5112개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Kiryung Trade Union Office Brutally Attacked!
The Hankyoreh (10.16): Yesterday, October 15, in front of Kiryung Electronics in Guro-dong, Seoul, approximately 70 employees of Kiryung Electronics and a security company (*) remove a shipping container as 10 irregular workers attempt to deter them. The container has lodged the members of the irregular workers union of Kiryung Elcetronics during a struggle that has lasted for over three years. After the container was removed, Kim So-yeon, the head of the union, was hospitalized for exhaustion.
A witness to the conflict said that a security company employee trampled on the head of a female irregular worker who had fallen down, but that police did not restrain (**) the employee in question.
Mobsters (with the gloves), hired by the Kiryung management, attacking labour union activists
Bae Yeong-hun, the chairman of Kiryung Electronics, said, “We had no choice but to remove the container because we have to complete the move to our new office building in Sindaebang-dong, Seoul, by October 25.”
He added that he thinks a compromise between the company and irregular workers will be impossible if irregular workers fulfill a plan to go to the U.S. to urge Kiryung Electronics’ clients to discontinue their orders.
In response, the irregular workers’ union said that the company had not given them any information about the impending container removal, adding that the company does not have the right to remove the container because it was located in front of the company and not inside.
Yu Heung-hui, a member of the irregular workers union of Kiryung Elcetronics, said they had already died two deaths because of their 94-day-long hunger strike and being fired, but resolved to continue their struggle with determination.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/316314.html
* In reality: criminal gangs, hired by the Kiryung management! It's very usual for S.K. companies, but also city governments etc., to hire such gangs (용역깡패) to smash workers' protests or public resistance activities..
** Usually the riot cops are backing such "activities"!!
Defending the labour union/strike office..
More reports by:
☞ VoP
☞ KCTU
☞ OMN
Considering the current "finanicial crisis" the governments of the USA, UK and Germany are planning to subsidize the main "suffering" banks with 2,2 trillion dollars..
$ 2,200,000,000,000!!!
At the same time, according to International Food Policy Research Institute/IFPRI ("The Challenge of Hunger 2008") almost 1 billion..
1,000,000,000!!!
..people worldwide have not enough to eat..(*)
Alone in Afghanistan, according to Oxfam, in the coming winter likely 1 million..
1,000,000!!!
..children will starving to death!
Yeah, that's exactly the reason why the "Capitalism has to survive!" (^^)
* Related:
☞ The Fury of the Poor (Spiegel, 4.14)
Well, the current S.K. (LMB) gov't is still searching for a way(^^) how to convince(^^) Pyeongyang about its best(^^) intentions to create a "peaceful, ceconciled and unified Korean Peninsula"...
But - surprise, surprise!! - somehow all the efforts are failing! No wonder when you read following stuff, published by the media of the S.K. ruling class:
Yesterday Korea Times reported that.. "The (S.K.) Army is revising its contingency plan against North Korea, with a focus on improving the commands' precision strike capabilities against key targets in the North... The plan is aimed at infiltrating the North and neutralizing key targets in North Korea..."
And just one week ago the same newspaper wrote that.. "North Korea and other terrorist groups could have the capability by 2015 to build electromagnetic pulse (EMP/"E-bomb'') weapons.."
Oops.. the emphasis lies on: "North Korea and other terrorist groups.."!!
Meanwhile the N.K. propaganda is permanently repeating its fantasy/irrational "doctrine" about a "Federal Formula for Reunification" (Rodong Shinmun/KCNA)..
But - very likely(^^) - the reality is complete different, as A. Lenkov wrote in his interesting article:
☞ The facts and fables of a unified Korea (A. Times, 10.7)
From Hankyoreh (10.13):
100 Days of Protest
Park Won-seok, second from right, the co-director of current affairs of the People’s Counter Measure Council against Mad Cow Disease, and Lee Seok-hang, second from left, the chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, sing with their families at a rally marking the 100th day of a sit-in at Jogye Temple in downtown Seoul on October 11.
For the past 100 days, eight activists wanted by police for their alleged involvement in organizing this spring and summer’s candlelight demonstrations have sequestered themselves inside Jogye Temple in protest against the investigation into their activities.
Songs sung at the candlelight demonstrations were heard again as 300 supporters, including family members of the eight activists, joined the eight people inside the temple to express their solidarity.
Park said, “There will be no compromise with this government because they have weakened the democracy of our country and ruined our economy.” Park indicated that civic organizations intend to continue the fight as those in the crowd pledged to participate in another round of candlelight demonstrations.
