403개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Yesteray thousands of people took the streets in the center of Seoul to protest against the relocation of USFK from the area near the border to the DPRK to Pyeongtaek, South of Seoul. They also protested against the state terror in the last days and weeks against anti.USFK activists, farmers, workers and students.
The semi official news agency Yonhap wrote yesterday following..
Anti-U.S. activists protest in Seoul against base expansion
Thousands of anti-U.S. activists and students hit the streets here Saturday to protest plans to expand a U.S. military base located south of Seoul.
Some 6,000 protesters staged a candlelight vigil next to the Gwanghwamun intersection in central Seoul in which they called for the release of activists detained during protests against the expansion earlier this month. No major clashes with riot police were reported.
On Voice of People
you can read more in Korean..
More about it you can read here..
전국노동자대회
| 설명: | 광화문 |
| 일자: | 토요일, 5월 13, 2006년 |
| 시각: |
17:00 |
국방부장관퇴진, 군부대철수,
평화농사실현 범국민촛불문화제
| 설명: | 광화문 |
| 일자: | 토요일, 5월 13, 2006년 |
| 시각: |
19:00
..so called democracy in action...
NEVER GIVE UP OUR STRUGGLE!! |
Please check out following sites..
Yonhap published yesterday following stuff..
Prime minister to announce position on anti-U.S. protests
South Korea's prime minister will appeal to anti-U.S. activists to stop staging violent protests against the expansion of a U.S. military base located south of Seoul, the premier's office said Thursday.
Prime Minister Han Myung-sook will announce a "message to the people" after a breakfast meeting with 14 community leaders from all walks of life to discuss the matter Friday morning, the office said.
During the meeting, Han will express concern about a series of violent rallies and discuss ways to persuade activists to abstain from such rallies, it said.
Han mentioned the announcement plan during a meeting of deputy premiers and ministers that she presided over to discuss pending state issues, according to government spokesperson Kim Chang-ho. The issues included the nation's declining birthrate and plans to sign a free trade agreement with the United States.
Tensions have risen ahead of another set of large-scale anti-U.S. rallies planned for this weekend.
In a press conference Thursday, the Pan-national Committee to Deter the Expansion of Pyeongtaek U.S. Base, a coalition of more than 100 anti-U.S. civic groups, reaffirmed the rally schedule in spite of a police ban.
"On Saturday and Sunday, we will hold rallies as scheduled in a peaceful and popular manner with people from all walks of life participating," the committee said.
About 10,000 labor activists and students are schedule to join coalition members in Pyeongtaek on Sunday to protest plans to expand Camp Humphreys, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, after they wrap up a similar rally in downtown Seoul on Saturday.
The police have stood firm, saying they will not sanction such rallies. They plan to block all roads leading up to Daechuri, a contested farming village, to prevent protesters from approach the site.
Civic activists are feared to clash with police and soldiers again during this weekend's planned protests. About 8,000 riot police have been stationed near the site, along with 3,000 soldiers, including 600 military engineers, to guard the area.
Meanwhile, some 300 conservative groups convened an emergency meeting in downtown Seoul on Thursday and called on the government to deal sternly with illegal protests by anti-Americans.
"We will begin activities to defend the free democracy and government power after forming a network next week," the spokesman said.
The groups will also hold rallies in Pyeongtaek on May 20 and in Seoul three days later to criticize the anti-American activists and support plans for the U.S. base relocation, the spokesman added.
Last Thursday, about 540 demonstrators were detained after a clash with riot police and soldiers who evicted them from their
headquarters, an elementary school near Camp Humphreys. More than 200 people on both sides were injured.
Military engineers built a 29-kilometer-long wire fence around
the area that is designated to become the new headquarters for
U.S. troops in South Korea. The Pyeongtaek City government zoned
2.85 million pyeong (one pyeong equals 3.3 square meters) as a
restricted area for military facility protection.
But anti-U.S. protesters and villagers cut through the fences
and clashed with riot police again on Friday, and police
apprehended an additional 90 protesters.
Prosecutors secured six more arrest warrants on Tuesday, but
were forced to release 17 anti-U.S. activists in connection with
last week's violence. That brought to 16 the number of
anti-U.S. protesters who have been arrested following two days of
violence.
