CINA

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Special Riot Police Unit Established (K. Times, 7.30)
 

Police launched a special riot police squad to crack down on illegal protesters(*).

It will replace the current riot police beginning Thursday.

Civic groups denounced the move, saying the special police are reminiscent of

the "BaekGolDan (or White Skull Squad/백골단),'' a group of plain-clothes policemen wearing white helmets in the 1980s and 90s.

At that time, they brutally suppressed demonstrators who took to the streets to fight dictatorship.

The National Police Agency had an establishment ceremony for the team at a

police station in Sindang, Northeastern Seoul, Wednesday.

The special unit includes roughly 1,700 highly skilled police officers. They had to

complete a 6-month-long training session to join in the group, NPA said. NPA

plans to increase the number of special riot police to 14,000 by 2013.

The agency expects the special members will efficiently control protesters.

* i.e. (likely) almost all anti-gov't protests!

Demonstration of suppression (Hankyoreh, 7.31)

The riot police demonstrate how to suppress a demonstration at a ceremony for

establishing the riot police force held at their headquarters in the Sindang

neighborhood on July 30. Since February, 990 riot police officers have been

trained in demonstration suppression techniques. There were 240 riot police

officers present at the mock demonstration and all wore the standard suits of

armor.

Following the demonstration, Eo Cheong-soo, the chief of the National Police

Agency, said, “Riot police will arrest anyone who engages in illegal activity.” The

newly-trained force will begin their service in August.

On the same day, the People’s Countermeasure Council against Mad Cow

Disease held a press conference and announced that it was against the

establishment of the riot police force. At the press conference, Lee Jeong-hee, a

lawmaker with the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party said, “In 1991, a

university student died after being hit by the White Skull Squad (an organization

similar to the current riot police force). After that, our society reflected on the

excessive violence used by the police and abolished organizations like it from the

police force.”

Oh Chang-ik, the secretary general of Citizens’ Solidarity for Human Rights, said,

“I am afraid that the riot police have been trained to strike first against citizens.”

More articles about the issue:

☞ Protesters to face special unit of new riot police (JoongAng Ilbo, 7.31)

☞ ‘백골단’ 1700여명 공식 부활.. (VoP, 7.30/incl. video)

☞ “백골단 부활” 경찰관 기동대 창설 (NewsCham, 7.30) 

THE COPY: The new riot cop unit (aka the "New BaekGolDan") performed their "skills":

THE ORIGINAL: The "BaekGolDan" in real action (late 1980s):

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Lee Gil-jun - A Riot Cop In Resistance #2

While the (reactionary) media of the S.K. ruling class is still lamenting about "protest violence", the "lack of respect for the law", "police impotence" (Chosun../JoongAng Ilbo) but also some Internet sources (such as OneFreeKorea), Kim Gil-jun, a young police officer, decided to refuse to continue his service in the riot police units (a part of the S.K. army!!), i.e. he refused his duty to oppress, if "necessary" with extreme violence, the daily mass protests (since late April) against the gov't. While refusing the service as riot cop, he decided to desert, sheltering himself in a cathedral and call publicly for the dismantling of the riot police units.

7.25: Press conference with Lee Gil-jun

The Internet magazine OhmyNews published y'day following impressing contribution (incl. interview) about Lee Gil-jun's case:

'I Left the Army to Save My Conscience'
Riot police officer takes a stand over candlelight vigils

'Putting Them Down, I Could Not Bear the Guilt'

 
Lee Gil-jun, a riot police officer, held a press conference on Friday, declaring his decision to leave the army. Lee made his decision during a leave of absence awarded for his hard work in suppressing the candlelight vigil protests. He made up his mind to no longer be a tool of suppression.

In the early dawn of June 1, protesters were still wide-awake with their candles in front of the presidential Blue House when the riot police rewarded them with water cannons and metal clubs.

Lee stood in the front line facing the protesters that day. He and the troops forced the people up to Guanghwamun. It was then that he realized what he was doing. From that moment, he could not bear the guilt.

He explained that his decision was not for some heroic reason but for his own conscience. He showed worries of all the pain and obstacles that lay ahead of him. The press conference was to be held on the day he had to rejoin the troop at 4 p.m. on July 25. Luckily, we were able to interview him the night before at 9 p.m.

The Riot Police Officer Who Longed to Join

the Candlelight Vigil

When were you assigned as a riot police? When you volunteered for it, weren't you aware of having to go out in riots?

"I was assigned as a riot police last February. I went to university for two years and decided to take three years off doing part time in press agencies and libraries, etc. … I was not an activist of any kind but I was rather interested in social problems [and] also had some critical views on the army and the military draft. Volunteering for a riot police was a compromising point for both. I think I was a bit too vague when I thought that there were other ways to serve as a riot police without having to use force. Looking back I have been too naive. [There are two kinds of police forces; one is a crime patrol police and the other one is a riot police. Lee was a crime patrol police officer with Seoul Joonglang Police Station and would patrol around the district maintaining public security. He would also be mobilized to government departments from time to time. However, things changed as he was sent to the candle vigil protests.]

