5112개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
"The government is going backwards to the military junta era, a dictatorship, to oppress our democratic ways of expressing ideas!'' a young participant in yesterday's candlelit vigil said, while the S.K. gov't is threatening with a new wave of..
STATE TERROR
S.K. prosecutors and the police today vowed to "deal sternly with any illegal rallies against U.S. beef imports as the initially peaceful candlelight vigils turned violent over the weekend", according to Korea Herald's newest edition.
'Justice' Minister Kim Kyeong-han has directed prosecutors to clamp down on any "illegal protestors".
"Illegal rallies are continuing with protesters blocking roads and even assaulting the police, causing inconvenience to other citizens. We must not allow the protests that have gone beyond what's legally acceptable to slip by," Kim added.
The chief of the National Police Agency, said, "The issue will be strictly dealt with in full accordance with law and principles." (i.e. daily police terror!!)
Yesterday and today, the riot cops detained 68 protesters on charges including "taking part in unlawful demonstrations, obstructing traffic and assaulting the police". Some clashes between large units of the riot cops and protesters were witnessed, but no serious injuries were reported.
"Police are currently investigating how the violence began and set to seek arrest warrants for those who actively participated in the illegal protests", today's K. Herald wrote.
Yesterday the cops used water cannons to break up sit-in protests in downtown Seoul.
"The protesters defied our repeated calls to disperse voluntarily, continuing to block the roads by lying on the ground. We cleared the roads of everyone who resisted our orders," the police said.
Yesterday's gatherings, held at various locations in Seoul, were filled with political slogans against the government and demanding the release of the detained activists...
Police arrest scores of protesters against U.S. beef (K. Herald)
Police detained about 30 people early Monday as candlelight vigils continued into the predawn hours demanding the Lee Myung-bak administration renegotiate its beef deal with Washington, reported Yonhap News Agency.
Thousands of protesters marched in the streets of downtown Seoul on Sunday, some clashing with police trying to block their move toward the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. The violent clash was the first of its kind since protests against U.S. beef imports started on May 2.
Despite mounting public concern over the safety of American beef, the government was set to implement its beef accord with Washington on Tuesday to lift almost all restrictions on American beef cuts including bones and intestines for the first time in five years.
About 400 people continued candlelight protests early Monday in the plaza along the Cheonggye stream, while 200 others protested in the Sinchon area, where several universities are located. Clashes occurred in the university district where police came to disperse the mostly young protesters. Police said they arrested 31 people in addition to 37 people they detained the previous day.
"Some people tried to intervene when several students were being detained by police, but a riot police officer wielded his shield, hitting a student on the forehead," a witness, Yun Ji-hak, 61, said.
Police Warn of Crackdown on Night Vigils (Korea Times, 5.26)
Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han warned Monday that protestors against imports of American beef will face criminal punishment if they turn violent and illegally occupy the streets.
In a special statement, he instructed the prosecution and police to round up illegal, violent street protestors, who disguised themselves as peaceful candlelit "vigilantes''.
The minister said the police roundup of protestors will continue if the candlelit vigils, supposed to be a cultural gathering, turned violent.
Those who led the protestors to the presidential office have been traced, according to police. Investigation is under way to trace rumormongers who inflamed the anti-American beef campaign. The tough action came about as thousands of demonstrators defied police warnings and gathered in central Seoul to protest the resumption of U.S. beef imports over the weekend.
Police rounded up 70 people for participating in the "illegal collective actions'' over the weekend, but more people turned up to denounce the police crackdown. The detention was in line with the government's strong willingness to crack down on demonstrators breaking the law. Vigil participants and police are on a collision course, neither group budging an inch. Civic group members vowed to hold more rallies until the government accepts their demands. According to the police, more than 68 people have been detained for participating in the protest last weekend, with more considered for arrest warrants.
Over the weekend, rows of protestors gathered at Cheonggye Plaza and Yeoeuido in Seoul, urging President Lee Myung-bak to scrap the beef deal. Then some tried to head to Cheong Wa Dae by road, which triggered police to round them up. Physical scuffles took place and protestors criticized police for using violence to suppress their rights to air political views.
Despite the government's "effort to soothe public fury'', more people are planning to further express their objection toward the beef import.