As part of a 2004 deal with South Korea, the U.S. plans to relocate its Yongsan Garrison in downtown Seoul and the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division near the border with North Korea to Pyeongtaek, a city of 350,000 people, over the next three years.
Camp Humphreys is set to triple in size by 2008 and become the
U.S. military's chief installation in South Korea as part
of a global U.S. troop realignment for strategic flexibility.
South Korea plans to draw up a master plan on expanding Camp
Humphreys by September, along with studies on its environmental
impact and exploration of cultural assets. Construction is
scheduled to begin in October at the earliest.
But some farmers and organized protesters have defied
government orders to leave the site and vowed to plant a new
spring rice crop.
About 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy
of the 1950-53 Korean War. The two Koreas are still technically in
a state of war since the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a
peace treaty.
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060511/610000000020060511182412E1.html
PLEASE, DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM!!
JUST REMEMBER THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN FRANCE,
OR BETTER IN NEPAL..
ONLY IF WE USE OUR POWER, FORCE, ON THE STREETS ..some call it violence.. THEY, THE RULING CLASS, ARE WILLING TO LISTEN TO US!!
反자본주의..
反제국주의!!
PS..
Today.s newspaper JoongAng Ilbo is writing following..
Permit or none, protesters promise Pyeongtaek rally
|
The conflict between the government and protesters against the relocation of U.S. forces to a new base in Pyeongtaek escalated yesterday, although the confrontation was verbal for now. A coalition of anti-U.S. civic groups said it would hold rallies this weekend in Seoul and in Pyeongtaek despite the rejection by police of a rally permit for the provincial gathering.
The announcement could be a prelude to more violence at the base area in southern Gyeonggi province on Sunday. The rally in Seoul on Saturday and the next day's protest at the base site were announced by the Pan South Korea Solution Committee Against U.S. Base Extension in Pyeongtaek at a press conference yesterday at the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. The committee insisted the rallies would be peaceful. The national police gave permission for the alliance of 130 civic groups to rally Saturday in the capital, but rejected a permit for the next day's event. Provincial police said they would use 18,000 riot policemen to block demonstrators from approaching the base site. Last week, after protesters were evicted from the site, they reassembled, cut fences and attacked the military engineers who were erecting them. For what it was worth, the government seemed to have a majority of Koreans on its side. A poll conducted by the government showed that most people here object to the meddling in the base issue by anti-U.S. activists from outside the Pyeongtaek area. The Office of Government Policy Coordination commissioned TNS on Sunday to poll 1,000 adults nationwide; two-thirds said they disapproved of the outside agitation. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent with 95-percent confidence. About 58 percent of the respondents said the protesters were trying to politicize the forced sale of private land to the government for the base; 60 percent agreed that the protesters' motive was to force U.S. troops out of Korea. Only a third agreed that the protesters were representing residents' interests. The anti-USFK protesters may have some company from the other side of the ideological divide. An alliance of 300 civic groups that support the U.S. base relocation said yesterday that those groups would not sit by idly as protesters interfered with the "legitimate process" of base relocation. The alliance said they would rally next week; police issued a permit for a gathering in Pyeongtaek on May 20. They have not yet applied for a permit for a rally in Seoul planned for May 23.
Korea Herald is writing this today..
