CINA

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Check out the "weekend reading" (the follwing report has been published in last Wednesday's Guardian)!

Thailand's redshirts pledge to fight on

• Rebel movement goes underground in Chiang Mai
• Political activists in hiding as police search continue

In the near-empty Red Coffee Corner cafe, in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, the portraits of four men have pride of place above the front window: Che Guevara, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Thaksin Shinawatra (oops... outright confusion!!^^).

Beneath the picture of the exiled billionaire former prime minister – ousted in a coup, convicted of corruption but still a hero to millions – Jakrapon Botirak was holding court, discussing the future of Thailand and its fractious politics.

"This [cafe] is not a good business," he said. "It loses a lot of money. But it is important that people have a place where they can come to talk about our country freely. This is a place for that."

Thailand's north, populated largely by small-scale farmers and shop owners – the country's "rural poor" – is known as the redshirt heartland. It is from here that the anti-government movement, whose protesters occupied the streets of Bangkok for more than two months, drew its numerical strength and where it remains strongest.

On Tuesday the government signalled that the movement was still a threat, as it extended a state of emergency for another three months in about a third of the country, including the areas around Chiang Mai.

"The people here are still red," Jakrapon said. "Not on the surface, [there are] no more shirts, but they still have the red feeling, they still oppose the government."

Since the violent crackdown by government troops in May that ended the redshirts' protest on the streets of the capital, the movement, once proudly public, has been forced underground. Few supporters are now willing to identify themselves or talk openly about the cause. Redshirt stickers and flags, once ubiquitous across this part of Thailand, are a scarcity now.

All that remain are anonymous, vague threats of "guerrilla warfare", and "uprising against the government", all without detail or timetable.

Police are still actively searching for known political activists in Chiang Mai. There is, reportedly, a list several dozen names long, but most of the people are in hiding. The Red Radio station, where Jakrapon was a DJ, has been raided several times and its broadcasting equipment confiscated under Thailand's emergency decree law. Jakrapon's coffee shop is one of the few places in the town that remains defiantly red.

But beneath their seeming acquiescence to the government's reasserted authority, people in Chiang Mai are still enraged, according to Jakrapon. "People are still very angry with the government. The government did not choose the smooth way to end the protests, by talking. They chose the violent way, by shooting."

Fourteen people were killed as troops marched on the reds' protest camp in central Bangkok on 19 May, bringing to at least 88 the number of people who died in the political violence over 68  days of protests.

But the forcible end to the protest has not dissolved the disaffection felt by many Thais towards their government.

"People are ready to fight again, they are not afraid. This is only a rest, a break," Jakrapon said.

Despite the portrait overhead, Jakrapon said the redshirt movement had moved beyond its former figurehead, the fugitive Thaksin. "Thaksin has no special rights or power. The reds are about democracy now."

This is debatable. Thaksin's foreign billions bankrolled much of the long-running demonstration, and opinion persists at senior diplomatic levels that it was his refusal to negotiate with the government that led to the demonstration's final bloody end.

But the redshirts in Chiang Mai say they oppose the government led by Abhisit Vejjajiva because it was never popularly elected. They say it is a puppet administration for the interests of the wealthy elite and the military figures of Bangkok. And, regardless of motivation, in that distant capital it is recognised that while the protest might have been crushed, the discontent that drove it remains.

"Things have calmed down," said Bangkok's governor, Sukhumband Paribatra. "But I am of the opinion that things are not back to normal yet. It may be just an interlude, I hope I'm wrong, but I think it is a possibility that this is a quiet interlude between two crises. This is why I'm very worried."

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University, in Bangkok, said the government faced a difficult task trying to reconcile Thailand's yawning political divide. "The early signs aren't good. There's vindictiveness in the air."

Tawangwong Yoduppatham runs a tiny shop on the northern outskirts of Chiang Mai. He went by train to Bangkok four times to join the protests and was behind the reds' tyre-and-bamboo barricades when the troops advanced. "The soldiers, they shoot at everybody, even people who are peaceful. I saw people killed. We run, we have to leave, but we leave more angry at the government."