42-year-old Lee Byeong-ryul committed suicide Sunday by setting himself on fire in Jeonju, north Jeolla Province. He had spread out leaflets criticizing the beef deal and urged President Lee to resign. (*)
The progressive Federation of Korean University Students' Council said 80 leaders of the group will go on a fast to express their disapproval of the imports. Students from 90 member universities are planning larger protests for Friday, including shaving off their hair and jointly boycotting classes.
"The government is going backwards to the military junta era, a dictatorship, to oppress our democratic ways of expressing ideas. We disapprove of that,'' a citizen in the candlelit vigil said.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/05/117_24752.html
About the "events" on last weekend today's Hankyoreh reported following:
Demonstrators taken into custody after U.S. beef protest
Police plan to issue strict punishment to participants of sit-in candlelight vigil
Fifty one people who participated in an overnight, sit-in candlelight vigil held to protest U.S. beef imports on May 24-25 were taken into custody after the protest. This is the first time policemen have cracked down on candlelight rallies since they began on May 2. The prosecution and police announced a plan to punish the demonstrators at a joint meeting with the related institutions, including the National Intelligence Service, arousing a strong reaction from civic organizations and netizens.
After the protest, Guk Min-su, an official of the Seoul Central District Court, said, “Those that were taken to the police station had occupied the roads and waged an illegal demonstration,” adding that they would be punished strictly according to the law following an investigation.
The police action incited strong reactions from civic groups, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which said, “We will never accept the government’s provocation or suppression of candlelight events.”
On the Internet, netizens have continued to post stories denouncing the police crackdown on candlelight rallies.
About 14,000 citizens and students took part in the sit-in candlelight vigil, which started at Seoul Plaza in the evening of May 24. Members of the KCTU and the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union joined the rally.
After the rally, about 5,000 protesters occupied the roads in the process of attempting to march toward Cheong Wa Dae, or the Blue House, and police forces confronted them. At dawn on May 25, policemen took 37 demonstrators, out of more than 200, to four police stations for investigation. An additional 14 people were taken into custody on the following day.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/289680.html
* 광우병쇠고기 수입반대 전주시민 분신 (참소리, 5.25)
Related articles/reports:
☞ "촛불아 될 때까지 모여라" (민주노총, 5.26)
☞ 명동.종로 '촛불' 행진 종료 (통일뉴스, 5.26)
☞ 전주시민들, 거리행진 시도...경찰 막아서 (참소리/전주市, 5.26)
☞ Candlelight Vigil Organizers to Be Summoned (Korea Times, 5.26)
Police detain 37 beef protesters (Korea Herald, 5.25)
Police detained 37 protesters Saturday in their first crackdown on candlelight vigils against U.S. beef imports.
About 7,000 people (according to several independent reports: between 25,000 and 50,000!!!) staged a rally in central Seoul demanding the government scrap the import deal.
A clash erupted as police tried to disperse the protesters, who had blocked roads, disrupting traffic. Police used water cannons and pushed the demonstrators off the roads. No serious injuries were reported.
Police are investigating them on charges of violating the Law on Assembly and Demonstration.
It was the first anti-U.S. beef demonstration in which riot police stepped in to disperse protesters, taking some of them to police stations by force. "We concluded that they violated the law by occupying roads and staging sit-in protests into the wee hours of the morning. We will sternly deal with any illegal protests," said the police.
An estimated 7,000 protesters began the 17th candlelight vigil in Cheonggye Plaza in central Seoul at 7 p.m. on Saturday, holding up pickets reading "nullify the beef imports and scrap the official notification of the import terms."
Protesters began marching onto the streets leading up to Cheong Wa Dae around 9 p.m. causing a gridlock in the area. Police immediately dispatched about 2,400 riot police to prevent the demonstrators from entering the presidential office after they occupied the eight-lane thoroughfare in front of Kyobo Bookstore in Jongno.
About 500 protesters, mostly in their 20s and 30s, remained on the streets until midnight in defiance of continued police warnings.
At around 4 a.m. the police declared the road occupation illegal and forcibly took 37 protesters, who strongly resisted the crackdown by lying on the ground, to police stations.
At 6.30 a.m. riot police cleared the protesters off the road onto the sidewalks. The move prompted strong resistance from the protesters again, who claim that violence was used during the dispersal process.
Prior to the candlelight vigil on Saturday, about 19,000 workers from seven unions registered with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions rallied in protest of the government's scheme to privatize the public sector. Public servants, journalists and teachers nationwide were among them. (*)
"The incumbent government's policies regarding education, food, medicine and prices, have been devastating the economy for ordinary citizens," said the KCTU.