Related reports:
☞ 조계사 농성 100일...그리고 '촛불 시즌2' (VoP)
☞ 조계사농성수행 100일 촛불문화제 열려 (NewsCham)
☞ 다시 꿈틀대기 시작한 촛불, "시즌2 시작" (Tong-il News)
☞ 조계사 농성수행 100일 촛불문화제 (OhmyTV)
"THE CAPITALISM HAS TO SURVIVE"
While stock markets are crashing and the world is facing a crisis, CNN Int'l is still talking about the Global Economic Crisis/GEC (and - what a surprise!! - there's no end in sight..) Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, much celebrated in the international "left-alternative" movement demanded (in an interview with the German bourgeois Spiegel magazine, 10.10): "Capitalism, with all its market mechanisms, has to survive!"
Noam Chomsky - the "guru" of the "radical left", "anti-capitalist", anti-globalization movement - said about the "current crisis of capitalism" (in the USA) following in an interview with Spiegel Online (10.10):
SPIEGEL: Professor Chomsky, cathedrals of capitalism have collapsed, the conservative government is spending its final weeks in office with nationalization plans. How does that make you feel?
Chomsky: The times are too difficult and the crisis too severe to indulge in schadenfreude. Looking at it in perspective, the fact that there would be a financial crisis was perfectly predictable, its general nature, if not its magnitude. Markets are always inefficient.
SPIEGEL: What exactly did you anticipate?
Chomsky: In the financial industry, as in other industries, there are risks that are left out of the calculation. If you sell me a car, we have perhaps made a good bargain for ourselves. But there are effects of this transaction on others, which we do not take into account. There is more pollution, the price of gas goes up, there is more congestion. Those are the external costs of our transaction. In the case of financial institutions, they are huge.
SPIEGEL: But isn't it the task of a bank to take risks?
Chomsky: Yes, but if it is well managed, like Goldman Sachs, it will cover its own risks and absorb its own losses. But no financial institution can manage systemic risks. Risk is therefore underpriced, and there will be more risk taken than would be prudent for the economy. With government deregulation and the triumph of financial liberalization, the dangers of systemic risks, the possibility of a financial tsunami, sharply increased.
SPIEGEL: But is it correct to only put the blame on Wall Street? Doesn't Main Street, the American middle class, also live on borrowed money which may or may not be paid back?
Chomsky: The debt burden of private households is enormous. But I would not hold the individual responsible. This consumerism is based on the fact that we are a society dominated by business interests. There is massive propaganda for everyone to consume. Consumption is good for profits and consumption is good for the political establishment.
SPIEGEL: How does it benefit politicians when the populace drives a lot, eats a lot and goes shopping a lot?
Chomsky: Consumption distracts people. You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption. The business press has been quite explicit about this goal...
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,583454,00.html
And while the Washington Post (10.10), has been asking if this will be "The End Of American Capitalism?"...
..the Palestinian "people's restistance" (according to SWP/UK, SAV/Marx21/D, All Together/ROK..etc...) organisation Hamas, one of the main subjects of solidarity for the int'l "anti-imperialist" movement, tells us the "truth" who's really behind the GEC and/or at least the financial crisis in the USA in following "analysis" (Caution! That's - really, believe me! - not an article from the 1929/30 edition of Der Stuermer!):
☞ When Will America wake up from her slumber? (PIC, 10.4)
PULGASARI ('DPR'K 1985):
For more about the movie:
☞ A Kim Jong Il Productio (The New Yorker, 2005)
☞ Pulgasari (StompTokyo, 2001)
Today's Korea Times (see the article below) reported that an overwhelming 84 percent of the S.K. police chiefs (very likely inspired by some new ideas of the LMB gov't/the ruling class!!??) said they preferred an aggressive crackdown on protesters..
What?? More aggressive crackdown??
That's not enough for them(??):
Police Chiefs Positive About Teargas Use
Nearly 80 percent of police stations across the nation believe they should be allowed to use teargas to quell protesters if necessary. This shows that many are negative about the ``no-teargas'' policy that has been kept over the last decade.
During a parliamentary audit of the National Police Agency, Rep. Won You-chol of the ruling Grand National Party said that 79 percent of 192 police chiefs responded that the government should permit the use of teargas against protesters. Of those favoring teargas use, 42 percent said, ``It's absolutely necessary.'' The lawmaker conducted the survey Oct. 1-6.
An overwhelming 84 percent said they preferred an aggressive crackdown on protesters to the current somewhat defensive mode.
"..the current law.. is.. so generous to protesters.."