He is cynical about government talk of an early election, a "circuit breaker" on the political impasse gripping Thailand. Tawangwong believes that even when the parliamentary term expires at the end of next year there will not be elections. "Nobody here trusts the government. They say one thing and do another. They lie to us."

He added that the sense of peacefulness in Thailand's north belied the people's anger. But with the redshirt leadership in hiding or in prison on terrorism charges, there is a vacuum at the head of the anti-government movement.

"There are two groups of people, some who want more protests for the world to see, and other people who want to go underground, to do violence against the government. But for now, the people are just waiting for new leaders to come up. For sure, the grassroots people are all ready to fight."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/07/thailand-redshirt-fight-abhisit-chiang-mai

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Yesterday's Hankyoreh reported about the actual state of preparation(by the 'authorities') for the next G-20 Summit in Seoul:

Austere measures implemented for G-20

Observers say the “all-out” measures to prepare for the G-20 have prompted concerns over human rights violations

Hundreds of all-but-abandoned public telephone booths have recently been switched out in Seoul. Also undergoing replacement are walkway tiles, which usually takes place at the end of the year. The restoration of Gwanghwamun in Seoul and the opening of the second stage of the Gyeongbu High-speed Line have been moved several months ahead from their previous schedule. The central government and local governments carrying out these efforts explain that they are “in order to successfully host the G-20 summit” on November 11 and 12.

However, observers are saying that some of these administrative measures are unlikely to be intended as preparations for the G-20 summit. In their view, there has been a parade of wasteful “display projects” as the government goes “all-in” on G-20 preparation, while human rights and public welfare languish.

Foreign Leaders Take Precedence over Human Rights?

Street vendors are disappearing from Seoul. The reason is the “street stall cleanup effort” undertaken by the city, which has formed 88 “special street maintenance teams” totaling around 400 people for the G-20 summit.

Meanwhile, migrant workers are quaking with worry about possible deportation. On the pretext of “establishing public order for the G-20 summit,” the National Police Agency recently embarked on a full-scale crackdown on foreigner crime, and the Justice Ministry has been undertaking a focused crackdown on undocumented migrant workers.

A number of measures that have emerged in the name of preparations for the two-day, one-night event attended by foreign heads of state are prompting concerns about human rights violations. Full-body scanners for airport security searches were installed at four airports on June 30, including Incheon and Gimpo International Airports. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) commented on the problematic nature of the scanners, but the government went ahead with plans.

A “Special Law on Escort Security and Terror Prevention in order to successfully host the G-20 summit” passed the National Assembly in May amid objections from civic groups, which called it “an unconstitutional notion of actually using military forces to prevent assemblies and demonstrations from taking place.” Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry will be requiring all foreigners entering the country as of August 15 to provide fingerprint and facial identification information.

The rush to ensure ‘Rising National Standing from the G-20’

Some national projects are being moved ahead to meet the schedule of the G-20 summit, prompting criticisms of “reckless rushing.” The Korea Rail Network Authority made the decision to open the second stage of its Gyeongbu High-speed Line, from Daegu to Busan, in November, a month ahead of the original schedule. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) explained that this “would be an opportunity to support successfully hosting the G-20 summit and share the excellence of Korean high-speed rail.”

The completion of the restoration of Gwanghwamun in Seoul, which had been scheduled for December, was moved ahead a full five months to meet the G-20 schedule. Many observers inside and outside the cultural heritage sector have expressed concerns about shoddy workmanship and safety issues stemming from the reckless changes in the schedule.

Since July 1, police have embarked on an aggressive crackdown on violations of basic public order, including illegal disposal of cigarette butts, and are saying they will deal summarily with such crimes. The crackdown has already been taking place with the issuing of warnings, but police are aggressively enforcing the law in order to “enhance national prestige with a successful holding of the G-20 summit.”

