5112개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
From today's Hankyoreh:
Shadow of homeless eviction
A homeless man sleeps on the steps in front of Seoul Station, while civic organization members and homeless people hold a press conference to protest the state-run railroad operator Korail‘s eviction of homeless people from the station, Aug. 22.
Korail officials drove out dozens of homeless people for the first time around 1:30 a.m. and prevented them from bringing sleeping bags and mattresses as the station re-opened at 4:30 a.m. Monday morning. There were reportedly no major physical confrontations between the homeless and Korail officials who expelled them. Korail said it has no choice but to evict them using force due to growing complaints from passengers that homeless people cause inconveniences and even threaten travelers’ safety.
The expelled homeless people from Seoul Station spent the night inside other stations in Seoul.
Civic organizations helping the homeless have undertaken “two days, one night resistance actions” including a culture festival and a forum inside Seoul Station. They have criticized that Korail‘s forced eviction is not fundamental solution, but also would threaten their lives and cause other adverse effects. They said the government should provide a comprehensive package of measures ranging from housing, to employment and healthcare.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/492955.html
Congratulations to the people of Libya. One more crazy dictator down!!
And the next must be Syria, Jemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Iran... (And dont't forget NORTH KOREA!!!)
¡Viva la Revolución!
For more updated news please check out:
☞ Libya Live Blog (Al-Jazeera)
☞ Libya: live updates (Guardian)
The 'fruits' of our last days' 'efforts':
For more info plaese check out: http://cafe.daum.net/mdmari
For more info please check out: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/144786088942866
Since several years I'm reporting about the terror committed by organized gangsters (so-called "security personnel") hired by the S. Korean capitalists (construction companies, industrial trusts/'Chaebol', e.g. Daewoo Construction, SsangYong, Hanjin etc...) against activists who were/are resisting eviction orders(e.g. tenants in Ilsan Pung-dong, Seoul Samgak/Suha-dong, Myeong-dong/street vendors in Seoul's Cheonggyecheon area...), striking workers - e.g in Pyeongtaek(SsangYong), Busan(Hanjin), protesting 'disabled' people...
The following editorial in today's Kyunghyang Shinmun is dealing with this subject:
Can 'Hired Muscle Violence' Be Left to Become an Everyday Occurrence?
Violence committed by "errand men" belonging to security companies has reached high levels.
On August 1, the makeshift camp of the "Hunger Strike Team of Hope," which had been conducting a hunger strike protest in front of the Deoksugung Palace, was forcibly demolished by employees of Junggu Ward and a "hired muscle company."
Two days later, errand men were dispatched to the site of a sit-in protest at "Cafe Mari" in Seoul's Myeong-dong District 3, which is due to be demolished.
On August 12, employees of a hired muscle company commissioned by Gangnam Ward made a surprise attack on "Poi-dong Demolition Village" and demolished the temporary buildings in which citizens who had lost their homes to fire two months ago were living.
In each case, several citizens and errand men were injured. Violence by errand men is becoming part of the system and of everyday life to the extent that some are calling Korea the "republic of hired muscle."
Hired muscle companies are permitted to operate under the current Korean law on security companies. The problem is their illegal violence.
Errand men are deployed as problem solvers to places where conflicts of interest occur between individuals, where they overtly commit acts of violence.
More serious is the fact that their scope of activity is widening and the number of hired muscle companies is increasing in number.
They are deployed everywhere, from redevelopment sites to strikes, rallies and even demonstrations. The situation is such that even government offices are using them.
Such thriving business means that the number of security companies registered with the police increased from 2,671 in 2006 to 3,270 in 2009, and stood at 3,544 as of July 2011.
Competition among hired muscle companies is exacerbating their violence, too. Because profits from redevelopment increase with swift demolition, companies that use stronger violence receive more work.
A pattern where big security and hired muscle companies subcontract work out to small ones, while these in turn employ temporary workers, is becoming generalized.
The deployment of temporary errand men with no accident insurance to conflict spots occurs frequently. In May, four illegally employed 17-year-old minors were dispatched to the site of a sit-in protest by Yoosung Enterprise Co., Ltd.'s labor union.