Civic groups to go ahead with rallies in Seoul, Pyeongtaek
The government yesterday confirmed its resolve to push ahead with a plan to expand a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, while warning of a stern response to massive anti-American protests due this weekend. Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook chaired a meeting of Cabinet ministers to discuss the simmering dispute. Civic groups said they will go ahead with mass rallies in Seoul and Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of the capital, despite the government's stern position. Han also directed government officials to take measures to minimize conflicts between riot police and demonstrators, her office said. Before the meeting, the office released the result of a recent opinion poll that showed a majority of Koreans oppose violent demonstrations. According to the poll, 81.4 percent of respondents are against the protesters' violence and 65.6 percent are negative to civic activists' involvement in the issue. The survey also showed 74.5 percent answered it is premature for U.S. forces to withdraw from the Korean Peninsula while 22.2 percent voted against both the U.S. presence here and the base relocation plan. The survey was conducted for 1,000 citizens above age 19 by a private polling agency TNS. The protest is organized by the Pan-national Committee to Deter the Expansion of U.S. Bases, a coalition of 138 civic groups. "(We) will hold peaceful mass rallies from May 13 to 14 as planned with the participation of people from all social standings," the committee said in a press conference. On Wednesday, civic groups announced they will hold massive protests this weekend in downtown Seoul and the rural town against the government's forcible enforcement of land expropriation. However, police stood firm, saying it will not authorize the protest in Pyeongtaek and take stern measures if they go ahead. The group urged yesterday the government to organize a consultative institution to peacefully resolve the dispute. Ahead of it, the leftist Democratic Labor Party suggested on Wednesday to mediate a dialogue between the government, residents and activist groups. It also demanded the release of arrestees and the punishment of officials "responsible for the violent oppressions." Sixteen protesters have been issued arrest warrants over two fierce clashes with riot police and troops last week. Amid mounting worries over another possible collision, police are planning to block all roads to Daechuri village, the epicenter of the fierce dispute, to prevent the demonstrators from approaching the sectioned-off site. The government set up a 29-kilometer-long wire fence around the site last week. About 8,000 riot police are stationed in an outer ring of the site along with 3,000 soldiers to guard inside the area. http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/05/12/200605120008.asp |
The reactionary newspaper Chosun Ilbo published yesterday following articles..
Pyeongtaek Protests Grow Into Ideological Confrontation
A coalition of activists opposing the relocation of U.S. military bases to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province will go ahead with renewed protests there on May 14, despite police warnings. Amid fears of fresh violence, groups opposed to the coalition on Thursday announced they will stage their own demonstrations in favor of the relocation of U.S. Forces Korea headquarters there starting May 20. That effectively turns the issue into an ideological dispute between left and right.
In a press conference at Korea Confederation of Trade Unions offices on Thursday, the coalition said it would hold “peaceful and acceptable” demonstrations involving people from all walks of life in Seoul on May 13 and in Pyeongtaek on May 14.
Read the full article here..
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200605/200605110019.html
Violent Pyeongtaek Protests Find Scant Public Support  |
| Some 81 percent of the public oppose violent demonstrations against a planned new U.S. Forces Korea headquarters in Pyeongtaek .......HARRHARR... I CAN.T BELIEVE...... 70 km south of Seoul, and 66 percent condemn intervention from outsiders in the matter, a poll suggests. The Office for Government Policy Coordination on Thursday announced results of a poll by TNS Korea of 1,000 adults nationwide.
While the vast majority opposed violent protests, 17 percent said the base expansion must be quashed by violence if necessary. Some 58 percent said the intervention of outsiders claiming to act on behalf of evicted residents at the site was politically motivated, while 35 percent believed it came to help the locals. Sixty percent said protestors wanted the USFK pull out of the peninsula and 34 percent said demonstrators meant to protect the livelihood of locals.
Asked about the military’s response to the protests, 65 percent said it needs to take harsher measures to protect itself, but 30 percent felt the military was right to restrain itself. Respondents felt the government should accept peaceful demonstrations (49 percent) but curb violence by mobilizing more police (47 percent). An overwhelming majority of 75 percent said it was too early to call for the withdrawal of the USFK, 22 percent said American forces should go. An even bigger majority or 86 percent said activists were unjustified in likening their protests to the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. Meanwhile, the chairmen of the human rights committee of Korea’s four main political parties visited Pyeongtaek on Thursday afternoon to meet activists and residents there to hear from them whether government efforts to quell the protests violated protestors’ human rights. http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200605/200605110030.html |
Btw.. Korea Herald and JoongAng Ilbo are not less reactionary as Chosun Ilbo...
DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
S. KOREAN GOVT. IS HUNTING ANTI.USFK ACTIVISTS
Yonhap ,the S. Korean semi official news agency, wrote yesterday...
