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사과대학생회 "미국 의회, 제주4ㆍ3 인권법 제정해야"

Social sciences students demand US legislation on 4·3 and human rights

The Student Union of Jeju National University’s College of Social Sciences announced Monday (April 4) that it calls for the U.S. enactment of the Jeju 4·3 Human Rights Act.“

The Student Association said in a press release that the remains of 11 victims of Jeju 4·3 excavated from Darangshi Cave in April 1992 by the Jeju 4·3 Research Institute represent innocent civilians who were brutally slaughtered by the constabulary forces during the counterinsurgency operation. “The fact that the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) looked on the incident and rather called it a great success indicates that the KMAG gave up its duties and is indirectly responsible for the mass murders,” they claimed.

The student leaders said, “We will start a petition signing campaign on April 4 which urges the U.S. Congress to enact the Jeju 4·3 Human Rights Act and helps with the social healing process in Jeju 4·3-related villages and the resolution of historical injustice of human rights violations.” The petition signing campaign will be staged offline until April 8.

According to the student union, it is to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of the excavation of remains from the Darangshi Cave. The campaign also aims to inherit the testimony of Oh Hee-chun (92), a victim of unlawful arrest during Jeju 4·3, at a UNESCO conference held on Nov. 26, 2021, where the Department of German Studies in Jeju National University’s College of Humanities attended.

“It inherits the petition movement launched by Kang Kwang-sik, president of the Student Union of the College of Social Sciences in 2019, and continued in 2021 by Lim Jae-hyo, the then president of the union,” they added.

The student union plans to expand the movement to the one calling for the clarification of the U.S. responsibility for Jeju 4·3 and the healing of social wounds. To this end, the students will call for the installation of the Korea Jeju 4·3 Committee at the White House, by gaining momentum at the publishing event of “Healing the Persisting Wounds of Historical Injustice” authored by Prof. Eric Yamamoto of Hawaii Law School.