process by having a seat at the negotiating table. It is a call made in solidarity with Korean women.
“It is time to shout: The era of peace is coming. And it needs to be carried out by women,” said KoEun KwangSoon of Peace Mothers of Korea.
The delegation was comprised of activists and experts from the United States, Russia, China, Japan, Canada, Colombia, Kenya, Sweden, Guam, Iraq and Mongolia.
For more information contact:
Rachel Vincent
Nobel Women’s Initiative
+1.613.569.8400 ext. 113
rvincent@nobelwomensinitiative.org