They protested plans to privatize water, railway, electricity and gas companies, and the state medical insurance.
Following their rallies, they joined the candlelight vigil opposing U.S. beef imports...
Timeline of the "events", according to KCTU:
5월24일(오후)
19:00 서울 청계광장 17회 촛불문화제 개최
21:10 일부 시민들 자발적으로 청와대행진 실시
21:30 촛불집회 참가자들 자발적으로 청와대행진 합류
21:40 경찰, 세종로네거리 병력투입 및 차벽 설치 (통행 및 교통 차단)
22:30 시민들 종로통으로 방향 선회 및 종각 일대에서 청와대행진 시도
23:50 경찰 난입, 행진대오들 분산, 종각 차도 연좌시위 돌입
23:59 경찰 다시 병력 투입
5월25일
00:03 경찰 1차 강제진압 실시 (시민 5명 폭력연행)
00:10 광화문우체국 연도 시민들 '경찰 폭력연행'에 집단 항의
00:13 종각차도, 평화집회 보장 요구하며 연좌농성
00:30 농성중 '이명박타도, 독재타도' 구호 외치며 경찰과 대치
00:50 경찰 병력 재투입, 충돌
01:00 경찰 차량 투입해 차도농성 현장과 보도쪽 분리
01:45 경찰, 농성현장에서 일부 차량과 병력 철수, 시민들 촛불 연좌농성
(점거농성 현장에 정부고시 일주일 연기 소문)
02:00 일부 시민들 광화문 농성소식 듣고 농성현장 합류, 촛불농성 및 자유발언 지속
02:30 청와대 비서관 광화문 농성현장 투입소식 공지
(01:45-04:10 광화문 점거농성현장 연좌시위 및 시민들 자유발언 진행)
04:10 경찰 살수차 2대와 병력 투입
04:25 경찰, 농성현장 지키던 시민들에게 물대포 살수
04:45 농성시민들, 폭력경찰에 항의하며 경찰병력에 밀착해 '평화집회 보장, 협상무효 고시연기' 등 외치며 남녀노소 모두 팔을 건 채 몸을 경찰의 농성현장 침탈 규탄, 격렬 공방
04:48 경찰, 농성장 시민들 향해 소화기 살포 및 폭력진압, 시민부상자 및 연행자 속출
05:15 경찰 살수차 빠지고 병력 투입해 농성현장 계속 침탈, 시민들 '평화시위 보장, 폭력경찰 물러가라, 협상무효 고시철회' 구호 계속하며 '제발 도와달라' 눈물로 호소. 격렬 대치.
05:23 경찰, 다시 폭력침탈
05:25 농성시민들 집단 폭력연행, 시민들 절규.
05:34 대치
05:47 경찰, 또 다시 폭력침탈, 시민들 '독재정권 물러나라' 구호 외쳐
05:50 경찰, 인도까지 경찰투입, 인도에 서서 밤샘농성 벌이며 폭력경찰 물러나라 구호 외치던 시민들 폭력 퇴거
06:18 농성시민들 광화문우체국쪽 인도 쪽으로 고립(경찰 차벽세워 차도와 인도 분리)
07:00 경찰, 세종로네거리, 종각, 청계천 등지에 병력 집중투입
07:30 광화문우체국 인도쪽, 시민들 연좌농성 돌입, 부상자 및 연행자 현황 파악
(source of the pics: Tongil News)
Related articles:
☞ Protestors Rounded Up Before Heading to CheongWaDae (K. Times)
☞ '광우병 촛불', 광장에서 거리로 (통일뉴스)
☞ 청와대향해 네티즌, 시민들 진격투쟁 (민주노총)
* Rationalization Or Massacre? (Korea Times)
Well, it seems that the Lee Myung-bak gov't is now preparing for a final and fatal (especially for the MTU) blow against un-documented migrant workers in S. Korea!
Yesterday's Korea Times published following article:
9,000 Illegal Foreign Workers Face Deportation
About 9,000 illegal foreign workers, about 4.4 percent of the total, are expected to face deportation this year as the government is waging a campaign to arrest "unregistered aliens.''
The campaign against these workers has been stepped up since the Lee Myung-bak administration was launched in February.
President Lee told the labor minister in March that he does not want "illegal foreign workers to stay in the country'' and that the government should come up with countermeasures.