"I heard the news about the candlelight vigil protests concerning the beef issues through a friend's letter early this May. You don't get all the news when you are inside so I was not aware of the details. Hence, it is true that I assumed the protest would cool down after awhile like other protests.

"So while I was out I participated in the candlelight vigils. I was astounded to see how furious the citizens were and how irresponsible the government could be towards this fatal issue. Then I had to return to the troop and stand against these people with no choice. For that moment I thought to myself that I was only standing guard. I guess it was only my own rationalization.

"A day after I returned the whole atmosphere changed. It was May 31. We were in standby on riot buses when an order was given to us to get out of the bus. Then [they] ordered us to run somewhere with our riot suits and shields. We ran until we stopped and we stood facing the protesters with me in the front line. I recall that it was university students in the front facing us and we were at Hyojadong that moment. Others alerted each other that things might become more serious and the whole situation was just too surreal for me. But as soon as I heard the water cannons were coming, I came to my senses. Are they serious? I thought. The water cannons actually waited for two hours for the protesters to strike first."

'Strike Them, But Don't Make It Obvious'

"'Wait for them to strike first? Isn't it a rather subjective judgment?' I asked. The higher officials told us, 'For us to win this strike was to wait for the people to strike first and have a clearer reason for us to fire the water cannons.

"'Strike them. But don't make it obvious. You might get caught by all the cameras so just hit them at the shin holding the shield up a little.'

"The suppression started as the water cannons were fired. Many people bled and fell to the ground of Guanghwamun as the sun came out.

"While firing the water, we were ordered to push forward. People at the back kept on pushing so I headed forward too. As we suppressed the people up to Guanghwamun, the sun came out and it was already morning. I slopped down on the ground dehumanized, wondering what I was doing. It is true that there were some people who were a bit violent. I was hit by a soju bottle too, but I was not angry though. It is because the protesters were unarmed while I was armed with a shield. For the citizens it must have been a scary sight.

"If we did not shout loud enough and be ferocious, we were told we would be strictly disciplined afterwards. Punishment in the police community is way more violent than any other punishments in the army.

"I was told, 'Having a dominant atmosphere is what makes a rival to the protesters. And we consider defeating them only as a part of our job.' A suppression route is made only to stop serious accidents but not to protect the people's safety is what I was also told. Therefore, the country has used the many young men solely as a tool for the sake of their own power and somehow allowed them to use a more violent force every time they faced the protesters."

From a Tool of Suppression to Acting Through One's Conscience

"After the protests were put down, I realized something as I heard our head's abusive language. I realized that something was wrong, that I wasn't thinking. We all gathered to block the vigils all throughout June and we worked overnight continuously. I could stand the physical exhaustion but I couldn't bear the meaninglessness of it all.

"I realized that there's no way to justify acting in such violence towards my fellow citizens. It was difficult to see demonstrators picket in front of my riot shield. It was so painful to hear people talking down at the police and tell us to disobey our orders. Sometimes I would cry, hidden behind my helmet.

"At first, I would try to just escape the situation. I tried to break my leg, thinking that if I were injured I wouldn't be in the frontlines. I tried to figure out if I could be moved to a different branch. But nothing worked out and the month of June was too long and difficult. Luckily, I wasn't in the lines that were in charge of breaking up the protests, but in regular street guarding posts. I couldn't bear it otherwise.

"As July passed I came to realize that I have to stand up rather than just try to escape. I've lived my whole life up to now, by compromising. But this one time, I wanted to stand up. I couldn't live with myself if I had to compromise my beliefs again this time. I finally felt this good type of "self-interest" to live with dignity and courage. The candlelight vigils showed how easy it was to manipulate these young men as tools of power. I couldn't support something like that anymore."

'In Order to Break the Circle of Violence, the Riot Police System

Must Be Discontinued'

OhmyNews asked Lee if he was worried about all the criticisms that he would face following the press conference. It is predictable that people would denounce him for his "supposed" cowardice and inability to adjust to army life.

"I want to tell as many people as possible. But I'm not speaking as some ideologically motivated advocate -- I just want to tell people my story. I want to tell them that there are people like myself in the riot police. And I wanted to speak out as a whistle blower and show how violently that riot police organization operates. And I wanted to object to the government for throwing young people into that mess and forcing them to clash against the demonstrators.

"I prepared for this press conference with the support of members of the People's Solidarity for the Abolition of Riot Police System. I'm not sure exactly what I'll say. Instead of some general overblown opinions, I just want people to know that there are people like me out there. And I hope through this process that others like myself who have been worrying by themselves will be able to come forward.

