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SYRIA: MASS PROTESTS & STATE TERROR
1. Latest news:
Syrian activists called today for a nationwide GENERAL STRIKE in the wake of a crackdown on anti-government protesters that has left dozens dead.
2. To learn more about the recent developments please read today's Haaretz report:
The unrest sweeping the Arab world spread across Syria over the weekend as tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated against President Bashar Assad's regime in Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Homs, Hama and Dara'a. The latter city has been the site of demonstrations for more than 10 days now.
Amnesty International has estimated that 55 people were killed in the demonstrations in Dara'a last week, and over the weekend an additional 15 to 20 people were reported killed in Sanamein, just outside Dara'a in the south. Two people were reportedly killed in Latakia and another three in a Damascus suburb.
Arab television networks repeatedly broadcast images of the demonstrations, which included a scene in which a statue of Assad's father and predecessor, Hafez Assad, was toppled in Dara'a's main square. In another scene, crowds torched offices of the ruling Baath Party.
In another, hundreds took cover in the face of machine-gun fire in Sanamein, where the casualty figures were the highest in the country over the weekend. Yesterday the unrest resumed in Latakia, Dara'a and Tafas, near Dara'a.
Assad convened the leadership of his Baath Party to consider the steps to take to quell the unrest. Hezbollah's Al-Manar television in Lebanon reported that a shake-up of the Syrian cabinet was one of the moves being debated, along with the release of political prisoners.
It is difficult to assess where the opposition is headed. As in other Arab countries that have seen unrest in recent months, the protesters in Syria have no recognized leadership or organizational infrastructure. The opposition is also not being led by groups that have always been seen as hostile to the regime, such as the Kurds and Islamic extremists.
Syrian security forces had a tough time dealing with the widespread outbreaks of protest. Unlike recent events elsewhere in the Arab world such as in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, the relatively small numbers of demonstrators in the major cities shows that in some sense, the Syrian opposition has not reached a point of no return.
The scope of the weekend's demonstrations is not entirely clear, but in Syria's major cities, unlike in Dara'a, the numbers apparently have not approached what was seen in Tunis, Benghazi and Cairo in recent months. The demonstrations Friday centered on protests against the recent deaths in Dara'a rather than on demands to remove Assad's regime from power.
On the other hand, the unrest in Syria may be a first step on the path toward deposing the Syrian leader. The new developments are virtually unprecedented; until two weeks ago, the regime had not been faced with open protest other than in the Kurdish region in the north.
If Assad continues to order the use of force against demonstrators, this will probably swell the ranks of protest around the country. Assad's response to the unrest has been limited to symbolic gestures such as the release of 260 Kurdish and Islamic prisoners.
This recalled similar gestures by the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt before they were deposed. The week will be critical for the Syrian president.
http://www.haaretz.com/protests-sweep-across-syria-as-assad-considers-cabinet-shake-up-1.351980
Related reports:
☞ Deaths as Syria protests spread (Al-Jazeera, 3.27)
☞ Syria protests continue... (Guardian, 3.26)
Amnesty International has sent yesterday the following open letter to Lee Kwi-nam, S. Korea's Minister of "Justice" :
Korean Immigration Service must respect rule of law in the case of MTU President Michel Catuira
Amnesty International is greatly concerned that Michel Catuira, Filipino national and President of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU) is being targeted for forcible, arbitrary deportation based on Catuira’s work on behalf of migrant workers’ rights.
Like previous presidents, Michel Catuira has spoken out against restrictions placed on migrant workers’ freedom to change workplaces and immigration raids which have resulted in arbitrary arrests, collective expulsions and the unnecessary or excessive use of force. Amnesty International believes that the current immigration measures against Michel Catuira are the latest attempt by the South Korean government to crackdown on the legitimate activities of the MTU and to prevent migrant workers from freely exercising their rights to freedom of association and to form trade unions. These rights are provided for in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and ILO convention No. 135 (on workers’ representatives) to which South Korea, as a state party, is obliged to comply.