Civic groups expressed concern that government officials, concerned only about numbers, may try too hard and cause injury or other human rights infringement during their searches.
Anxiety among foreign workers is higher than ever, especially after two were severely injured while leaping from the third floor of a building in Maseok, Gyeonggi Province, to avoid a crackdown last November, they said.
Officials of the immigration offices nationwide have been given a quota for the number of illegal residents they should arrest _ for Seoul 600 and Busan, 250. The total quota is made up of 3,000 per month from May to the end of July _ no quota has bee set beyond that.
The immigration office said it was not an order from the top but was made from the bottom. He said staff wrote the number they could handle and the central government just approved it. "The quota will raise efficiency in the crackdown,'' an immigration office official said.
Some illegal sojourners have committed crimes here and these incidents have spawned negative sentiment against these guest workers. A Seoul professor said negative sentiment against illegal workers appears to be growing as the economy is slowing down and the job market gets tighter.
There are cases of immigration officials raiding churches, while some often turn up at workplaces and arrest unregistered people without giving notice to the owner of the facility or bringing legitimate warrants.
Lee Jeong-won, outreach and public relations director of the Migrants' Trade Union, said the officials violation of human rights has been a problem for many and the quota has made many overstaying foreigners nervous.
The Justice Ministry last Thursday deported two of the union's leaders - Toran Limbu of Nepal and Abdus Sabur of Bangladesh.
"It shows clearly that the government has set its mind to get tough against us. The quota just proves what they are thinking,'' Lee said. She said the union is planning to hold a protest against the crackdown on May 25...
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/05/117_24540.html
And only three hours later
Street Vendors Will Join Candlelight Vigil! (*)
Just yesterday Korea Times published an article related to the issue of the permanent repression of street vendors:
Conflicts Between Seoul City, Street Vendors Resurface
Seoul city's plan to clear the streets of venders hit a snag after video clips of the brutal beating of a female vender in her 60s, by a young security guard hired by the city, were released on the Internet.
The street vender of "kimbab,'' or rice rolled with dry seaweed, was brutally beaten. She is seen barely able to sit up, wiping blood from her lips in a UCC posted on Web sites. It is titled "Violence Against Grandmother Selling kimbab.''
The incident took place last Saturday in central Seoul where tens of thousands of citizens flocked to oppose the controversial U.S. beef import.
Police later learned that the assailant was one of the security guards mobilized by Seoul city government to run the candlelit vigil smoothly. Police summoned the 23-year-old to question him over his motivation for the attack.
The Self-Employed Workers' Association, an association for street venders, Tuesday urged the government to clamp down on still rampant security guards' assaults against them. "The assault on the kimbap grandma is just the tip of the iceberg,'' it said in a statement.
In fact, the conflict between street retailers and mobilized guards is not new. Such violence has long been witnessed on kiosk-packed streets. The government and police are also well aware of the existence of violence in the "clean-up'' campaign. But the problem is the authorities even plot and wink at such violent incidents in many cases, the association said.
According to the association, 400 security guards hired by Gwangmyeong city government forcibly dismantled numerous street shops in the city's downtown on April 3. Most affected shops were run by those in their 60s or older. Though it was conceived that the shop runners were feeble enough, the guards pushed them down and even kicked them, leaving two with bone fractures.
"Most guards are gangsters or convicted criminals,'' said Shin Hee-chul, 32, a kiosk runner in northern Seoul. "They are paid around 50,000 won up to 100,000 won in exchange for clearing a requested district.''
The so-called "Security Guards" at "work"..
..attacking/terrorizing street vendors (Uijeongbu, 2004)
Police are too lenient toward them. "Some of them are arrested on charges of doing overdue violence but they are soon freed,'' Shin said.(**)
A police officer said "Of course, we question them when the need arises. Most of them committed only minor violations.''
Shin stressed this conflict between street venders and security guards would continue unless the government legalize street shops.
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/05/117_24489.html
** Bullshit!! Usually they are backed, sometimes even supported by massive presence of riot cops!!
Related articles:
☞ Uijeongbu's Street Vendors are Fighting Back (2004)
☞ Street Vendors' Struggle.. (2007)
☞ 2003.11.30: The Cheonggyecheon Battle
*****
* Reports about y'day's event (updated 5.23):
☞ "대국민담화? 대국민염장지르기!" (통일뉴스, 5.22)
☞ [5.22] 촛불문화제 ("다함께", 5.23)
Yesterday "His Holiness", the "Dalai Lama" - aka the "GodKing" - finished his 33rd visit (in the last 30 years!!) in Germany(*).