Excess of “Display Projects”

There have also been a number of instances where excessive “display projects,” extravagant and unnecessary measures taken by central government organizations and local governments, have sparked citizen discontent. Separately from the police, the city of Seoul is cracking down on gum spitting by citizens, assessing fines of approximately 30,000 to 50,000 Won ($24 to $41). And last month, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) directed the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education to report on public achievements in connection with the G-20 summit, including catchphrases, posters and writing contests, to elementary, middle and high schools within its jurisdiction.

In addition, other administrative measures, such as uprooting 2,165 utility poles near the summit site, full-scale service to 20,000 vehicle entryways in Seoul, an all-out hygiene crackdown in public saunas, and the reflection of traffic accident death rates in police chief evaluations, are being undertaken “in order to successfully host the G-20 summit.”

“Measures like full-body scanners and basic public order crackdowns are a ‘window-dressing’ style of administration that is of questionable effectiveness and even includes elements of human rights infringements,” said Citizens’ Solidarity for Human Rights Secretary General Oh Chang-ik.

 
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/429239.html

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"If you can't get J. Bieber off the Internet, send him to North Korea!"

Young crooner Justin Bieber seems to be the target of an internet joke which aims to send the Canadian "singer" on a tour to North Korea (hopefully forever!!^^).

http://tweeter.faxo.com/Justin_Bieber_My_World_Tour

Visitors to Justin’s My World Tour webpage were asked to vote on the next country they want him to play in and a host of 'fans' chose North Korea as their favourite destination... (HelloMagazine, 7.05)

Today's Guardian (UK): "A viral campaign has proposed sending Justin Bieber on a tour of North Korea. But what can he expect in a country with just one nightclub? And will he return in one piece?" (☞ What if he did tour North Korea?)

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Guide for Human Rights Violation in Crackdown

Your rights in crackdown
- Ask the Immigration Enforcement officers to show their ID cards
- Ask the officers to show the warrant
- Ask the officers to show Detention Order or Urgent Detention Order (Make it sure that your name, reason of detention, location, and time is written on it)
- You have the right to remain silent and the right to consult the lawyer

Give a call(*) if you experience any of the followings in crackdown
- If you are hit, abused, injured, or insulted by the officers, or if you have any other type of human rights violation
- If the officers keep you in their vehicle for too long
- If you are not given any water or meal in the official vehicle
- If you are not allowed to go to the restroom in the official vehicle
- If the police officer abuses you or violates your human rights while asking for your ID card on the street
- If you are receiving medical treatment or compensation for industrial accident, or if you are a patient, pregnant, or an applicant for refugee status
- If you feel insulted during inspection or investigation
- If your application for consultation on back wages, refusal to return deposit, or industrial accident is rejected
- If you do not have any translation or interpretation service during investigation
- If you are asked to sign the document that you do not understand
- If you are not allowed to see a doctor although you are sick
- If you have any other type of unfair treatment

* Please contact:
02-2285-6068 (Migrants' Trade Union)
02-3672-9470 (Seoul Migrant Workers Center)
Nat'l Human Rights Commission: 1331

面临执法人员搜捕时的应急对策

被搜捕者有如下权利
- 你可以向执行中出入境管理所人员（以下简称为执法人员）要求出示其身份证
- 向他要求出示逮捕证。
- 向他要求出示拘禁令或拘禁证。(应得确认好是否记有你的姓名、拘禁理由、拘禁地点和拘禁期等)
- 你可以行使沉默权，也有权找律师为你辩护。