Since the MTU was founded in 2005, the immigration authorities have arrested six of its senior officials, five of whom were forcibly and arbitrarily deported. Two of those deported were MTU presidents. Every president’s term has been severely interrupted by measures taken by the Immigration Service, most notably arrest and deportation.
As you are aware, the Seoul 12th Administrative Court issued an injunction on 2 March against the cancellation of Michel Catuira’s visa and permission to change workplace, and the order to leave the country by 7 March. The Korean Immigration Service, by denying an extension of visa status, is defying this temporary Court injunction against the execution of immigration measures that would lead to the deportation of Michel Catuira. Until the appeal case is decided, it must respect the Court’s ruling.
Amnesty International calls on the Korean Immigration Service to immediately remove obstacles preventing migrant workers from participating in trade unions, including the MTU, and to stop the targeting of MTU officials. In addition, we urge the South Korean government to recognize MTU’s status as a legal union in South Korea in line with domestic and international law.
Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action (UA: 34/11) on behalf of Michel Catuira and a public statement (ASA 25/002/2011) calling on the Korean Immigration Service to restore Michel Catuira’s visa status. We continue to call on the Korean Immigration Service to respect the Court injunction by halting all immigration measures while Michel Catuira’s appeal is being heard. This includes restoring Michel Catuira’s permission to change workplace and visa status. We urgently ask for your immediate consideration in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Catherine Baber
Deputy Director, Asia-Pacific Programme
http://migrant.nodong.net/?document_srl=107773#0
While since last Sat. the so-called "int'l community" is busy with "Tomahawking" Libya, Pyongyang (as usual) must always butt in:
A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA Tuesday as regards the U.S. military attack on Libya:
The U.S. launched a military attack on Libya in collusion with some Western countries on March 19.
It openly interfered in the internal affairs of Libya, sparking off a civil war, and then cooked up a deceptive resolution by abusing the authority of the UN Security Council. It finally perpetrated indiscriminate armed intervention in the country, going beyond the limits of the resolution.
The DPRK strongly denounces this as a wanton violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state and a hideous crime against humanity in gross breach of the dignity of the Libyan people and their right to existence.
Such war action can never be justified and should be halted at once.
The world is witnessing almost everyday the miserable death of a great many peaceable citizens and unspeakable disasters caused by two wars launched by the U.S. in the new century.
Not content with this, the U.S. sparked a fresh war disaster in order to bring about a regime change in the country incurring its displeasure under the spurious signboard of "protecting civilians" and put the natural resources of Libya under its control.
The U.S. does not hesitate to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and launch armed invasion by abusing the UN name in disregard of the sovereignty of independent states. Such high-handed and arbitrary practices of the U.S. have become a root cause of harassing world peace and stability at present.
The present Libyan crisis teaches the international community a serious lesson.
It was fully exposed before the world that "Libya's nuclear dismantlement" much touted by the U.S. in the past turned out to be a mode of aggression whereby the latter coaxed the former with such sweet words as "guarantee of security" and "improvement of relations" to disarm itself and then swallowed it up by force.
It proved once again the truth of history that peace can be preserved only when one builds up one's own strength as long as high-handed and arbitrary practices go on in the world.
The DPRK was quite just when it took the path of Songun and the military capacity for self-defence built up in this course serves as a very valuable deterrent for averting a war and defending peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2011/201103/news22/20110322-34ee.html
A short piece, published in today's ('left-liberal') Hankyoreh:
Up against discrimination
Michel Catuira, chairperson of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU) in South Korea, and South Korean human rights activists urge the government to stop discriminative policy according to race, color and nationality at a news conference in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea(NHRC) on Mar. 21, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
In regards to the Ministry of Law’s rejection to his application for extension of stay on Mar. 18, Catuira said, “It was anticipated, but disappointing.”
Recently a court suspended an execution of the Immigration Office ordering his deportation, accepting the 39-year-old Filipino national’s request for suspension of administrative measure.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/469227.html
Y'day in front of the NHRC: "Legalize MTU!!"