And everywhere, where he was asked about the "Tibetan Future" he said that he only wants "real autonomy" for his "HomeLand"..
Short before his visit in Germany he gave a interview to the German leading (bourgeois) magazine Der Spiegel(5.12), were he concretized what he really means: "The Dalai Lama has called for extensive autonomy for a Greater Tibet, which includes both the current Autonomous Region and large parts of the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan, or close to a quarter of the landmass of the People's Republic" (**).
Yesterday Professor E. Sandschneider (German Council on Foreign Relations/DGAP, a conservative bourgeois, but "serious" think tank) said in a interview with the German Phoenix TV that "Abviously the Dalai Lama is demanding religious and cultural autonomy for Tibet. But in fact, sooner or later they will demand the complete independence from China for 'Greater Tibet'."
Well, always the "Dalai Lama" is welcoming the (technically and economically) development in Tibet by China.. But what will be happen when the Dalai Lama has the opinion that's now enough with development (Made in China)..?
* In four cities he held lectures in front of about 20,000 people. Alone in the Bavarian city Bamberg he (or his office, the so-called "Tibetan Gov't in Exile") collected at least 250,000 Euro (300,000,000 won) as entrance fee...
The topic of the lectures: "Human Rights and Globalization". But finally content of the lectures was complete "empty", so every-one of the audience - green "alternatives", extreme right-wing "human-right" activists, parts of the ruling (bourgeois) class - were able to agree totally with "His Holiness's" explanations, according to a regional independent news service in Bavaria.
The "GodKing's" last station in Germany was a "Solidarity Rally" yesterday afternoon in Berlin in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The motto of the rally: "Freedom! Germany for Tibet. Tibet for the World".. And 20,000 friends of the Tibetan independence/fans of the "Dalai Lama"/part-time buddhists joined the event and celebrated his performance.. Of course also there his speech was so empty that every-one could agree with him: "Peace, peace and once again peace!!!"
** The population of this provinces: about 150,000,000 people (among the Han majority many other "national" minorities, such as Hui, Miao, Yi..)! But there are "only" 6 Million Tibetans in this area!!
☞ 'I Pray for China's Leadership' (Spiegel/interview, 5.12)
☞ Romantik und Realität (Tagesspiegel, 5.19)
☞ In Deutschland wird der Dalai Lama zum Popstar (Die Welt, 5.18)
☞ Wolkenkuckucksheim am Himalaya (Jungle World, 5.15)
☞ Besetzt oder befreit? (J. Welt, 5.17)
☞ It was no Shangri-La (Workers World News Service)
The S.K. daily newspaper The Hankyoreh published before yesterday(5.17) following letter, written and sent by comrade Torna Limbu (president of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrant Trade Union/MTU) from the Cheongju Detention/Deportation Center. Comrade Torna, together with comrade Abdus Sabur was deported last Thursday.
Torna-dongji in Cheongju Deportation Center
My respected Koreans and migrant laborers! I greet you in struggle!
They say if you want to be a great person you need to meet great people, and I have met great people like you. I have been unable to become a great activist, but I did my best.
I came to beautiful Korea to escape poverty. But as discrimination towards, and exploitation of, the weak exist everywhere, I gave all my youth wandering about during my difficult life in Korea hoping to realize my Korean Dream, but at no time was I happy.
Korean society changed as time went by, but the oppression and discrimination towards the weak did not. I was unable to receive proper treatment for injuries to my waist, neck, and disk.
Once, someone made use of my legal status as an “illegal alien” to commit fraud against me, and, instead of getting legal help, I suffered more. I have worked hard for the sake of the migrant union since that time in 2003.
But the biggest crisis for me came when I was fired from my company because of the “employment permit program” that began in August 2004. I had no money and could find no work; the crackdown was intensifying and I had nowhere to go.
I came to think that something was wrong, and I thought migrant workers would have to raise their voices. I followed my seonbae (elders) to a sit-in at Myeongdong Cathedral.
The slogans at the time were “Stop the deportations!” and “Fully legalize undocumented migrant workers!”
During the 386-day sit-in struggle I learned more about Korea, and learned more still from the fine Korean seonbae I met, and their determination to struggle was handed down to me as well. A great many Koreans joined in strong solidarity, giving us much needed strength.