 
拘捕过程中是否出现过如下诸类侵权情况(*)
- 在拘捕过程中是否有过如殴打、谩骂、伤害、侮辱等类侵权（人权）行为？
- 是否有过长时间拘禁在搜捕车辆上？
- 是否有过在搜捕车辆中没有得到过必需的饮料或食品的情况？
- 是否有过在搜捕车辆中，被禁止上卫生间。
- 执法人员在街头上向你要求查看你的身份证的过程中是否行使过粗暴的话语等侵权言行?
- 受产灾治疗或处在得赔过程中者、患者或孕妇以及在难民申请中者被拘禁时。
- 在全身搜索或受审过程中是否出现过令人感到侮辱的情况？
- 有无因拖欠工资、抵押金、产灾等问题申请咨询而被拒的情况？
- 受审时有无未得到过翻译服务的情况？
- 有无尚未晓得其内容的证书等材料上被人强求签名的情况？
- 是否遇到过在患病时给医院拒之门外的情况。
- 另外受到各种不适当待遇的情况。

* 要是遇到上述诸类情况中一项就请给电话： 02-3672-9470, 9472 /联系。
Migrants' Trade Union(移民工会) : 02-2285-6068。
国家人权委员会：（不用区号就直接摁）1331申告即可。

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"Opposition parties and civic groups held a large-scale rally in Seoul on Saturday, stepping up their offensive against the controversial Four-River Restoration Project...

The river plan, a key item on President Lee Myung-bak’s policy agenda, is expected to become the next big thing on the political scene..." Korea Herald wrote y'day.

Today's (conservative/reactionary) JoongAng Ilbo reported the following:

Opposition groups call for vigils all month

An alliance of five opposition parties and civic groups gathered at Seoul Plaza on Saturday night demanding President Lee Myung-bak halt his four rivers restoration project.

The alliance said over 20,000 people, including Democratic Party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun, Democratic Labor Party head Kang Ki-kab, former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Du-kwan and South Chungcheong Governor An Hee-jung, participated in the candlelight vigil from 6:30 p.m.

It was the first time in two years that people with candles poured into Seoul Plaza as they did in 2008 to rally against President Lee Myoung-bak’s decision to resume U.S. beef imports.

“We can save a tremendous amount of government money if the four rivers restoration project is halted,” DP head Chung Sye-kyun said. “With that money, we can create jobs to ease youth unemployment and it can also be used to convert temporary workers into regular workers.”

The alliance has designated July as protest month and encouraged participants to join nightly vigils starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Cheonggye Stream.

Police dispatched some 900 police officers in case of violence, but the rally ended peacefully at 10:10 p.m.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2922706

Related reports by ☞ Korea Herald, ☞ KCTU, ☞ VoP, ☞ OMN...
And here you'll find some nice pics about last Saturday's protest!

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Migrant Workers 'News' (#4)
Two extreme conflicting stories about the present situation of migrant workers in Israel...

Migrant workers entered Israel initially in the 1990s to replace Palestinian construction workers and agricultural workers (banned to enter Israel since the beginning of the "2nd Intifada"). There is no official record, and not even an official estimate, of the number of migrant workers in Israel today. The current unofficial estimate is 190,000, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (2009).

TULIP (Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine) reported last Friday the following:

Chinese migrant workers sign up to join the union

By all accounts it was an extraordinary scene on the seventh floor of the Histadrut headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening.

Hundreds of Chinese construction workers turned up to fill in their forms and join the Israeli union.

Though the forms were in Hebrew, they were given explanatory pages in Chinese.

As one of the more veteran workers put it (speaking with a smattering of Hebrew), “We are here to get strength.”

Many of the workers were accompanied by their employers, who say they have reached the conclusion it would be easier to deal with a single body — the trade union — rather than with lawyers who often take large sums from workers to defend their rights.

The mass sign-up follows the decision several months ago by the Histadrut to begin organizing foreign workers in Israel.

In China, workers are not permitted to join free and independent unions.  The unions that exist there are state-controlled and exist solely to ensure the smooth running of the economy.  The Israeli unions, on the other hand, are independent and frequently clash with both government and employers.