Related reports:
☞ 세계인종차별철폐의 날...“같은 피를 가진 사람” (NewsCham, 3.21)
☞ 세계인종차별철폐의 날 기자회견 (MWTV, 3.21)
Today's (bourgeois) Korea Times reported the following:
Migrant workers call for fairer treatment
Migrant workers and organizations demanded the government and the Korean people change policies and perceptions discriminative against foreigners.
Michel Catuira, president of the Migrants Trade Union (MTU), speaks during a rally to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, Monday. Some 20 migrant workers and unions criticized the government for discriminating migrant workers.
Dozens of migrant workers and civic group members made the demand at a press conference at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Monday.
``We are people with the same red blood,’’ a banner read in the hands of one of the supporters, as they chanted slogans slamming the government for what they call discriminative polices.
The workers and unions, including the Migrants Trade Union (MTU) led by President Michel Catuira, called for changes and even the abolishment of discriminative policies against them.
Twenty eight year-old Luna was in the crowd of migrant workers, asking for support and making a statement in front of the rally. She came to Korea three years ago from Bangladesh, married a Korean and started a family with high hopes. But even today, she is scared to go out and mingle with Koreans.
``People would first ask me where I’m from. I would say Bangladesh and then they start to say mean things,’’ she said in perfect Korean.
Koreans would make fun of her about her dark skin and the fact that she comes from a poorer country. Getting on public transportations can be a hassle, as many Koreans sneer and look down at her, she said.
Changing policies and bills is important, she said, but probably the most hurtful discrimination for migrant workers and women is from the Koreans they meet every single day.
``There was one time when I went to the hospital to get some physical therapy treatment. The nurse had to put some medical equipment on my arm, but she refused saying that she didn’t want to attach the equipment on me because I had dark skin,’’ she said.
Misfortune continues for immigrants
Humiliated and having no place to go for help, Luna even attempted suicide three times but failed. Being a mother would be the next step in her life plan, but she said she wasn’t sure if she wanted her child to experience the discrimination she went through over the years.
``My husband’s family told me that they were worried our child would have dark skin like me. I would love to have children, but to be honest, I’m not sure I will be able to bear the thought of them being discriminated against,’’ Luna added.
According to MTU, some 79 percent of migrant women are divorced within four years and many of them cite physical and mental abuse as the reason.
While migrant women and fellow migrant workers struggle to change the perception of them on a daily basis, unions and organizations strive to make changes on a larger scale.
For starters, the unions claimed that the government’s plan to lift the illegal status on ethnic Korean Chinese who have been living in Korea for the past 10 years as of June this year, have married a Korean or had children, discriminates against fellow migrant workers from different countries.
``If this plan was made to ease the pain and difficulties to Chinese Koreans, why is it hard to grant equal treatment to other migrant workers who are going through the same ordeal?’’ the unions said through a statement.
Another important issue discussed at the rally was the government’s recognition of the MTU.
``It’s so tiring and disappointing. They don’t recognize the union, which is the only place migrant workers can come for help, guidance and support, and say they need Koreans to explain everything,’’ Catuira said.
The Seoul Administrative Court’s recently granted an injunction allowing Catuira to stay until the final verdict of a legal battle between herself and the Korea Immigration Office. The office sent her notice that she must leave the country as she “pretended to work” at a “fake company” and thus failed to meet the requirements of her E-9 work visa.
For its part, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea also issued a statement regarding the current status of Korea in terms of becoming a multicultural society. It is planning to finalize migrants’ human rights guidelines and propose them to the government this year.
``There are some 1.2 million migrant workers in Korea but we are still very ill-prepared in turning our society into a multicultural one. It is evident that we need to work on how to solve problems and accept the change multiculturalism has brought to society,’’ it said.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/03/113_83565.html
Related (video)report:
☞ 인종차별 철폐의 날 "우리도 똑같은 사람이다" (VoP, 3.21)
Last Friday(3.18) the S. Korean Migrants' Trade Union issued the following statement:
The Immigration Service must obey the courts and guarantee MTU President's residence status!