The Korean Ministry of Justice, however, was always out to crush the migrant union and would not let me be. On May 2, 2008, at 8:30 p.m., I fell victim to a targeted arrest operation by more than ten Seoul Immigration Office employees on my way to a candlelight protest against imports of American mad cow beef.
Why does the Korean government want to arrest and deport us? There are some 230,000 undocumented migrant workers in Korea; does it want to deport them all? Are the police and the Ministry of Justice on a joint crackdown operation from May 1 to July 31 because the president ordered it to reduce the number of illegal aliens to zero? (*)
How many of our migrant worker friends are going to be hurt or killed in the course of this crackdown? If undocumented migrant workers have done anything wrong, then their only sin is having come to Korea and worked hard to achieve their dreams.
But there is still hope. There is hope because of the solidarity of many Korean citizens and migrant workers. Someday, we will meet again and struggle together and work for more ultimate things, for the abolition of all discrimination. I would ask that you afford more proactive interest in our effort, that you support us and offer your solidarity.
They say cowards kneel. They say betrayers betray. But those who are courageous struggle. All of you who have stood with us migrant workers are fine comrades. And you are courageous comrades. I may already have been deported by the time you read this, but I wish you good health. May we meet again.
Torna Limbu
Cheongju Detention Center
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/288111.html
* Hankyoreh's editor’s note: President Lee Myung-bak said, “We should protect legal foreign laborers, but ban illegal foreign laborers from walking freely,” at a Labor Ministry briefing on March 14.
Related:
☞ ICEM Protests Expulsions by Korea of Migrant Workers’ Union Leaders
☞ 이주노조 지도부 강제출국, 우리의 '힘'으로 노동허가제 쟁취하자!!
TEACHERS TO PART-TIME COPS!!
The S.K. ruling class is experimenting with new and creative forms of "democracy" (as you can read in the following report by today's Korea Times)!!
Wow, that's really progress and development! But actually I don't understand what the new S.K. gov't has to criticize on the N. Korean reality!!?? The Dear Leader in P.Y. couldn't give a "better" order!! (Counter question to some S.K. "progressive" organisations: ...? Well, I think you know what I mean..!!??)
Teachers Mobilized to Disperse Anti-US Beef Rally
More than 800 teachers, mobilized by the education authorities, attempted to send home their students participating in the rally against the U.S. beef imports at Cheonggye Plaza, Saturday.
The teachers were there to "guide'' the participating students to go home at the instruction of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. The education office said students could get hurt in the crowd if they are involved in a clash with police.
Rally organizers and students criticized the education authority's measures. "Banning and supervising students' voluntary participation is an infringement of their human rights,'' a member of the civic coalition against U.S. beef imports said.
Students, civic group members and citizens have held candlelit vigils almost every evening since May 2 to oppose the full opening of the local market to U.S. beef.
Like other vigils since May 2, however, there were neither clashes between ralliers and police, nor any other dangerous, violent situations at the Saturday vigil where 30,000-40,000(*) people gathered. The exact tally varies depending on agencies.
Many teenagers have taken part in the rallies, saying they will be the main "victims'' of American beef, which they believe to be unsafe. They have lit candles despite police warnings that such rallies are illegal.
Educational authorities said earlier that some media and political groups are agitating the youth protests. Some schools sent written requests to students' homes to urge parents to dissuade the children from participating in the demonstration.
The mobilization of teachers at the rally site came after police questioned a high school boy who reported his rally plan to police. On May 6, a police officer in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, took the student out of class and questioned him over why he did it and who was behind the protest. With public criticism mounting for this incident, the officer and school teachers said the questioning took place during break time, not class ― which turned out to be false. The police officer was suspended from his duties.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/05/117_24348.html
☞ 청계광장 6만촛불 집결 '2MB OUT' (민주노총, 5.17)
☞ '버티는 MB, 커져가는 촛불' (통일뉴스, 5.17)
☞ '국민촛불 이명박정권 강타' (민주노총, 5.18)
TORNA AND SABUR DEPORTED!!
As the S.K. Ministry of "Justice" already last week announced/threatened, yesterday in the late evening the two MTU leading activists comrade Torna Limbu and Abdus Sabur were deported. They were deported despite the ongoing massive protests by S.K. and international labour, human right and political groups/activists and an ongoing investigation by the S.K. Nat'l Human Right Commission.