23 more protesters face arrest warrants for anti-U.S. violence
South Korean prosecutors sought arrest
warrants Sunday for 23 more anti-U.S. activists who staged violent protests against Seoul's plan to expand an existing U.S. military base south of Seoul.
It brought to 60 the total number of activists, against whom arrest warrants were being sought. On Saturday, prosecutors requested the court to issue arrest warrants for 37 protesters.
Korea Herald..
Prosecution to seek arrest of 60 others who trespassed on restricted land
The prosecution is seeking arrest warrants for 37 activists and farmers who are suspected of organizing violent protests Thursday over plans for a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, a top prosecutor said on Saturday.
"The prosecution has requested a court to issue arrest warrants for the leaders following the government's stern policy against illegal violent protests," said Lee Kwi-nam, head of the prosecution's public security bureau.
About 540 demonstrators were detained Thursday after they scuffled with riot police who evicted them from their makeshift headquarters at the Daechuri Elementary School at the rural town, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. The government deployed about 15,000 riot police and soldiers and 700 security workers to the farmland near Camp Humphreys to enforce a delayed land expropriation for the expansion of the U.S. base. About 120 on both sides were injured during the clash.
The prosecution also said it will seek additional arrests of about 60 protesters who attempted to violate the farmland shut off by the military during last week's collision. While riot police evicted the protesters from the school, engineering soldiers set up a barbed wire fence around the land designated for the U.S. base's tripling in size by 2008.
On Friday, some activists and residents cut off the wires and trespassed on the land where unarmed soldiers were on guard. While the soldiers blocked the demonstrators equipped with wooden sticks from entering the site, dozens of soldiers were injured and 11 were taken to a military hospital by helicopter.
Police apprehended an additional 90 protesters on the spot. The prosecution is poised to request arrest warrants for 60 of them, according Lee.
"We cannot help but take strict legal actions against violent protesters who oppose the U.S. base relocation," Lee said.
The prosecution will arrest those who are suspected of intentionally creating a situation of military-civilian confrontation, he added.
If the additional 60 are arrested, the number is expected to exceed 100 in total, marking the largest security event in nine years since leftist students' protests in 1997. In the student rallies, 195 demonstrators were arrested.
Meanwhile, the protesters' committee in Seoul rallied in front of the Defense Ministry office on Saturday, calling for the exoneration of those arrested and the resignation of the defense minister and the police commissioner.
"We demand for the defense minister and the police commissioner to take full responsibility and resign for the coercive eviction of residents and all the problems caused by the expansion plan," the group said in a statement.
In the evening, some 800 civic activists and students held a candlelit protest in downtown Seoul, censuring the government's action. Later, they marched about 2 kilometers to Myeongdong Cathedral, but no clash with police was reported.
Farmers and civic activists have resisted the government's order to leave the land in Pyeongtaek to make way for an expansion of the U.S. camp which will become the U.S. military's chief installation in Korea by 2008. The U.S. military plans to relocate its Yongsan Garrison in downtown Seoul and the 2nd Infantry Division near the border with North Korea to the region.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/05/08/200605080005.asp
Yesterday, according to VoP, about 3,000 people protested in downtown Seoul, near Gwanghwamun, against the relocation og USFK and the state terror. But please remember in Seoul are living about 12,000,000 people... So it seems that, unfortunately, nobody really is interested...
Please check out this, Korean article...
Please check out also..
..for a more personally view of a non.korean, please check out this..
http://blog.myspace.com/weicave
S. KOREA IS FIGHTING
AGAINST USFK!!
The S. Korean semi.official news agency Yonhap reported yesterday, 5.6, following..
Prosecution to treat protesters against U.S. base sternly
South Korea's prosecution said Saturday that it will sternly deal with those who staged violent protests against a plan to establish an expanded U.S. facility south of Seoul.
About 540 demonstrators were arrested without warrants after they clashed with riot police who raided their stronghold building in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Thursday. Hundreds on both sides were injured.
The prosecution quickly requested a court issue warrants to officially arrest 37 of those suspected of launching more-violent protests, said Lee Kwi-nam, head of the prosecution's public security bureau.
After evicting protesters from the building, army engineers built a wire fence around the area designated to become the new headquarters of 30,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.