About 60 percent of respondents were negative about the candlelight protests against the import of American beef in terms of both content and the way it was conducted. About 27 percent answered that they sympathized with why candlelight protesters demonstrated but did not agree with the way they protested.
Sixty-seven percent of the respondents said the current law on assembly and demonstration is so generous to protesters that riot police have great difficulty suppressing violent protesters. They said the government needs to revise the law to more effectively control protesters and ensure the safety of police officers.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/116_32431.html
Amnesty International published two days ago following press relaese (based on a detailed report):
South Korea: Improve policing practices during protests
South Korean police used excessive force in some instances against demonstrators protesting earlier this year against the government’s decision to resume beef imports from the US, Amnesty International concluded in a report released today.
The report - including interviews with protesters, human rights monitors and journalists - documents instances where the police misused crowd control equipment, such as water cannons, and arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals. The report also highlights a lack of adequate police training and police accountability.
“While we recognise that the riot police for the most part acted professionally and with restraint, there are worrying examples of how protesters and even onlookers, not involved directly in the protests, were ill-treated,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Programme Director.
“Protesters, and in some instances even members of the police force, were needlessly subjected to violence because of inadequate training on the part of police. There should be an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into allegations of human rights violations by police officials, and those responsible should be held accountable.”
Amnesty International interviewed people involved in the protests who had sustained injuries mainly to the head or face after, they said, being kicked, punched or hit with a shield or baton by police or fired upon with water cannons.
The police reported that 489 riot police were also injured during the protests. There are no official figures for the number of civilians injured.
These included:
- Lee E, a 22-year-old university student, was beaten severely by riot police. One police official grabbed her by her hair and pushed her to the ground. He kicked her repeatedly in the head with his combat boots. Lee E managed to crawl underneath a bus for safety and when she came out, another official – or the same one – grabbed and pushed her to the ground again. This time she was hit many more times in the head. Lee E suffered a concussion and had to be hospitalised for three weeks. She vomited and suffered from dizzy spells.
- Kim C, a 31-year-old translator, told Amnesty International that a riot police official hit him in the eye with a shield. Kim C fainted from the impact and when he came to, several riot police were beating him with batons. Another official slammed his shield on Kim C’s head. He needed stitches for cuts on his head and eyelid, and an imprint of a baton on his back remained visible even after two weeks.
- Lee Hack-young, National General Director of the YMCA, was injured with 60 other protesters while peacefully lying down on the street as 200 riot police came charging through them, slamming their shields on their bodies and hitting them with batons. The police broke Lee Hack-young’s arm. He also suffered head injuries and was kept in hospital for two weeks for monitoring.
- Kim B, a 35-year-old technician, told Amnesty International that he was hit in the face when the police turned a water cannon on him and knocked him off his feet. Kim B suffered temporary blindness and his sight is still severely impaired.
Amnesty International calls on the South Korean government to review its current policing practices on the use of force, including the training and deployment of all police officials, in particular riot police. The organization also asks the authorities to consider phasing out the use of military conscripts.
“Instead of simply turning a blind eye to the violations that took place during these protests, the South Korean government must ensure that law enforcement officials, including riot police, are adequately trained, instructed and equipped with the skills necessary to police difficult and potentially violent protests, including training on relevant international human rights standards," said Sam Zarifi.
Background
The candlelight protests in central Seoul against the resumption of US beef imports due to fears of BSE or ‘mad cow disease’ began on 2 May 2008 and continued almost daily for more than two months. Tens of thousands of people from all walks of life attended the demonstrations, with at least 100,000 on 10 June, the 21st anniversary of South Korea’s pro-democracy movement. The protesters voiced their discontent not only with the US beef trade issue, but with a broad range of President Lee Myung-bak’s other policies.
The majority of the protesters were peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, which are enshrined in South Korea’s constitution, as well as international human rights law. However, various provisions under South Korean law limit the right to demonstrate and protesters continued to defy government calls to disperse.
The protests were for the most part peaceful and given their size and duration, both the protesters and the police showed notable organization and restraint. However, there were sporadic incidents of violence, as riot police and protesters clashed. The two main flashpoints of violence occurred on 31 May/1 June, when the police first used water cannons and fire extinguishers, and 28/29 June, the weekend following the government’s announcement that US beef imports would resume.
(The Korean version of the text you can read here.)
The complete English report (51 pages!!) you can read here:
☞ Policing the Candlelight Protests in S.K.
