CINA

본문

Before yesterday, Feb 3, Buddhist nun (not monk!! stupid no chr.!) Ji-yul entered her 100th day of hunger strike against additional KTX (S. Korean high speed train) route to S. Korea’s second large city Busan (last year already one KTX route to Busan was opened), under tunneling the Mount Cheonseong-san. To celebrate the date the Friends of the Korean Salamanders and their allies organized a culture festival in front of Kyobo B/D downtown Seoul. Several hundred people expressed their solidarity with Ji-yul’s struggle and joined the event. Of course also on that day the audience took an active part and used the open microphone to criticize the governments decision to continue the project against the will of the people. In speeches, but also in poems and songs they expressed their protest very creative. Like mostly the event ended with a kind of session ­ nearly everyone was dancing or joining for nearly an half hour ACOMDA’s performance (possibly in expectation of the repeated fun we would have ­ and definitely we had!!! - “hard core” politic groups, such as All Together, sent no delegates). By the way, even it is clear since the beginning of the protests there, more than three weeks ago, that the rallies are complete peaceful, the “authorities” had at least 1000 of the infamous riot cops in readiness close to the place of the event. Meanwhile late Thursday Ji-yul has suspended (S. Korean bourgeois media says “ended”) her hunger strike after the government agreed to suspend construction. "After deeply considering advice given by the parliamentary Construction and Transport Committee and religious leaders, we have accepted a joint study with environmental groups based on our respect for life,” the prime minister's publicity chief Lee Gang-jin announced late Thursday night. “For the next three months when the joint study is in progress, we promise to do nothing that would influence the study.” "Hankook Ilbo" (today’s English edition) already is out-crying: “Protest Threatens State Project” ­ and spreading more worries: “The construction companies estimate some 1.8 billion won in losses per month if construction is suspended, and 2 trillion won per year if the new train route is suspended. Some also worry that similar cases will result in frequent halts of state-driven projects due to protests from individuals concerned.” By the way of proof of that opinions we also suspended y’day in a kind of street democracy (everyone who joined y’day’s rally was asked about her/his opinion and we decided all together - the candlelight rallies for at least until the end of Lunar (Chinese) New Year holydays) - and we will think about how to change (or not) the strategy. Because one thing should be clear: behind projects like that billions/trillions of Won ­ just the interests of the S. Korean capitalist (ruling) class is staying. And they will not give up, until they’ll be forced to give up their plans (for maximizing their profits). So y’day we’d a small nice party (see the pictures below and about y'day the page before) in front of Kyobo B/D and later we continued somewhere else….