But the next day, protesters and villagers cut through the fences and clashed with riot police again. Police apprehended 100 protesters without warrants again.
The prosecution is expected to request warrants for 60 of them, Lee said.
"We cannot but take strict legal actions against violent protesters who oppose the U.S. base relocation," Lee told reporters.
The prosecution is also seeking to arrest those who allegedly masterminded the fence-cutting, he said.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Defense Ministry is considering providing army engineers dispatched to Pyeongtaek with protective gear such as shields, defensive batons and gas masks, a ministry official said.
About 11 soldiers were injured during Friday's clashes. The ministry is also considering additional barricades in front of the wire fences, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the protestors' ad hoc committee, consisting of civic groups and local residents, issued a statement calling for the release of those arrested in the demonstrations and the resignation of the defense minister and the police chief.
"We demand for the defense minister and the head of the police to take full responsibility and resign for the enforced removal of residents and all the flurries caused by the expansion plan," the statement said.
The U.S. military plans to relocate its Yongsan Garrison in downtown Seoul and the 2nd Infantry Division near the border with North Korea to Pyeongtaek.
The existing Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek is set to triple in size by 2008 and become the U.S. military's chief installation in South Korea, which is part of the U.S. global troop realignment for flexibility.
Last year, the South government took legal control of about 3.49 million pyeong of land (one pyeong equals 3.3 square meters) and has since been seeking to clear the area of people who remain there.
But some farmers and organized protesters have defied government orders to leave the site and vowed to continue farming.
FASCIST POLICE TERROR!!
Al Jazeera published 5.5 following article..
Violence over US bases in S Korea
For Korean reports please check out
..and of course
..and last but not least
NO RELOCATION OF USFK TO PYEONGTAEK!
JUST KICK OUT USFK!!
STOP THE STATE TERROR!
Koreans protest U.S. base plans
By Choe Sang-Hun International Herald Tribune 
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2006
The government sent in thousands of police officers and unarmed troops, water cannons and helicopters to drive villagers and activists from a hamlet on Thursday, saying that their refusal to make room for an expanding U.S. military base threatened an alliance with Washington.
The South Korean authorities said that at least 117 police officers and 93 protesters had been hurt in fighting that highlighted efforts by Seoul to juggle two forces: the U.S. military with 30,000 troops in the country and a populace that is increasingly disenchanted with that military presence.
The fighting at the rice-farming village of Daechuri near the U.S. base named Camp Humphreys, in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers, or 40 miles, south of Seoul, was the most violent anti- American demonstration here in years.
Using clubs and water cannons, 11,500 police officers stormed the village at dawn. More than 1,000 students, unionists and villagers fought back with rocks and bamboo sticks, according to witnesses, TV footage and local news reports.
The protesters scattered, but about 300 made a last stand in the upper floor of an abandoned two-story school building, erecting barricades, hurling stones and shouting slogans against the U.S. military.
After a standoff that lasted hours, the police smashed their way in and hauled out protesters for questioning.
Several bleeding demonstrators were carried out on stretchers. The protest organizers said the casualty toll was larger than the figure cited by the police, but did not give a specific figure.
The last people to leave the building were several Roman Catholic priests and two lawmakers who had been camped on the roof. They said they opposed the U.S. base's expansion because it deprived the villagers of farmland and increased the possibility of war on the Korean Peninsula.
The removal of the villagers, who had occupied the middle of about 1,100 hectares, or 2,700 acres, of government-purchased land, will allow the Pentagon to go ahead with its plan to close most of the U.S. bases in Seoul and near the border with North Korea. Those bases are to be replaced by the expanded base at Pyeongtaek by 2008.
"The relocation project is the inevitable choice for us, aimed at strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and deterring a war on the Korean Peninsula," Defense Minister Yoon Kwang Ung of South Korea said. "We can no longer delay it; unless it progresses normally, it will hurt our diplomatic credibility."
The police and about 3,000 soldiers erected a 29-kilometer razor wire fence around the government land, which will be used to triple the size of Camp Humphreys.