"One of the reasons I came forward is because of the culture of violence in the internal organization. But I probably wouldn't have come to this decision without the candlelight vigils. I probably would have found some way to adjust. And maybe I would have tried to be better out there on the frontlines."

Did the internal organization (of the riot police) become far more violent as the candlelight protests continued?

"The internal organization's atmosphere became progressively uglier after the candlelight vigils began. The pretext was to put the men on edge and maintain discipline. Before and after the protests, we would be harassed and beaten up. The physical abuse and human rights violations escalated as the candlelight vigils continued. I think I was beaten up every day in July."

Lee was extremely hesitant about this point. He did not want another person to be harmed because of his decision to come forward. Lee attributed his experiences to "structural problems." Lee said that the current riot police system must be abolished in order to break the circle of violence. But not everything can be attributed to "structural problems." Lee hoped that fellow riot police members would be able to choose to resist instead. He wished that his decision would give them courage to do so.

'I'm Most Worried About My Parents'

Lee was asked whether he had spoken with his parents about his decision. The worry was that his decision may lead to his arrest and that was something his parents may not understand or accept.

"I will try to speak with them either tonight or tomorrow morning. They probably will not understand at all. I don't think I'll be able to change their minds. I can accept whatever difficulty or suffering that happens because it was my choice, but when I think about the suffering my parents will experience because of me, I feel much sorrow and guilt."

After the press conference, Lee will begin a talk at the Korean National Christian Congress (KNCC) at Jongro. After 8 p.m., Lee will have surpassed his leave time and the army will come to take him back. Seeing how the police have arrested average citizens, it's no surprise what they will do to get a conscripted soldier who violated his leave time and conducted a press conference. The ones in power will go through Lee Gil-jun's records in order to find something that will make him out to be a "bad guy."

Shouldn't we embrace him? This young man who cried inside his helmet wishing he could stand together with the candlelight demonstrators. This young man who said, "I don't know what to say to my parents. I know that I will go to prison, but what can I do for my parents?" This young man who has so much criticism and punishment right before his eyes.

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=383266&rel_no=1

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Lee Gil-jun - A Riot Cop In Resistance #1

While the (reactionary) media of the S.K. ruling class is still lamenting about "protest violence", the "lack of respect for the law", "police impotence" (Chosun Ilbo/JoongAng Ilbo) Lee Gil-jun, a young police officer, decided to refuse to continue his service in the riot police units, i.e. he refused his duty to oppress, if "necessary" with extreme violence, the daily mass protests (since late April) against the gov't. While refusing the service as riot cop, he decided to desert, sheltering himself in a cathedral and call publicly for the dismantling of the riot police units.

Today's (bourgeois) Korea Herald wrote following article about Kim Gil-jun's case:

Officer wants compulsory police system abolished

A riot policeman is protesting the duty of dealing with street demonstrators against U.S. beef imports, calling for the compulsory service police system to be abolished.

"When standing with shields in front of citizens and using violence, I dare not think of refusing the order, and had no choice but to accept the pains without resistance," said Lee Gil-joon, 24, in a press conference on Sunday.

"I felt like my humanity was burning. It was a horrific thing to accept myself as having to toe the line without a word when being mobilized in the dispersal operations and standing to the side indefinitely, on the receiving end of public catcalls and complaints."

Lee's protest came after another officer demanded in mid-June that a national administrative appeals commission deliberate on his request for transfer to the Army, citing skepticism about performing his duty against his will.

Lee, who joined the Seoul police unit in February, has staged the protest since Sunday at a cathedral in Yangcheon-gu, southwestern Seoul. He initially planned to hold a press conference on Friday last week when he was set to return to his unit after his three-day vacation, but it was deferred to Sunday due to the stern admonishment of his parents.

"During the difficult times, I tried to find a way to escape, but thought that avoiding the situation is not the right answer," Lee said.

"By staying there, I thought I would end up eventually contributing to the maintaining of the oppressive structure. Most of all, I felt the need to listen to the voice of my heart and protest what suppresses me now with a clear voice in leading my remaining life."

Lee also said that assault and battery have occurred within the police unit, and called for a solution to stamp out the root causes of these problems.

Lee is likely to face charges for avoiding his duty. His supporters say that when he is tried they will assert that the auxiliary police system is unconstitutional. In 1991, a riot policeman filed a petition with the Constitutional Court to rule on a similar case, but five out of the nine judges at the court said that the police system is constitutional in their 1995 ruling.

All able-bodied Korean men of 19 or older are obliged to serve in the military for 24-27 months. Some apply for or are randomly selected for the National Auxiliary Police system instead of going into the military...

More about it you can read here tomorrow!