The Seoul Immigration Service has made yet another outrageous move in its campaign against the Migrants Trade Union (MTU) and MTU President Michel Catuira. On March 17, the immigration authorities notified MTU President that his application for the extension of his visa had been denied because he has supposedly used 'dishonest means' to obtain the visa. Further, the immigration authorities ordered President Catuira to leave South Korea by March 31 or face deportation. This move comes in spite of the fact that on March 2, the 12th Seoul Administrative Court issued an injunction against the execution of previously issued immigration measures, including the cancellation of President's visa and an order of departure, until the trial appealing them was completed.
Under South Korea's Employment Permit System, migrant workers' visas are dependent on their being employed. MTU President's original visa was originally valid until March 7 based on his employment contract, but the Labor ministry cancelled his employer's permit to hire migrant workers and then immigration cancelled his visa as well. MTU filed a lawsuit against the cancellation of President's visa with the Seoul Administrative Court which, recognizing their execution would likely hamper a fair trial, issued the injunction against them as stated above. Upon inquiry after this decision, the Immigration Service told MTU President he should apply for an extension of his original visa to cover the period of time granted him to find a new workplace (until April 3). Extension of visas for EPS workers during this sort of job-hunting period is routine. Extensions are usually granted on the day for which they are applied. However, MTU President was forced to wait two weeks after he applied on March 4. Then finally, after this excessive delay, the Immigration Service notified him the extension had been denied.
The Immigration Service's actions are clearly nothing more than a stubborn attempt to deny MTU President's residence status at any costs and, by doing so, attack the Migrants Trade Union and repress migrant workers' labor rights. What is more this attack is in clear violation of a just ruling made in a South Korean court of law. The fact that the Seoul Immigration Service, a government agency under the Ministry of Justice, would do such a thing is not only infuriating, it defies the imagination.
We condemn the Seoul Immigration Service's actions in the strongest of term and demand that the immigration authorities follow the court decision and restore MTU President's residence status immediately. We also proclaim that we will use all means within our powers to fight this attack on President Michel, which is an attack on MTU, on South Korean migrant workers and, finally on all South Korean workers.
http://migrant.nodong.net/?document_srl=105595#0
Related "Appeal for Urgent Action":
☞ S. Korea: Trade unionist at risk of deportation (Amnesty International/UK, 3.19)
As today's "weekend reading" I would like to suggest the following story, published in yesterday's Asia Times(HK)!
Narco-capitalism grips North Korea
By Andrei Lankov
In early March, the United States State Department made a statement that attracted surprisingly little attention worldwide, estimating that government-sponsored narcotic production in North Korea seemed to have decreased considerably. At the same time, the statement made clear that the private production of drugs was on the rise.
This fits with what the present author has heard recently - often from sources inside North Korea; it seems that North Korea's drug industry is changing, and this change might have important consequences for the outside world.
The story of North Korea's involvement with the international narcotics trade began 35 years ago. In 1976, Norwegian police intercepted a large shipment of hashish in the luggage of North Korean diplomats. The same year, another group of North Korean officials was found in possession of the same drug by Egyptian customs; they had 400 kilograms of hashish in their luggage.
In both cases, diplomatic passports saved them from any formal investigation. Next year, North Korean diplomats were caught trying to smuggle drugs into Venezuela and India. In India, quite friendly to North Korea in those days, the 15 kgs of hashish was transported by the ambassador's secretary. After that, such seizures became regular occurrences, usually once every year or two, and usually involving North Korean diplomats.
North Korea's narcotics program has always appeared strange to outside observers - "strange" even if judged by the standards of Pyongyang, whose leaders do not care much about legal niceties and international reputation, and perceive international politics as a cut-throat, zero-sum game. On balance, state-sponsored drug production has done much more harm than good to Pyongyang.
