An Open Letter to the UN: A False Impression
His Excellency,
António Guterres,
Secretary-General of the United Nations,
New York NY 1017,
U.S.A.
Dear Mr Secretary-General,
We the undersigned request that the United Nations revoke permission for use of the United Nations flag by the United States of America as leader of the unified command in Korea.
Although it is now 70 years since fighting was brought to a halt by the signing of the Armistice, the danger of an outbreak of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula has seldom been greater than it is today. It is appropriate therefore to revisit the role of the United Nations in order to promote a peaceful regime for the people of the Korean Peninsula.
Use of the United Nations flag in association with such field exercise as the recent large scale Freedom Shield and Warrior Shield War Games, give a false impression that the United Nations endorses the military manoeuvres of one of the belligerents. This impedes the United Nations potential to act as a peace broker on the Peninsula.
In November 1975 General Assembly Resolution A/RES/3390B clause B3 called for ‘the dissolution of the "United Nations Command" and the withdrawal of all the foreign troops stationed in South Korea under the flag of the United Nations.’
Subsequently three of your predecessors, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon have publicly acknowledged that the ‘United Nations Command’ in Korea is not an organ of the United Nations.
Accordingly, we call for the nullification of Clause 5 of the July 5 1950 United Nations Security Council Resolution 84 which ‘authorizes the unified command to use at its discretion the United Nations flag in the course of operations against North Korean forces.’ This was passed in the absence of a Permanent Member of the UNSC, the Soviet Union. The actual hostilities of that time have long since passed into history.
We feel that these actions will make a positive contribution to peace by removing the illusion that one of the belligerents, namely the United States, is acting under the auspices of the United Nations. Freed of this burden of false participation, the United Nations, and the office of the Secretary-General, will then be better placed to fulfil its true role of an impartial organisation which is able, in the words of Article 1 of the U.N. Charter, ‘to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace.’
Yours faithfully,
On Behalf of Asia-Pacific Regional Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea
Co-chairpersons
Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal,
Former Prime Minister of Nepal,
Chairman, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist)
Chairman, Nepal Committee for Promotion of Korea’s Reunification
gamknepal@gmail.com
Dr. Doğu Perinçek,
Chairman, Vatan Party, Turkey
international@vatanpartisi.org.tr
Rashed Khan Menon,
Chairman, Central Committee of Worker’s Party of Bangladesh
arkhan@bangla.net
Mr. Atul Kumar Anjan,
Chairman, All India-Korea Friendship Association
atulanjaan@gmail.com
Mr. Rafael V. Mariano,
President, Philippines-Korea Solidarity and Friendship Society (PKSFS)
kapaeng_mariano@yahoo.com
Mr. Neil Fitzgerald, National President, Australia-DPRK Friendship and Cultural Society bequanaland@gmail.com
Secretariat
Director: Mr. Raymond Ferguson,
Secretary General, Australia-DPRK Friendship and Cultural Society
ray.ferguson@tisgroup.com.au
Joint Secretaries
Ms. Norma G. Binas,
Secretary General, Philippine-Korea Solidarity and Friendship Society.
norbin2008@gmail.com
Mr. Javed Ansari,
President, Pakistan-Korea Friendship and Solidarity Committee
ansarijaved1@yahoo.com
Mr. Hakki Ergincan,
Chairman, Turkish-Korea Friendship Association
heergincan@gmail.com
Public Information Bureau
Director: Mr. Teguh Santosa,
Chairman, Indonesia-Korea Friendship and Cultural Exchange
teguh_timur@yahoo.com
Executive Members
Mr. Phanidra Raj Pant,
Secretary General, Nepal-Korea Friendship Association
prpanta@yahoo.com
Mr. Peter Wilson,
Secretary, New Zealand-DPRK Society
nzdprksociety@gmail.com