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Well, I know... Last weekend's anti-gov't protest night (7.26/27) wasn't a very special/exciting event (compared to other "ordinary" protests in S.K.!), although 15,000 activists (during the entire night some 1500 activists were confronted with 11,000 riot cops..) gathered in downtown Seoul, according to today's bourgeois Korea Herald. 

But there are also - surprise, surprise!! - some voices who must make a fuss about it!

Like Scott B. (aka "King Baeksu"), an US American, who's residing since several years in Seoul. On Sunday he published his following "experience" about the protest night, incl. a proposal how YOU CAN SUPPORT the S.K. ruling class - i.e. the gov't and its instrument of oppression, the riot cops!(*):

Another Saturday Night in Chongno

So here's what the "peaceful" anti-2MB protesters did to the evil "violent" police and other "reactionary" elements on Saturday night, July 26th:

1. At around 8pm, about 1,000 protesters had occupied the main intersection at Chonggak so that no cars could go through.
After a while, the police opened the street (Chongno) by marching in a forward straight line, but with restraint and without hitting anyone that I could see. For some reason, after about 30 minutes the police decided to retreat, and one large line of police started retreating towards Ch'onggyech'on. Thus, they had left the entire intersection of Chonggak open again to the protesters, without arresting anyone or anything.

As the police were retreating, many protesters started charging at them and actually hitting them with their fists. There was the usual media frenzy, of course, flashes everywhere and whatnot. The most hilarious part was that the protesters were actually shrieking "Violent police!" as they were hitting the police! I thought this was just absurdly ironic and nothing else until I saw that one slight young policeman had been knocked unconscious by the protesters and had to be carried to the sidewalk and laid down. He was out for a while and eventually regained consciousness (volunteer protest medics and other police were attending to him), but couldn't stand up, so after waiting about 15 minutes an ambulance finally came and took him away.

Of course, none of the usual suspects were there to document all this, like Hankyoreh, MBC or KBS. I asked several protesters why they were complaining about the violent police when they were hitting police first, and they all whined, "The police started it!" like third graders. Remember: THE POLICE WERE RETREATING when this poor young guy was KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS!

2. At about 10pm, the police had prepared to go through the same routine again and open up Chonggak to traffic. They had much larger forces this time and again opened up the intersection without using clubs or the water cannon, just fire extinguishers a couple of times as far as I could see. I was standing in front of Boshingak when I noticed that a riot policeman had been pulled off the line and was being dragged towards Boshingak by a screaming group of protesters. Some yebigun (reservists) and other protesters were trying to protect him, but several other protesters were rushing forward and getting in cheap shots, despite the fact that the policeman had lost his helmet and had his arms pinned to his sides.

I was so pissed off after having seen that earlier policeman knocked unconscious that when one chubby young college student in wire-rimmed glasses, a white polo shirt and white surgical face mask rushed up and tried to hit the captured policeman in the head -- and from behind no less -- I immediately grabbed one of his backpack straps and yanked him away before the blow could land. He was quite light and I pulled him several feet from the scrum, but made sure not to actually hit him myself.

When he turned around and looked at me, the expression on his face was priceless. He had prepared this "I'm a poor victim, what are you doing to me?!" look that instantly morphed into utter confusion and bewilderment, since a foreigner was standing there glaring at him and he had nothing to say in defense since he had just been trying to hit a defenseless young kid himself.
I was even more disgusted by this little coward when I saw how easily he backed away from me in fear and confusion.

So here again we have another "peaceful" protester trying to attack the "violent" police, and you can almost guess what cliche he whined at me before slithering back into the crowd: "The police started the violence!"

Right!

3. At about midnight the police had kept the Chonggak intersection open successfully for a while and there were just a couple hundred protesters milling about the plaza in front of Boshingak yelling "Violent police!" and whatnot as usual. There were some funny scenes: One young kid was screaming at the police for like 5 minutes so loudly that I thought he had gone insane, and kept pretending to run up and attack the police before stopping at the last second. The police did nothing, of course, despite this clear provocation. After a while I saw him sitting down on a rock nearly hyperventilating, and of course a half dozen volunteer medics rushed over and treated him like some poor victim that had just been brutally assaulted by the police, asking him repeatedly, "Are you OK? Are you OK?" and taking his temperature and so on.

Another tall guy was holding a white handkerchief to the top of his head and being interviewed by two young female reporters. They got his name and number and his story about how he had apparently been hit by the police or some such. I noticed that there was no blood and his eyes looked very sharp and he was certainly in good shape by all appearances, but the reporters scribbled down his testimony in their notebooks with breathless concern and effusive empathy. After the guy left, I went up to them and after confirming that they were journalists, I asked them, "If a protester lies to you, how can you know that? How do you confirm what you're told by them?" They looked totally confused and after a beat or two they replied lamely, "Well, we ask other people for their stories, too." I certainly hadn't seen them trying to look for witnesses for the story of the guy they had just interviewed.

