CINA

Before y'day (12.03) Amnesty International released following..

Public Statement

S. Korea: Crackdown against Migrants' Trade Union

Amnesty International would like to express serious concern at the arrest of three senior officials of the Migrant Workers' Trade Union (MTU) on the morning of 27 November 2007 (Tuesday). Amnesty International is concerned that they may be arbitrarily returned to their countries of origin.

Following their arrest, MTU President Kajiman Khapung, Vice President Raju Kumar Gurung (Raj) and General Secretary Abul Basher M. Moniruzzaman (Masum) were taken to a detention centre in Cheongju, Northern Chuncheong Province, south of Seoul.

President Kajiman and General Secretary Masum were arrested in front of their houses as they were leaving to participate in a protest in front of the Seoul Immigration Office. Vice President Raj was arrested in front of the factory where he works.

They were detained for being in an irregular or undocumented situation and are at risk of being returned without due process.

Amnesty International believes that the arrests of Kajiman, Raj and Masum are an attempt by the Government to deprive them of their basic labour rights protected in the South Korean constitution, including the right to freedom of association. They also appear to be repressive measures by the Government authorities to stop the MTU from conducting its rightful union activities. They appear to be a continuation of crackdowns that have been conducted against irregular migrant workers in South Korea since August 2007.

Amnesty International considers Kajiman Khapung, Raju Kumar Gurung and Abul Basher M Moniruzzaman to be prisoners of conscience and urges the South Korean Government to release the three men immediately and unconditionally. Amnesty International is concerned that their arrest represents a violation of the right to freedom of association and represents an assault on the human rights of migrant workers. The organisation calls on the South Korean Government not to return the men to their countries of origin without a full and individual assessment of their circumstances, including due process safeguards and the right to appeal the decision to an independent authority...

The full text you can read here:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGASA250072007

Already last Thursday the colleagues of MWTV visited Kajiman, Raju and Masum in Cheongju Immigration Detention Center. Here's the short report:

Five members of Migrant Workers TV travelled down to Cheongju on Thursday, Nov. 29 to pay a visit to the 3 MTU members who were ambushed and arrested Tuesday morning. We spoke about their ordeal with them for about 30 minutes, giving them our support and passing on well wishes from their many friends on the outside. Masum described how the Immigration Department had prepared for this operation to the point of even knowing what type of medication he was currently taking. This was clearly a carefully planned crackdown on the MTU leadership. Masum, Kajiman and Raju are trying to keep their spirits up and urged us to do whatever we could to publicize this violation of their rights as human beings and migrant laborers. Having secretly brought in cameras and recording devices into the interview room, we were able to record ashort video of our conversation, while the guards paced back and forth outside the windowed room, constantly peering in on us during the course of our visit. The video will be aired on our next news broadcast.

More on Int'l solidarity:

☞ Appeal for International Support and Solidarity (KMU, 12.05)

☞ Stop Crackdown on Migrant Workers! (Infoshop, 11.30)

☞ 연행된 이주노조 활동가 면회 (참세상TV, 12.04)