CINA

Three Leaders of MTU Deported!

Early this morning (Dec. 13) President Kajiman, Vice President Raju and General Secretary Masum of the Migrants’ Trade Union (a KCTU affiliate) were secreted out of Cheongju Detention Center, where they had been confined since they were arrested in a targeted crackdown on November 27. It has been confirmed that they were transported to Incheon International Airport and deported to their native countries (Nepal and Bangladesh) during the morning hours. This act by the Ministry of Justice is yet a further escalation of its repression against MTU and the organizing of migrant workers in South Korea...

KCTU's entire contribution you can read here:
http://nodong.org/bbs//view.php?id=eng_action&no=54

Earlier today Jamie (TwoKoreas Blog) posted following info, he got y'day night (12.12):

"So today the High Court officially refused to hear the appeal for Masum, Kajiman and Raju's release. Which means we are pretty much out of legal avenues to fight for their release. I heard from a Nepalese friend today that Raju and Kajiman have both been cleared by the Nepalese embassy for travel and it looks like they will probably be gone by tomorrow.

Unfortunately they will all probably just disappear without being able to make any phone calls, so we won't know that they are gone for sure until they find phones in whatever countries they have lay-overs in."

Today's first public protest in downtown Seoul against the deportation..(*)

More about the deportation of our comrades here:

☞ 이주노조 집행부 3명 결국 강제출국 당해 (민중의소리, incl. video)

☞ 법무부, 이주노조 지도부 "날치기" 강제출국 (참세상)

☞ 이주노조 지도부 3명 전격 강제출국 (한겨레)

☞ 이주노동자의 권리와 인권을 무시한 날치기 강제출국 강행을 규탄한다 (KCTU)

☞ 이주노조 지도부 강제출국 - 노무현 정부.. (다함께)

A video about today's morning in front of Cheongju Detention Center

you can watch here:

☞ 이주노동조합 지도부 3인.. 오늘 새벽 강제 출국 (MWTV)

☞ 이주노조 지도부3인 강제출국 항의 기자회견 (MWTV)

☞ 법무부 출입국 이주노조 집행부 강제추방 (이주노동자방송국)

And finally one the class enemy's voices:

Korea Herald (S.K. bourgeois daily newspaper) tomorrow's edition:

Unionists expelled on immigration charges

The government expelled yesterday three leaders of a foreign workers' union for staying illegally for over 10 years.

Civic organizations criticized the move as a "targeted crackdown" to suppress activism among migrant workers.

The three deported men included Nepalese nationals Khapung Kajiman and Tek Bahadur Gurung, who were head and vice-head of a nationwide union of foreign workers. Bangladeshi national Moniruzzamal Abul Dashar M, who served as secretary-general, was also expelled.

The government does not recognize the union (i.e. MTU) as a legal entity. (!!!)

The men were apprehended last month. Their appeals against deportation were dismissed and they were repatriated yesterday, the Justice Ministry said.

Khapung Kajiman was here illegally for nearly 16 years, Tek Bahadur Gurung for 13 years and Moniruzzamal Abul Dashar for 11 years, according to officials.

Tek Bahadur Gurung was expelled in 1991 but reentered in 2000 on a forged passport, the ministry said.

Immigration officials and the police have jointly conducted massive crackdowns on illegal immigrants since August.

Civic advocacy and labor groups argued that the expulsion of the unionists was unfairly carried out and a violation of human rights.

"The deportation was specifically targeting the migrant workers to destroy the union activities," Lee Jeong-won, an education and outreach director at the Migrant Trade Union, told The Korea Herald.

The ministry rebuffed the argument.

"To crack down on immigration-law offenders and deport them accordingly is a legitimate act of exercising administrative rights," a ministry official said.

There are over 225,000 illegal immigrants in Korea, over more than half of the total number of foreign workers

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2007/12/14/200712140011.asp