Suddenly, there was a big commotion by the metal fence in front of Boshingak. A big chubby ajosshi in a white dress shirt and wire-rimmed glasses was surrounded by several dozen screaming protesters. They were claiming that he had "attacked" some poor haraboji, who was nowhere to be found. There was a lot of screaming and yelling at the guy, who was slightly drunk and had two other friends trying to protect him, one in his thirties and another in his fifties, also in white dress shirts;
apparently they had just been out for a night on the town in Chongno-2-ga. The chubby ajosshi kept saying, "Just go away!" but the protesters wouldn't, so he calmly pulled out his cellphone, called the police and said very evenly in a low voice, "I'm in a bit of a dangerous situation here..." As soon as he said that, the protesters went mental and one guy in a pink shirt rushed up and smacked the ajosshi in the head, breaking his glasses which flew to the ground. Two other guys in red-bandana face
masks were standing behind the fence and also got in two cheap shots to the back of the ajosshi's head. Fortunately, another one of the protesters blocked the ajosshi and begged for calm. The first guy who had hit the ajosshi was dragged away by other protesters, practically screaming bloody murder at the ajosshi. A second later, some other young kid also tried to hit the ajosshi, landing an indirect blow to his chest, but eventually the violence was contained and there was a long discussion about how the ajosshi needed to "apologize to the haraboji."

So they found the haraboji and the ajosshi got on his knees and begged for forgiveness. The haraboji seemed cool and they quickly made up, but all the other protesters were standing in a circle around them talking about how the ajosshi had "beat up this poor haraboji for no reason" and taking endless pictures and videos of this "terrible" man. After a few minutes, the three guys were allowed to leave since the haraboji seemed placated and the ajosshi seemed genuinely contrite.

I followed them until a safe distance and then got the real story from the three guys (at least, it seemed legit to me). The ajosshi told me, "I used to be a policeman, and that haraboji was standing in front of the police yelling and trying to hit them.
I was upset because I used to be a policeman, so I went up and tried to separate the haraboji from the police by putting my arms between them. That's all! Suddenly, the protesters rushed up and claimed that I had 'beaten' that haraboji, but that's just not true." He concluded, "Those people are crazy! I even lost my glasses!" and then they quickly walked away.

So was he spinning the situation in his favor, had he really "hit" the haraboji? Well, the guy seemed pretty chilled out to me and had been very calm when he tried to call the police. And would a guilty person have even called the police in the first place?

Then on the other side, there are the protesters who hit the police themselves even as they are screaming, "Violent police!"
Hmmm... whom to believe? A difficult decision! All I know is that I saw four different protesters hit that ajosshi several times and he did not even raise a first once in retaliation. Didn't seem very "violent" to me, and he was quite a big guy, so I can only say that my gut tells me that he was telling the truth.

Of course, you can be sure that Agora and probably Hankyoreh will have lots of propaganda to milk about how some disgusting ajosshi had tried to "beat up" a helpless haraboji who was only trying to "fight the dictatorship" and "defend democracy," and who had been heroically defended by the righteous protesters. Hell, he'll probably get a medal of some sort. And, of course,
you can be sure that there will be no mention of the fact that four different people hit the ajosshi in the face and on the head and even broke his glasses.

4. As the ajosshi was on his knees apologizing to the haraboji, another ajosshi in a pink polo shirt came up to me and shouted angrily in perfect English as he wagged his index finger at me, "Do you want to be the next victim?!" Perhaps he had seen me yank away the earlier protester. I replied calmly in Korean, "Why don't you try demonstrating peacefully?" and of course he had
nothing to say to that. Another protester quickly stood between us and said, "I'm sorry!" to me, but actually I would have loved it if the ajosshi tried to attack me because then someone might actually believe me when I say what I have been saying all along: The protesters have started all the violence during these 80-odd demonstrations, and have been intentionally trying to provoke the police from the get-go. The police, in return, have been so restrained that it is really inexplicable at times. I actually asked several policemen tonight, "Aren't you angry that one of your buddies was knocked out unconscious?" and they said, "Of course we are!" So I asked them why they were being so soft on the protesters despite such abuse and they only said, "Our orders come from the top."

* I have sent four emails to Amnesty International detailing exactly the kinds of incidents that I have described here, since their recent report on "police abuse of human rights" during these demonstrations was clearly biased and was obviously manipulated by the protesters to their own advantage. Amnesty International, however, has ignored me so far, because apparently they are
unconcerned with the truth. Perhaps they have given it an amnesty for now?

If you are as offended by their unconscionable attitude as I am, feel free to copy the eye-witness report I have written here and send it to AI in triplicate:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/contact

These dead-enders have clearly gone off the deep-end, knocking police unconscious, attacking ordinary citizens and making violent threats to local residents like me simply because I do not agree with them.