Available estimates agree that the North Korean government didn't earn much from pedaling illicit drugs. It is even possible that these risky operations were largely waged to sustain North Korean missions overseas - from the mid-1970s such missions were required to pay for their own expenses.
At the same time, the existence of this program inflicted serious damage on Pyongyang's international standing, which was at rock-bottom anyway. Despite all denials of official involvement, the program could not really be hidden because seizures of narcotics carried by North Korean diplomats and officials happened far too often and sometimes in countries that were relatively sympathetic to the North.
So, if analysts at the State Department are to be believed, North Korea seems to have come to its senses and stopped or, more likely, significantly reduced its narcotics production. Indeed, this program seems to belong to the strange and slightly bizarre world of the foreign policy of North Korea in the 1970s. After all, those were the times when North Korean agents were busy kidnapping Japanese teenagers to become living tools for the training of agents (and when US$200 million was spent propagating the juche(self-reliance) ideology in the Third World).
However, this doesn't mean the world should heave a collective sigh of relief and write off North Korea as a potential source of dangerous narcotics. If anything, the situation has become worse over the past five to six years. But this time, the North Korean regime seems to have little or no responsibility for the new boom in drug production.
The change in the North Korean drug industry essentially mirrors the wider changes that in the past two decades have occurred in the North Korean economy and society at large. The state-run economy essentially collapsed whilst private business took over - usually unrecognized by the state, technically illegal in most cases, completely absent from official statistics, but powerful nonetheless. This happened in all industries, and drugs production was not an exception.
The author interacts with North Koreans quite frequently and most of my contacts are people from the northernmost part of the country, from areas adjacent to the Chinese border. They are unanimous: around 2005 to 2006, these areas experienced a sudden and dramatic upsurge in drug usage, hitherto almost unknown to the common public.
It's true that some opium productive capacity existed in the northeastern parts of Korea since the early 1900s. This is also the region where secret state-run plantations were rumored to be located in the 1980s or early 1990s. However, in the North Korea of the Kim Il-sung era, surveillance was tight and exceptionally efficient, so drug problems were for all practical purposes non-existent within the country. The drugs were produced for export and medical purposes only.
Things began to change around 2005; by that time North Korea had undergone what is usually described as "grassroots capitalism" or "marketization from below". The old state-run economy had come to a complete standstill, so most North Koreans started to make a living through all sorts of private economic activities - from cultivating private fields and working at private workshops to smuggling.
Official corruption became endemic, so officials became more than willing to turn a blind eye to all sorts of illegal activities as long as they received their cut. Arguably, North Korea nowadays might be described as the most corrupt country of East Asia: every interaction with authorities requires payment, and if the payment is sufficient, almost everything is possible.
This social and economic situation has made the large-scale private production of drugs possible. The new North Korean drug scene is dominated by "Ice" (crystal meth), a synthetic substance produced in numerous small workshops. It is frequently mentioned by defectors, while references to other drugs are quite rare.
Most of my North Korean interlocutors, some former Korean People's Army officers, believe that methamphetamines were initially produced officially, but not so much as a drug in the strict sense, rather as a stimulant for elite military units. This seems to be plausible - after all, it was used as such during World War II by both the Axis and the Allies.
However, after around 2005 private production of Ice began and soon became large-scale. There are rumors about occasional state involvement with illicit production of drugs for export, but even if those rumors are true, the state-sponsored labs clearly produce only a small fraction of the total. Most of the labs are private nowadays.
Raw materials are often imported from China, and China has also become a major market for North Korean drug manufacturers. Since law-enforcement in North Korea is so lax (at least when no political issues are involved), it is easier and safer to run a drug workshop there, on the southern banks of the Tumen River.
The Ice-producing labs are difficult to hide since the production is smelly. Usually, such labs operate at some distance from living quarters, somewhere in the mountains or at a non-operational factory. (Admittedly, such factories are not in short supply in post-crisis North Korea).
In many cases, there are joint operations of Chinese and North Korean criminal groups: the Chinese provide the necessary supplies while the North Koreans use their territory as a safe haven to process drugs that are later shipped to China.
