Separated `Day of Environment` Event

``The government and the environmental organizations turned their backs each other.``

The commemorative ceremony for the `Day of Environment` had been held jointly by the government and the environmental organizations since 1999. But it was held separately by the government and the environmental organizations this year, contrasting each other on the theme of the event. The government had the 6th commemorative ceremony for the `Day of Environment` and the environmental organizations had the event for `the Day of Environment that abandoned the environment`. The event was held separately because the environmental organizations refused to participate in the joint event in defiance of the government`s decision to resume the Saemangeum reclamation project.

About 600 guests participated in the commemorative ceremony that the Ministry of Environment hosted at the Small Theater of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. The ceremony began with the national courtesy, the commemorative speech, and the awards granting to the contributors to the environment in the part one. In part two, `the campaign for lessening the food garbage by 20 percent` was followed.

Kim Myung-Ja, the Minister of Environment told in a commemorative speech, that ``the government made a prudent decision to develop the Dong-Jin waters first and to withhold the Man-Kyung waters, taking the various raised issues into considerations.``

``I think that it is very meaningful to have a ceremony to strengthen the will to preserve the environment,`` she added.

At the same time, 300 members of the environmental organizations such as `Life and Peace Solidarity` gathered at the steps in front of the fountain of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. They told that ``the orderly plan to develop Saemangeum of the government is nothing but a trick, not collecting the opinions about the raised issues. The Saemangeum project should be immediately withdrawn.``

And they asked the government to resign, shouting that ``It is shameful of the Day of Environment` which lost the environment.``

The environmental organizations set up `the week for the deceased environmental policy` from 4th to 9th, and rushed into the fight against the government in order to annul the decision to resume the Saemangeum project. And they also cancelled the panel discussion on the cooperation of the government and the civil sector.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment planned to hold the ceremony at COEX in Samsung-dong, Kannam-gu, Seoul, but curtailed greatly the scale of the ceremony because the environmental organizations notified not to participate in the ceremony.

Last year, the commemorative ceremony for the `Day of Environment` had been held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, and 3000 guests including President Kim Dae-Jung had participated in the event. An official of the Ministry of Environment told that ``The Ministry of Environment and the environmental organizations have built up the trust connection. Although the favorable relationship was broke up a bit due to the Saemangeum project, I hope to cooperate each other again.``

Soh Young-A sya@donga.com