CINA

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Finally here you'll find a very personally report about the last two days (7.08/09) of the Peace March in English:

Notes from the Peace March from the Blue House to Pyeongtaek

Attacks against protesters, 7.08 (source: 민중의소리/Voice of People)

And the "left"-liberal daily Hankyoreh published yesterday following article in English:

Protesters beaten by supporters of U.S. base relocation

Skirmish in Pyeongtaek follows candlelight vigil by those against base move
 

Members of the Pan South Korea Solution Committee Against U.S. Base Extension in Pyeongtaek (KCPT), holding a peaceful march in one of the disputed former residential areas where a U.S. base is to expand were beaten by local business owners supporting the base relocation.

About 400 protestors, marching to the disputed Pyeongtaek district of Daechuri on July 8 after a candlelight vigil, were met by about 100 local merchants wielding metal rods.

A member of the KCPT, identified by his surname, Mr. Gwak, was among those attacked. Gwak said, "They cursed me and pulled me out of the car and beat me." He is currently receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.

In addition to the rods, the merchants used sticks to beat the protestors and threw stones and eggs at them. About 30 protesters were injured.

Police called to the scene, however, told the marchers to "return home" instead of subduing the merchants. No arrests were made on the scene.

About 80 of the protestors went to the Pyeongtaek police station to raise a complaint about the lack of arrests following the incident, and 45 were themselves arrested on charges of interference with the execution of official duties.

Regarding this incident, a group of local merchants said, "Due to two years of rallies and demonstrations, commercial areas around the U.S. military base have been greatly damaged and merchants hurt by the KCPT."

Fearing further protests, the police have since blocked entry into the Daechuri district.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/140045.html 
 

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The S. Korean ruling class, i.e., its instrument/tool of power, the govt., already since weeks is warning the anti-FTA protest movement to respect f.. "LAW&ORDER". Otherwise they would crackdown... (Yonhap, Chosun Ilbo..)

Yesterday during a press conference in Seoul - near Shilla Hotel(the place where the US delegation found accomodation) - the first time large units of the riot cops were attacking a small group of peacefull protesters and arrested several activists.

Please check out following article (in Korean) by VoP(민중의소리):

한미FTA 협상 첫날 충돌...경찰, 차량 견인 아찔한 상황도 

The report is including a video(한미FTA 협상 첫날 시민사회-경찰 충돌).

For more about the latest developments:

http://www.nofta.or.kr  (Korean Alliance against KorUS FTA)

Here

http://www.nofta.or.kr/webbs/view.php?board=nofta_10&id=80

you can watch a Chamsesang video about the rally in front of Shilla Hotel(riot cops attacks against the activists). 

Meanwhile the govt seems to prepare for a kind of civil war for tomorrow's(7.12) main protest demonstrations in Seoul.

Today's edition of Korea Times is writing following:

Protests to Intensify Over FTA
 

As Korea resumed its talks with the United States over a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) yesterday, anti-globalization activists also made their presence felt, organizing scattered demonstrations in Seoul calling for the government to withdraw from the negotiations.

Aside from some minor scuffles between protestors and riot police most of Monday's rallies ended peacefully, with heavy rain brought by Typhoon Ewiniar preventing large crowds from gathering.

However, law enforcement authorities fear it could be a totally different situation tomorrow with farmers and labor activists scheduling massive rallies in downtown Seoul that are expected to attract tens of thousands.

Dozens of members of the ``Korean Alliance Against Korea-U.S. FTA,'' which represents 282 farmers' organizations, labor unions and civic activist groups, organized a morning rally in front of the Shilla Hotel, downtown Seoul, the venue for the second round of FTA talks. Several were chanting ``Wendy Cutler go home,'' targeting the assistant U.S. trade representative leading the negotiations for her country.

The rally was also joined by leaders of Korea's two flagship labor groups _ the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) _ and a six-man delegation from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest confederation of unions in the U.S.

The labor groups held a joint news conference, claiming a free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S. will hurt employment and threaten the livelihoods of workers in both countries.

Tension rose when riot police engaged in a shoving match with some protestors, including a group of recently-fired Korea Train Express (KTX) female employees who had attempted to hold a separate news conference in front of the Shilla Hotel's main gate. No serious injuries were reported.

More than 3,200 riot police were deployed to the Shilla Hotel and its neighboring areas.

Government officials are now bracing for the possibility of protests intensifying over the week, with anti-globalization activists upping the level of their actions.

Major disruptions are anticipated Wednesday when farmers, labor unionists and civic activists gather for massive rallies in Kwanghwamun and at Seoul City Hall, which organizers hope will lure over 100,000 protestors.

National Police Agency Commissioner-General Lee Taek-soon told reporters Monday he plans to deploy around 25,000 riot police _ about 80 percent of the total capacity of mobile police units in Korea _ to guard Wedneday's demonstration scenes. Police will also restrict traffic in downtown areas, which is expected to increase the congestion on the roads.

``The scale of mobilization would be the largest since the early 1990s, when street protests were violent. We expect to use all of our mobile police personnel, except for the officers guarding airports and harbors, and those deployed in Pusan for the inter-Korean ministerial talks,'' Lee said in a news briefing Monday.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200607/kt2006071017252810510.htm

In my opinion the govt is not preparing for a carnival, for funny days! So to prevent ROK-US FTA... just let's learn, for example, from the French Anti-CPE struggle, or the Nepalese struggle for democracy during spring(April/May)...

The ruling class will only listen to us when we are loud enough, at any time, on any place! Only if they find no possibility to ingnore our demands, only then, perhaps - if we have enough power - they react how WE want..

"Chief trade negotiator Kim Jong-hoon said 'If our people don't accept the free trade deal with the U.S., the National Assembly won't ratify the accord.' ", Yonhap yesterday wrote. So let them feel very clear that the S. Korean people don't want this kind of FTA!! 

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