The Histadrut’s move to organize these Chinese workers and potentially many others stands in sharp contrast to unions in some countries which campaign for the expulsion of foreign workers.

http://www.tuliponline.org/?p=1944

The Israeli (bourgeois) Yedioth Ahronoth published last Wednesday the following nasty report:

"I don't care if they call me racist"

Residents fight kindergarten for children of migrant workers

Residents of south Tel Aviv are working to prevent the opening of a kindergarten for the children of migrant workers and refugees in the Kiryat Shalom neighborhood. The move comes after attempts to prevent apartments from being rented to African refugees, as reported by Ynet last week, and brings tension in the southern parts of the city to boiling point.

 
The municipality decided to open a new kindergarten due to the persistent rise in the numbers of children among these populations, especially in the area around the New Central Bus Station. While the authorities are investigating the possibility of building new premises in this area, a process that could take up to two years, a temporary solution is slated for Kiryat Shalom – an area populated by veteran Israeli families.

The municipality clarified that Israelis are also welcome to sign up their children in the new kindergarten.

During a tense meeting at the municipality offices on Wednesday, residents expressed a clear demand: The planned kindergarten must be cancelled.

 
There demand was not met, however, and the residents, including members of parent committees in the area's elementary schools, threatened to hold a demonstration at the kindergarten's gate and physically prevent the children from entering. 

 
City council member Binyamin Babayoff (Shas) who led the campaign against renting apartments to migrant workers, also joined the new campaign against the kindergarten.

 
"The parents' struggle shows that this is not racism of haredim or the religious population, but real distress which secular people also suffer," he said. "We will continue to shout and oppose until a real solution is found to the issue."

 
'Pulling us down'

The head of the action committee against the kindergarten, local resident Tzilla Yitzhak, explained their position.

 
"We are a deprived population, and we don't have our own budget or resources," she said. "We are trying to lift our heads – and now they'll open a kindergarten for an even weaker population? We don't want to become another central bus station where foreign workers wander about everywhere."

 
"As soon as they open a kindergarten for 35 kids, the families will want to come and live near it, then there'll be foreign workers everywhere," she continued. "These people are actually wretched, they don't have work permits, they bring crime and a bad economic situation to the place they come to, which is already suffering from welfare and economic problems."

 
Suzy Cohen, also a resident of the neighborhood, promises they'll fight the kindergarten with all their strength. She adds that as long as there are insufficient kindergartens in Kiryat Shalom for the local children, it is not logical to bring in the children of migrant workers.

 
Cohen also rejects the idea that Israeli children should go to the same kindergarten as these migrant children – "and I don't care if they call me racist," she says. "Our park is full of Sudanese who are looking for a fight, to kill – they've got murderous eyes. They should take them to the north of the city, or to some other city."

 
The municipality responded: "We are concerned with the welfare of all, and do everything we can to cope with the issue of children of migrant workers and refugees and integrate them into the education system. Thus various options are raised to find a solution for these children while taking residents' needs into account.

 
"It must be noted that Tel Aviv-Jaffa is the first public authority to take responsibility for the refugee and migrant worker population, and almost the only one who for a decade has been caring for their welfare and rights, including the integration of some 800 kindergarten-age children in municipal education."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3913394,00.html

Related articles:
☞ Israel may deport kids of foreign workers (GlobalPost, 6.30)

☞ Migrant workers in Israel: A contemporary Form of Slavery (fidh, 2003)

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Today's Hankyoreh published the following report:

Crackdown on migrant workers escalates prior to G20

The government has continued to receive criticism for the violent tactics used and infringements on human rights

MTU offical, center, speaks during a press conference held to launch “Cat’s Eye”, a group to monitor

human rights infringements against migrant workers during crackdowns in S. Korea, June 30.

The government is strengthening its crackdown on unregistered migrant workers, prior to the G20 summit this November, and has invited censure for human rights abuses and excessive crackdowns. In particular, fines that were exempted after a migrant worker unable to pay the fine committed suicide in 2000 have been re-instituted, and migrant workers caught in the crackdown are being fined and deported. Migrant worker groups have protested that the procedure is double punishment in detaining, forcibly fining and then deporting people for being unregistered migrants.