When will this madness ever end?

http://www.kingbaeksu.com/board.htm

Of course also the S.K. reactionary newspapers have an "opinion" about last weekend's protest (^^):

☞ Protests turn into violence (JoongAng Ilbo, 7.28)

☞ Street Protests Descend Into Lawlessness (Chosun Ilbo, 7.28)

☞ Chronic Lack of Respect for the Law (Chosun Ilbo, 7.29)

☞ Hard-core ralliers hit a new low in protest violence (JoongAng..)

☞ Police impotence (..Ilbo, 7.29)

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First of all: the S.K. state since last Friday increased its pressure on the wanted anti-gov't/labour union activists, hiding in Jogye-sa (the main Buddhist temple in downtown Seoul) and in the KCTU HQ. Now there are almost 1000 riot cops hanging around at the two sites to get an opportunity to arrest the wanted activists.

☞ 민주노총 사수투쟁…경찰검거압박 (KCTU)

Riot cops are blocking Jogye-sa

KCTU HQ: Cops are searching for the wanted activists

In another development the S.K. ruling class/gov't increased its terror against labour(KCTU) activists: Last Friday and Saturday striking Allianz and KOSCOM workers were attacked by riot cops and/or criminal gangs, hired by the capitalists (aka the "employers").

☞ Allianz생명 용역폭력 '조합원들 중상' (KCTU)

7.25: Riot cops are attacking striking KSCOM workers

In this situation it was clear, that - the for Saturday night planned - anti-gov't rally/demo (the 80th!!) will be no picnic (especially after many of potential demonstraters were confronted already in the afternoon with blockades and attacks by thousands of riot cops)!

Well, finally in today's morning hours (surprise, surprise!) the situation in downtown Seoul - more than 1500 activists (the entire evening/night around 15,000 protesters took the streets, according to K. Herald) occupiyed since several hours Jong-no, the main avenue there - escalted (but in reality only a little bit!!!):

According to Korea Herald 42 protesters were arrested: 

Related reports:
☞ "미친교육 미친소 2MB 심판의 날" (VoP)
☞ 촛불은 쉽게 꺼지지 않았다.. (OhmyNews)
☞ 새벽 3시 20분 살수하면서 시위대 진압 (NewsCham)
☞ "시위진압의 ABC도 모르냐?" (Tong-il News)

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Arrest Warrants for KCTU Leaders  (K. Herald, 7.24)
 

Police (today) sought arrest warrants for three top officials of the nation's biggest labor group on charges of orchestrating illegal demonstrations and strikes against U.S. beef imports, and obstructing work last year at branches of a local retailer.

The officials are Lee Suk-haeng, president of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, the nation's second-largest umbrella labor group; Senior Vice President Jin Young-ok; and Secretary-General Lee Yong-sik.

"We will combine all cases of lawsuits and complaints against KCTU members regarding the illegal protests in our investigation. Upon the issuance of the writs, we will set up an investigative team dedicated to the matter," a police official told reporters.

They are alleged to have directed KCTU members to go on strike, calling for the renegotiation of the U.S. beef import deal. They are also accused of instructing members illegally demonstrate in front of warehouses in Gyeonggi Province to block the transit of U.S. beef. The beef had been frozen since Oct. 5, when banned backbone fragments were found.

The allegations include that they led unauthorized gatherings against U.S. beef imports, and illegal occupations of public roads during the protests.

Police accuse them of leading or encouraging KCTU members to join the sit-in protests last year at stores of local retail giant E.Land's Homever and New Core stores, located in Sangam-dong and Jamwon-dong in Seoul.

Calling on management to retract a large-scale dismissal of temporary contract workers in July last year, unionized employees participated in illegal sit-ins for about a month.

The labor group roundly berated the government as "quashing democracy by misusing its law enforcement power."

"The Lee Myung-bak dictatorial regime which betrayed the people is trampling democracy by abusing its power after it lost the confidence of the public," the KCTU said in a statement.

"The action (seeking arrest warrants) is an unjust oppression on the rightful exercise of workers' rights to protect public health, and an absolutely political one. We will take it as oppression against our 800,000 members, and collectively and strongly react to it."

A lawmaker of the Democratic Labor Party also railed against the government, calling for the resignation of the National Police Agency Chief Eo Cheong-soo.

"Before seeking arrest warrants, it is more urgent for the government to sack the police chief who ignored the public and led the violent dispersal operations," said Rep. Hong Hee-deok in a statement.

7.24 afternoon: Units of the riot cops in front of KCTU's HQ in Seoul-Yeongdeungpo

7.24 late evening, near the KCTU HQ: Riot cops ready to arrest the KCTU leaders..

..but until now some hundred supporters are trying to protect them!