Related articles:
☞ Amnesty Int’l Takes Side With Candlelit Protesters (K. Times, 10.7)
☞ 국제앰네스티 "한국경찰, 촛불집회 과도한 무력사용" (VoP, 10.6)
☞ AI weighs in on the candlelight protests (Hankyoreh)
Today's Korea Herald reported following:
KCTU head indicted for protests
Prosecutors yesterday indicted a top official of a major labor umbrella group on charges of obstructing operations at workplaces by leading illegal demonstrations.
Lee Yong-sik, secretary-general of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, is alleged to have directed the union members of Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group to go on strike in July to protest U.S. beef imports, which was illegitimate as it failed to gain support from more than 50 percent of unionists.
Lee is also accused of taking an active role in blocking the transit of imported U.S. beef from a warehouse near Seoul in the same month.
He also organized dozens of sits-in at E.Land's Homever last year, obstructing customers' access to the retail store, according to the prosecution.
He is also alleged to have held unauthorized gatherings in June last year to prevent a law on temporary workers from coming into effect and occupying public roads during a protest against a Korea-U.S. free trade deal in November.
Also today the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) published following new report for the WTO General Council review of the trade policies in S. Korea (Geneva, Oct. 8 and 10, 2008):
☞ Trade Union Rights Restricted in S. Korea
Related:
☞ YTN Fires Unionists Opposing New Head (K. Times, 10.7)
☞ YTN조합원 33명 부당징계… (KCTU, 10.7)
Last month the Napali Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka "Chairman Prachanda", CPN-M) has said his party's long term projection is to establish a People's Republic in Nepal..
Now, at least since the last week his coalition "partners" in the Napali gov't, especially the bourgeois NC and the CPN-UML (*), are intensifying their attacks against the PM (incl. the CPN-M) and his ideas, as it has been reported in NepalNews:
10.4.:
Maoists not committed to democracy: Koirala
Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala has accused the Maoist leadership of not showing commitment to democracy.
He even went on to accuse the Maoists of betraying Nepali people by speaking of establishing of People's Republic in Nepal.
In a tea-party organised by NC's Kathmandu-9 committee on the occasion of Dahain festival Saturday morning, Koirala said he would not take rest from the 60-years long fight for democracy.
He said his party would continue to work for peace and political stability in the country.
Accusing CPN (Maoist) of creating obstacles in the process of writing the new constitution, Koirala claimed that the Maoists had come thus far by accepting his proposal.
http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2008/oct/oct04/news04.php
10.5.:
People's Republic unacceptable to UML..
CPN-UML leader Ishwor Pokharel on Saturday said that imposition of "People's Republic" order will not be in the interest of the country, warning that his party will start a strong agitation if the Maoists try to deliberately force it in the country.
Pokharel, who was speaking at a press meet in Pokhara, further said that the Maoists should not try to thrust the system upon the people just because it looks good for them.
Saying that it is both impossible as well as unacceptable to merge all Maoist combatants into Nepal Army (NA), Pokharel said that only those Maoist fighters who meet the recruitment standard of the army should be inducted into the NA.
http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2008/oct/oct05/news03.php
NC leaders step up rhetoric against Maoists
A day after Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala charged the Maoist leadership of trying to undermine democracy, his close aide in the party, vice President Ram Chandra Poudel, unleashed a blistering attack on the Maoist party, saying the former rebels are "looking to end democracy" in the name of establishing a 'People's Republic'.
Poudel also said the populist slogans brought one after another by the Maoist party are a "ploy to end democracy once and for all," and that NC would strongly revolt against such move.
He was addressing party cadres at a reception hosted by the NC Kathmandu
constituency-4 on the occasion of Dashain festival.
Accusing the Maoists of creating a delay in the drafting of a new constitution, he said that NC is "very serious" regarding the issue and would play an instrumental role for the same.
Speaking at the same programme, another NC vice-president Prakash Man Singh charged the Maoists of trying to force a totalitarian system by implementing People's Republic order in the country. He said that now is the time for the party to go to the people and show its real standing.
Both Koirala and Poudel and few other NC leaders have stepped up rhetoric against the Maoists and the government it leads especially after PM Dahal's remarks that his party has lost faith in parliamentary democracy and wants to establish a People's Republican set up in the country.
The NC duo's almost daily diatribe against the Maoists has increased speculations that the NC is attempting to depose the current government by teaming up with the UML, the third largest party in the CA.
The possibility, however, was somewhat allayed after former general secretary of UML, Madhav Kumar Nepal, on Saturday said that the present government must be allowed to complete its full term in office
http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2008/oct/oct05/news07.php
* The CPN-UML (Unified "Marxist-Leninist"!!^^) is actually THE social-democratic party in Nepal..
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