At the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) in Seoul’s Jung-gu on Wednesday morning, the Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea (JCMK), Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU) launched “Cat’s Eye,” a group to monitor human rights infringements against migrant workers. They plan to conduct activities to monitor human rights abuses during migrant worker crackdowns, which have suddenly shot up in numbers recently.

During the launching ceremony, they also highlighted the violence used by crackdown teams and the imposition of unreasonable fines.

Mr. G, a migrant worker from the Philippines, was caught by immigration officials at a factory in Incheon early last month. Pointing to the wages in his paycheck account, Incheon immigration officials told him to pay a fine, as he was an unregistered migrant. The immigration office deported Mr. G after taking the fine. Migrant worker groups in Daegu said immigration officials forced migrants to pay fines as they would receive back wages, and they also levy fines by forcefully confiscating bank account books and personal possessions such as gold necklaces.

Lee Young, a senior official of JCMK, said in anticipation of the G20 summit, the government is strengthening its crackdown on unregistered migrants, and human rights abuses are occurring frequently from crackdowns at factories, homes, on the street, subway stations and bus terminals, both day and night. He said with general society stressing results rather than human rights in conjunction with the launch of the Lee Myung-bak administration, these kinds of violent crackdowns have been occurring frequently.

During the launching ceremony, Mr. Yoon of Korean-Chinese nationality, 48, claimed an official at Suwon’s immigration office kicked him in the stomach and beat his face and back with handcuffs.

“Since Mr. Yoon hurt the official during a crackdown, the official beat him in his sides in the interrogation room,” said a Justice Ministry official in response.

In September 2008, the Justice Ministry said it would reduce the number of illegal migrant workers by 10 percent from the 220 thousand recorded at the time by 2012. In fact, according to Korea Immigration Service statistics from the end of last year, the number of staff hired to facilitate crackdowns has continued to increase, from 20,455 in 2007 to 30,831 in 2008 and 31,506 in 2009. The Justice Ministry said it is currently conducting its first crackdown from June 7 to July 6, but it has yet to determine exactly how many individuals it has arrested.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/428394.html

 

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Today's (bourgeois) Korea Times reported the following:

'Cats Eye' to monitor crackdown on migrant workers

Several migrant workers’ rights groups said Tuesday that they have decided to form a federation to jointly monitor and cope with “unlawful” crackdowns on unregistered immigrant laborers.

Their move comes as the government has stepped up efforts to deport those staying here illegally ahead of the G-20 summit scheduled in November.

Civic organizations including the Migrants’ Trade Union, Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions will establish a watchdog named “Cats Eye” today at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK).

The groups will educate citizens interested in joining the monitoring team for human rights abuses and station them as observers.

“Migrant workers are often harmed during crackdowns, but there is no concrete evidence except for the person’s statement to prove the violation of human rights. We will keep a lookout for raids on illegal foreigners to protect their human rights,” an official of the Migrants’ Trade Union said.

The federation distributed a guidebook on human rights violations in various languages, so immigrant workers can report crackdowns.

“We also plan to collect examples of unlawful crackdowns and file petitions to the NHRCK,” the official said.

The Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor and immigration authorities have recently stepped up their actions against illegal residents and companies employing illegal migrant workers starting this month.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/06/113_68477.html

Some of the federations' first main subjects you can check out here (partly in English)!

Related articles: 

☞ 이주민 인권 침해 시민감시단 'Cats-Eye' 발족 (Salad TV, 6.30)

☞ Immigrant staffer accused of assaulting Chinese worker (K. Times, 6.29) 


 

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Related articles:

☞ 이주민 인권침해 시민감시단 ‘Cats' Eye’에 함께해 주세요. (6.29)

☞ 불법체류 단속에 시민사회단체 공동대응 (Yonhap, 6.29)

☞ 이주민 인권침해, 시민들이 감시한다 (NewsCham, 6.29)