Meanwhile the Korea Times reported today that.. "Police plan to award those who contributed to quelling anti-U.S. beef protesters. A total of 385 police officers including riot police will receive awards, said the National Police Agency.." That's real JUSTICE & DEMOCRATIC PROGRESS (aka "liberal democracy", as K. Herald labeled it today in another article) - Made in Korea!!(^^)

Related reports:

☞ 경찰, 민주노총 침탈 움직임 '비상' (KCTU)

☞ 이석행 민주노총 위원장 등 체포영장 발부 (VoP)

☞ 이석행 "촛불 소녀가 왔다는 소식에 목메어" (OhmyNews)

Update (7.25):

KCTU Threatens to Go on Strike (K. Times)
 

Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) threatened to go on strike, Friday, demanding the government suspend the imports of U.S. beef and abandon its moves to "suppress the union.''

The threat came one day after a court issued an arrest warrant for the union's head and two other leaders. They are under suspicion of organizing illegal strikes calling for the end of U.S. beef imports.

Meanwhile, police said they were in no hurry to arrest them.

"We have no plan to go into the headquarters of the union and arrest them,'' a police officer said. "But if they come out, we will definitely arrest them.''

7.25 in front of KCTU HQ. Cops are searching for the union leaders..

BTW.. so there are now two sites in Seoul where anti-gov't activists have to hide because of arrest warrants: 6 activists are hiding Jogye-sa, Seoul's main Buddhist temple in downtown, and the 3 labour union leaders in KCTU's HQ.

 
Related:

☞ 조계사.민주노총 동시 강제연행 들어가나 (VoP)

☞ 민주노총 사수투쟁…경찰전진배치 (KCTU)

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ISRAEL'S WET DREAMS

Today, exactly one week ago, the "prisoner exchange" between Israel and Hizbullah took place.
While Hizbullah claimed it THE MAIN VICTORY for the organization in the last 20 years (*), in Israel - only few hours after the exchange took place - a flood of really extreme strange articles/opinions were published in the (bourgeois) press.
Following you can "enjoy" just one of them, published last Thursday in the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth (**):

Day of infamy

‘Civilized’ is euphemism for weak, helpless; terrorists deserve death penalty

I was a new oleh (Jewish immigrant to Israel) when the PFLP and two Germans hijacked a plane full of Israelis to Entebbe. I remember well those nail-biting days, the moral dilemma of freeing dangerous terrorists for live hostages; the idea that negotiations would just lead to more hijackings. But what other choice did we have? After all, they were in Uganda, so far away.

We found a way.

I will never forget the morning of July 4, 1976, waking up to the news. Our soldiers had gone in, at great personal risk. They had saved almost everyone, and killed the terrorists. We were not helpless victims anymore, the Jews. No, we were clever, and resourceful and courageous. We showed the world how to behave.

We led the way.

I woke up the morning of July 16, 2008 with quite another feeling. Our soldiers, kidnapped on our own land, not across any international border, are brought back to us in caskets after two years of sadistic playfulness with the hearts of their families by Hizbullah terrorists, who led us to believe they were alive. And in exchange for dead bodies, we turn over a despicable baby-killer, Samir Kuntar (***).

Oh, you will hear the boosters of the Israeli government sigh. What can we do? We are civilized and they are not. We care about our soldiers and their families.

No, I’m afraid you do not. If you cared, then you would have a death penalty for people like Kuntar, so that they too can be released in caskets. And if you cared, you would be intelligent enough, seeing our soldiers brought back to us dead, to have put a bullet through Kuntar and then turned him over to his friends.

Civilized is a euphemism for weak and helpless. Civilized is not a moral value, because we all know what Western civilization is capable of. Concentration camps. Civilian round-ups, the gassing of children. All this under the banner of laws and policemen and governments. On the other hand, the moral thing to do to a tried and convicted murderer like Kuntar is to spill his blood, because he has spilled the blood of others. That may not fit in with current civilized niceties, but let no one say it is immoral.
 

Ashamed to be Israeli today

When it comes to immoral, to release Kuntar to a hero’s welcome and the opportunity to murder others is on the top of the scale.
 

My government, the Israeli government, arranged this. They let it happen. They oversaw it and implemented it. I am deeply ashamed to be an Israeli today. And I’m not very proud of being a Jew either, if this is how a Jewish country behaves. To lead the world in ever more despicable acts of appeasement is nothing to be proud of. The torch we always carried, the “light unto the nations” has been blown out by the hot-air of our politicians.

If we cared about our soldiers, we would not be showing our enemies that kidnapping and terrorism pay. We would not be setting the stage for the next murderous terrorist raid and hostage standoff. We would be passing laws with a mandatory death penalty for convicted terrorists with blood on their hands, as well as their accomplices. We would be making these laws retroactive.