Parliament has approved an agreement signed in 2004 to withdraw U.S. bases from the front line with the North for the first time since the end of the Korean War. Under the multibillion-dollar project, the Pentagon will close its sprawling Dragon Hill headquarters in the center of Seoul.
In the past century, Dragon Hill has been occupied by Chinese troops, Japanese Imperial Army units and American soldiers who came during the Korean War and stayed. For decades, the base symbolized the American sacrifices during the war and the security that helped make the rapid South Korean economic growth possible.
But younger generations consider Dragon Hill a daily reminder of foreign military influence and a slight to national pride.
Yonhap..
Anti-U.S. protesters clash with police again over U.S. base
Hundreds of anti-U.S. activists and college students scuffled with police for a second day on Friday at a site designated for expanded U.S. military facilities south of Seoul. Several people were injured, according to police.
On Thursday, police armed with batons and shields evicted the remaining occupants and activists from an elementary
school, a makeshift headquarters for the protesters. More than 500 were arrested, and some 210 police and protesters were injured.
Korea Times..
Police Investigate 524 Pyongtaek Activists
Korea Herald..
Cheong Wa Dae says no more delays to Pyeongtaek base plan
Chosun Ilbo..
Hundreds Held in Eviction of U.S. Base Protesters
FIGHT BACK!!
STOP THIS F... PLAN!!
ONCE AGAIN.. THE ROH GOVT. IS REACTING
LIKE A DICTATORSHIP..
Yesterday the German N24 TV station and CNN International reported briefly about the struggle against the relocation of the USFK from Seoul, and the border to the DPRK areas, to Pyeongtaek.
IHT wrote this about the struggle..
South Korean police and villagers clash over U.S. base
The South Korean government sent in thousands of police officers and unarmed troops, water cannons and helicopters to drive out villagers and activists from a hamlet on Thursday, saying that their refusal for months to make room for an expanding U.S. military base threatened an alliance with Washington.
At least 117 police officers and 93 protesters were injured, according to the South Korean authorities, in the clash that highlighted efforts by Seoul to juggle two forces: the U.S. military with 30,000 troops here and a domestic populace that is increasingly disenchanted with the American military presence.
The clash at the rice-farming village of Daechuri near the U.S. base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers, or 40 miles, south of Seoul, was the most violent anti-American demonstration here in recent years.
Armed with clubs and backed by water cannons, 11,500 police officers stormed the village at dawn. More than 1,000 students, unionists and villagers fought back with rocks and long bamboo sticks, according to witnesses, TV footage and local news reports.
The outnumbered protesters scattered, but about 300 made a last stand in the upper floor of an abandoned two-story school building, erecting barricades with furniture and hurling down stones and shouting slogans against the U.S. military. After a standoff that lasted several hours, the police smashed their way in and hauled out protesters for questioning.
Several bleeding students were carried out on stretchers. The protest organizers said the casualty toll was larger than what was cited by the police, but did not give a specific figure.
The last people to leave the building were several Roman Catholic priests and two lawmakers who had been encamped on the roof. They said they opposed the U.S. military's relocation because it deprived the villagers of their farmland and increased the possibility of war on the Korean Peninsula.
The removal of the villagers, who had occupied the middle of about 1,100 hectares, or 2,700 acres, of government- purchased land, will allow the Pentagon to go ahead with its plan to close most of the U.S. bases in Seoul and near the border with North Korea. Those bases would be replaced by the expanded base at Pyeongtaek by 2008.
"The relocation project is the inevitable choice for us, aimed at strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and deterring a war on the Korean Peninsula," the South Korean defense minister, Yoon Kwang Ung, said Thursday. "We can no longer delay it; unless it progresses normally, it will hurt our diplomatic credibility."
The police and about 3,000 soldiers erected a 29-kilometer razor wire fence around the government land, which will triple the size of Camp Humphreys.
The South Korean Parliament has approved an agreement signed in 2004 to withdraw U.S. bases from the front line with the North for the first time since the end of the Korean War. Under the multibillion-dollar project, the Pentagon will close its sprawling Dragon Hill headquarters in the center of Seoul.