Immediately after the deportation became public AI published a press release:
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE, 15 May 2008
South Korea: Deportation of two
senior officials of the Migrants’ Trade Union
Amnesty International deeply regrets the deportation of Torna Limbu and Abdus Sabur from South Korea today. Mr Limbu, a Nepalese national, and Mr Sabur, a Bangladeshi national, served as president and vice-president respectively at the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU). They were both arrested on 2 May 2008.
The two men were deported despite an ongoing investigation by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) into the allegations of abuse during their arrest, including allegations that they had been beaten by immigration officers. They did not have the opportunity to challenge the decision to deport them. Mr Limbu and Mr Sabur were both detained at Cheongju detention centre in Northern Chuncheong Province, south of Seoul.
Amnesty International considers the arrest, detention and deportation of Torna Limbu and Abdus Sabur to be an attempt by the Government to deprive them of their basic labour rights protected in the South Korean constitution, including the right to freedom of association, and to intimidate migrant workers in general from exercising this right. This right is provided inter alia in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 22), to which South Korea is a state party.
“We are gravely concerned at these measures taken by the Government authorities to stop the MTU from conducting its rightful union activities. They appear to be a continuation of targeted crackdowns against its leadership since November 2007 when three senior MTU officials were arrested and subsequently deported,” said Amnesty International.
Amnesty International calls on the South Korean government to respect the right to freedom of association for all migrant workers and to ensure due process in accordance with national and international human rights standards before any deportation proceedings are carried out.
Related:
☞ Interview with Im Wol-san/MTU (Video by "Hong Gil-dong", 5.15)
☞ 2 Migrants' Union Leaders Deported (Korea Times, 5.16)
The Taiwanese comrades from Coolloud reported two days ago following:
HK-based migrants condemn Korean suppression of MTU
Stop the Crackdown on Migrant Workers!
Members and local friends of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB) and Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) trooped to the South Korean Consulate in Hong Kong today to condemn the recent assaults by the Korean government on Migrants Trade Union.
Also joining the protest action were Koreans from the E-land Trade Union and the labour committee of the People's Solidarity for Social Progress. E-land workers are currently in Hong Kong to oppose the listing of the company's Chinese subsidiary in the HK Stocks Exchange because of exploitative and repressive practices of the said company in Korea.
On May 2, Torna Limbu and Abdus Sabur, president and vice-president of MTU, respectively, were forcibly taken by members of the South Korean Immigration and detained at the Cheongju Detention Center, 2.5 hours south of Seoul.
Limbu was forcibly taken in front of the MTU Office at 8:20PM while Sabur was nabbed from his home earlier that day.
"This assault on the leaders of MTU is an obvious plot by the South Korean government to systematically suppress and crackdown on the growing migrant movement in South Korea," said Dolores Balladares, AMCB convenor and chairperson of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong.
According to Balladares, the Lee Myeong-bak regime has reared its ugly head by blatantly exposing its policy of repression and union-busting against migrant workers and continued crackdown of undocumented migrants in South Korea.
This new regime, she added, only aims to continually deny the trade union status of MTU reasoning that undocumented workers, which composed mainly the MTU membership, do not have rights and consequently should not belong to a union. "Undocumented migrants are not criminals," she stressed.
Although the MTU won the legal case for recognition of trade union status in the Seoul High Court last February 1, 2007, the Ministry of Labor and other elements of the government appealed to the Supreme Court for the repeal of the High Court's decision.
"The Lee Myeong-bak regime is one of the most oppressive and most anti-migrant governments in Asia, if not the most," said Ramon Bultron, APMM director. "It is very ironic, hypocritical and ruthless of this regime to not only deny but intently dehumanize and violate the migrant workers, of whom it continues to exploit and oppress for more economic benefit."
Instead of ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of Migrant Workers and Their Families and creating laws and policies that shall legalize undocumented workers and recognize the right of migrant workers to practice their democratic and political rights, the South Korean government, furthered Bultron, only ups the ante of suppression and rears its ugly fascist head.
"We will continue to express solidarity with the leaders and members of MTU and support for their outstanding calls: the immediate release of Limbu and Abdus, the recognition of MTU's legal union status and the legalization of undocumented migrant workers. We will continue to hound the South Korean government and call on the international community to put pressure on them until they heed these just demands," concluded Balladares...
http://www.coolloud.org.tw/node/20882
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