Failure by the police to intervene also plays a role in promoting violence. Not only do they regard the deployment of errand men as the legitimate exercising of authority; they effectively do nothing about violence because it is hard to predict the errand men's illegal acts before they occur.
Violence by errand men cannot be allowed to continue this way. A state where private violence runs rampant is not a constitutional one. Violence by errand men is dangerous not only to their victims, but to the errand men themselves.
The fundamental solution is to remove the need for hired muscle. If this is not immediately possible, violence must be prevented through the tightening of regulations regarding hired muscle.
Work by those with criminal convictions or by minors for hired muscle companies must be punished yet more severely, and only registered errand men must be deployed on jobs. Security companies that break the law must be eliminated.
Some take the view that the recent increase in violence by errand men is linked to next year's general and presidential elections. In other words, contractors are hurrying to get building work done in a situation where they do not know what will become of current new town policies after the elections.
Measures must be taken before a bigger accident occurs.
http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201108181555037&code=790101
Yesterday in downtown Seoul: MTU(Migrants' Trade Union), together with other migrant organisations and civil/human right groups "celebrated" the 7th anniversay of the "failed" EPS("Employment Permit System") with a press conference/rally.
During the event MTU's chairperson "presented" the following speech:
Today as the Korean government is resting it's laurels in their "so-called" success of the EPS, thousand upon thousands of migrant workers are still being abused and exploited by their employers. An exploitation perpetuated by a flawed system that got it's recognition and award through deceit and false presentations. All of the multi-cultural programs, photo-shoot, and the testimonies from gullible and handsomely rewarded few are just tools that the government utilizes to paint a different picture that is far from the reality of our sufferings.
During yesterdays workshop. The government representative says it is enough to compensate us for the duration of our stay in Korea. Despite our contributions to the economy and society, once they have used us up and we have outlived our usefulness as laborers we will be treated like any other old broken down machine who has out-lived our usefulness. It doesn't matter if we have spent the prime of our life in contributing to Koreas' industry. It doesn't matter whether we have paid our taxes or became consumers and patrons of their local market. No matter what contribution we have made we will still be thrown back, broken and useless in our own countries, with our own families.
When we first came here we already know that the work would be difficult, dirty and dangerous, but we were told that as workers we will be protected. The reality is different from our expectations. We are being constantly exploited as workers and the EPS is the very sytem that allows for our exploitation. It is this system and the lack of enforcement of the laws that fails to protect the migrants as well as local workers.
WHILE THE GOVERNMENT KEEP ON INSISTING ON THE THREAT OF MIGRANTS TAKING AWAY JOBS FROM KOREANS. THEY ALSO INTRODUCE THE RESTRICTIONS AND CREATE UNFAIR CONDITIONS FOR MIGRANTS TO KEEP OUR LABOR CHEAP AND KEEP THIS LABOR SECTOR PRECARIOUS. IT IS THE GOVERNMENT WHO CREATES UNFAIR COMPETION FOR WORK BECAUSE AS THE MIGRANTS LABOR STANDARDS ARE KEPT VERY LOW, STANDARDS FOR KOREAN WORKERS, AND ALL WORKERS FOR THAT MATTER, WILL NEVER RISE TO A DIGNIFIED LEVEL.
7 YEARS OF EXPLOITATION UNDER THE EPS IS ENOUGH!
IT IS TIME TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM!
ACHIEVE WORKING VISA!!!!
http://migrant.nodong.net/?document_srl=176258#0
In celebration of today's Liberation Day in S. Korea 2MB(aka Lee Myung-bak) demonstrated - once again - that he's a real wisecracker, proved by Korea Times' newest headline:
President calls for 'ethical' capitalism
Yep, 'ethical' capitalism just like in...
-> Myeong-dong's "redevelopment" zone
-> Busan's Hanjin Shipyard
-> Seoul's Poi-dong desaster area
-> Jeju's Gangseong village
-> and don't forget Ssangyong, Yooseong, Jaeneung... etc.
Here just some impressions from last Friday's Solidarity Concert in Cafe "Mari", the center of the anti-"redevelopment" movement in Seoul's Myeong-dong area:
For some more impressive pics please check out:
☞ 명동3구역 카페마리/Photos
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