In the past century, Dragon Hill has been occupied by Chinese troops, Japanese Imperial Army units and American soldiers, who came during the Korean War and stayed. For decades, the base symbolized the American sacrifices during the war and the security that helped make the rapid South Korean economic growth possible.
But younger generations consider Dragon Hill a daily reminder of foreign military influence and a slight to their national pride.
"In the past 50 years, we have been much indebted to others, especially the United States. We thank them and the two countries will remain friends forever," President Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea said Wednesday. "But it's one thing to rely on someone and it's quite another for us to live independently and become friends."
With a history of being frequently invaded by China and Japan, Roh said his country was wary of the growing military influence of China and of a joint front by the United States and Japan to check the Chinese rise.
Seeking greater military independence, Roh's government is negotiating to persuade the U.S. military to give up the wartime control of South Korean troops, which Seoul handed over to the Americans during the Korean War.
But Roh also has demonstrated his sensitivity to U.S. interests by sending South Korean troops to help the Americans in Iraq, and by embracing a U.S. military realignment that calls on South Korea to spend more on its military while giving U.S. forces in Korea the flexibility to join missions elsewhere in the region.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon struck a similar deal with Japan under a global strategy of regrouping U.S. troops into mobile, faster-moving units to respond to new threats like terrorism. The Pyeongtaek hub, with its own airfield and located near a port, is crucial to the Pentagon's scheme.
Activists criticized the "strategic flexibility" agreement, citing fears that South Korea might be dragged into conflicts that do not directly involve the Korean Peninsula.
"We must stop Pyeongtaek from turning into the U.S. military's supply base for war," Lee Tae Ho, a civic group leader, said in a recent lecture. Lee noted that after the relocation, the U.S. military would be positioned along the Korean west coast, facing China.
Officials in Washington and Seoul say that the U.S. military's role in South Korea remains defensive. Seoul maintains that Washington agreed to seek its consent before redeploying U.S. troops out of the country.
In the past months, the confrontation at Pyeongtaek has drawn headlines as activists turned up to help 200 villagers resist their eviction, for which they had been offered compensation by the government.
Although their eviction was approved by a court, the villagers planted a spring rice crop. The government blocked the irrigation canals. Negotiations made no progress
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/04/news/korea.php
More about the background about the struggle you can read here..
Restless Pyeongtaek..
by twokoreas.blog
http://twokoreas.blogspot.com/2006/03/restless-pyeongtaek.html
..BIRTHDAY PARTY
이주노동자의 방송 MWTV가 첫방송을 내보낸지 벌써 1년이 되었습니다. 아무 대책없이 시작해서 좌충우돌 정신없이 만들다 보니 어느덧 1년이란 시간이 흘렀습니다. 저희가 자축도 할 겸, 여러분의 충고와 질책도 들을 겸 해서 자리를 마련했습니다.
방송에 참여하는 여러나라의 친구들이 각자의 다양한 음식도 준비하기로 했습니다. 바쁘신 중이라도 시간내시어 즐거운 시간을 함께해 주시면 고맙겠습니다.
..연대..
*일시-3월 31일 오후 5시부터
*장소-KINIKNI을지로4가 삼풍빌라 지하 1층
*문의; 삼각수하철대위 연사부장 010-9717-0188
전국철거민연합 02-833-5563
=동지들! 함께 합시다. 많은 참석을 바랍니다.
For more informations please read this..
..and this
..and check out here..
http://pw87.jinbo.net/main/main.html
...aeh, (I think) it was already reported about it some hours ago here:
http://blog.jinbo.net/imc/?pid=31
..and I think until now there is nothing really new(??).
If you want to see how the S.K. government used(well, nowadays they might try to to the same..) to 'deal' with railway workers' strikes in the past, just watch the video here:
http://db.voiceofpeople.org/new/news_view.html?serial=4905&category=type10
(민중의소리, 2003)
(source: 민중의소리, June 2003)
[source: base21/jinbonet(http://base21.jinbo.net/), June 2003]
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yeah, stop the military terror against the civilians.i was in Daechuri only to get beat up by the police...
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come to www.saveptfarmers.org to get real-time updated news from Pyeongtaek, too!부가 정보
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감사.. dear 同志!부가 정보