However, some narcotics remain in North Korea, where drug usage has increased dramatically. My interviewees say that at least in the cities of the borderlands a significant proportion of younger people have had some experience with Ice. A schoolteacher from a borderland city of Musan recently told me that in 2008-09 most of the students in their final years of high school tried Ice.
But the problem is not limited to the borderlands. A few months ago, a colleague of mine whilst visiting a prestigious college in Pyongyang spotted a poster that warned Pyongyang students about the dangers of drug use. Merely a few years ago, such a poster would be both unthinkable and unnecessary.
It seems this development has begun to worry the Chinese. In the past few years, Chinese media occasionally write about crackdowns on drug dealers in China's northeast, often explicitly mentioning their Korean connection. Last summer, Chinese media reported that a fleet of high-speed boats, operated by the Chinese police, had begun to patrol the rivers on the border with North Korea. The task of this squad is specifically to fight drug smuggling.
The "new" North Korean drug problem is relatively local and small in scale, although it might have sufficiently grave consequences for North Korea itself, as well as for some adjacent areas of China and Russia. It also might be seen as an indication of a new type of problem that North Korea might create.
In the past, most troubles related to North Korea were caused by the North Korean government that demonstrated an inclination to flout international laws and conventions (sometimes this inclination was strengthened by remarkable adventurism). Nowadays, problems are increasingly caused by the inability of this government to control what is happening in the country - at least outside of Pyongyang and some major cities. In the long run, the lawlessness of uncontrolled private profiteers might prove more dangerous than the Machiavellian adventurism of dictators.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/MC18Dg02.html
After one month of fierce battles between the pro-democratic movement and forces - Libyan Air Force, several elite units of the Libyan Armed Forces and foreign mercenaries - loyal to Muammar "The Butcher" Gaddafi, it's almost certain that the counter-revolution is winning!
Here just two leading headlines in today's European press:
Guardian(UK): "Benghazi braces for battle as Libya endgame nears"
Spiegel(Germany): "The Last Days of Benghazi"
About one hour ago the following comment was posted on CNN:
"If we sit quite watching this and Gaddafi kill all rebels and win, we would be sending a message to all middle east dictators to use power and violence against protesters. Its seems to work for Gaddafi. if we do not stop Gaddafi now and he wins, it is gonna be the end of revolutions in the Arab world..."
Yep. But it wasn't a "mistake" by the so-called "int'l community", i.e. the "rulers" of the U.S.A., E.U., the Middle and Far East!!!
They only did a "good job" to use the already assumed and accepted bloody counterinsurgency in Libya as a cautionary tale against potential "copycat criminals", especially on the Arabian Peninsula - just like the current pro-democratic movement in Bahrain.
And finally the likely defeat of the Libyan anti-Gaddafi movement - incl. its presumed literal annihilation (i.e. mass murder) - will be the result of the complete fault by the int'l "solidarity" movement/the int'l civil and human right organizations!!!
Latest news (01:30pm CET):
'Security' forces (riot police and army units) in Bahrain stormed the main hospital, beating doctors, after they attacked demonstrators in Manama's "Pearl Square" on Wednesday morning, according to witnesses in the Bahraini capital.
Demonstrators reported hearing a steady rounds of automatic gun fire while thick smoke rose from the area.
Several attack helicopters whirred above the historic landmark, which has been a rallying spot for anti-gov't/pro-democracy demonstrators in recent weeks.
Cell phone networks in several areas were disrupted. Security forced blocked highways leading to the capital, and formed a ring around the country's main hospital, Salmaniya Medical Complex - not letting people enter or leave.
A short while later riot cops stormed the hospital and beat staffers, several doctors and nurses there testified...
"The King declared war against us!!"
Related news reports:
☞ New clashes in Bahrain (CNN TV report, 3.16)
☞ Bahrain forces attack protesters (Al-Jazeera, 3.16)
☞ Bahrain unleashes forces on protesters' camp (Guardian, 3.16)
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