Then, we would be cutting off all water and electricity to Gaza until Gilad Shalit is released. If that didn’t work, we’d begin executions within one week, increasing the number convicted terrorists facing firing squads with each passing day until Gilad is returned to us safe and sound. And if that didn’t work, we would begin daily bombings of Gaza, with the same number and frequency of attacks that our own city Sderot has suffered over the past three years from the Gazans. Not civilized? Perhaps. But moral. Extremely moral.

My fantasy is that Israelis will rise up and overturn the political system which has left them with the dregs of their nation as leaders - a bunch of self-serving crooks and sycophants who will do anything to stay in office; an electoral system in which a party like Kadima, with its collection of felons and moral imbeciles, who got only 23% of the vote, is allowed to rule us into the ground. We have Mr. Olmert, and Ms. Livni, and Mr. Peres, and Mr. Ramon (a convicted sex offender, who is now in line to take over from Olmert) and many, many others to thank, for creating this day of infamy.
 

May G-d redeem us from them.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3569608,00.html

* But there are also others in Lebanon who are not really convinced of Hizbullah's so-called "victory"! Referring to the 2nd Lebanon War (Summer 2006) triggered by the abduction of two IDF soldiers (with the only aim to get "bargain chips" for a prisoner exchange with Israel!), a Lebanese Web site pointed out the following "net losses":
- 1200 civilians dead - 400 of them under 13
- 4400 civilians injured - 700 permanently
- one million displaced from their homes
- 125,000 housing units destroyed or damaged
- 80% of some southern villages destroyed
- 38,850,951 sq.m. contaminated by cluster bombs
- 188 wounded by cluster bombs - 67 of them children
- 20 killed by left-over cluster bombs - five of them children
- $5 billion in economic damages
- $15b. in long-term costs to the economy
- $64 million cleanup of 12,000 tons of oil
- 91 bridges destroyed..

** incl. about 90 (mostly mad) comments by readers! Check it out here!!

*** S. Kuntar's "very special" salute (well, I think that everyone knows the real f... meaning of the notoriously salute..) after his release from Israel, during the "Rally of Victory" in Beirut (7.17), organized by Hizbullah:

Related articles (based on interviews with S. Kuntar):

☞ 'The girl screamed. I don't remember anything else' (Guardian, 7.19)

☞ Allah Willing, I Will Kill More Israelis (documented by MEMRI)

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Last Friday the Guardian (UK) published following article about some (possible) new developments in Burma's movement against the dictarorship. While the report is - of course - interesting, in my opinion it's also somehow very concerning, if not even alarming (Why? I'll explain soon!): 

Burmese Opposition Ready to Escalate pro-Democracy Fight

Members of Burma's battered and disparate opposition are growing disillusioned with the old methods of the pro-democracy movement and are seeking ways to escalate their armed struggle.

"There is a very real debate among us about how to begin a more sustained armed struggle," an organiser of last September's failed uprising told the Guardian. "We are ready for that kind of action, if we can get the supplies and training that we need."

Speaking from exile in Thailand, Soe Aung, the chief spokesman for the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB), an umbrella group representing nearly all facets of Burma's disparate opposition, said he was witnessing a significant shift in the public attitude across Burma.

"After the September uprising and then the terrible cyclone response, the anger is surging. Some are considering violent means … the Burmese people are not that kind of people, there has been a real change."

Soe Aung spoke openly of how covert Western support, primarily from the US state department-funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its subsidiary the International Republican Institute (IRI), had been fundamental to the success of the uprising.

"The US is certainly doing the most for the opposition. There has been real success in training and forming an underground movement through religious organisations and monastic organisations. These provide the best cover inside Burma. The monks can spread their training very effectively."

The NED describes itself as a private organisation but was created by, and remains accountable to, the US Congress. Set up under the Reagan administration in 1983, it has since played a leading role in influencing civil society and electoral processes in countries around the world unfriendly to US interests.

According to Brian Joseph, the man in charge of the group's Burma project, the NED gave $3m (£1.5m) to Burma in 2007. "We would send more, but there is a limit to what you can do in Burma," said Joseph.

Opposition activists both inside and outside Burma largely describe the improvements in political awareness and spread of information as a result of NED-funded projects, but also attribute them to the introduction of the internet to Burma in 2003.

"We could see in September how the advances were utilised. It wasn't just the monks but a massive increase of awareness among Burmese of all types. This was thanks largely due to media organs, the Democratic Voice of Burma, satellite TV, and, of course, the internet," said Soe Aung.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/18/burma

Here the final, more detailed version of the article, published in the Guardian, 7.19:

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Related article:

☞ 촛불, ‘공공성 지키기’로 본격 확대 (VoP, 7.21)

☞ 공공성 지키기 촛불주간, 촛불영화제 (참세상)