CINA

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Last Weekend's Events in Seoul

First of all last Saturday afternoon/evening the final event of STREET ART FESTIVAL

(for more please see also: November: Peace Activities in Seoul)

took place in front of downtown's Boshin-gak.

More impressive pictures about the event you can see here:

20061111 -- 대추리를 지켜라 거리예술제(폐막일)

At the same evening until the early next morning the "Central Proletarian Culture Night/전국노동자대회 전야제" took place in Yeouido.

More about it you can read here in Korean: 

"승리에 대한 한 치의 의심도 버려라" (VoP)

노동자의 삶과 투쟁의 기록, 제2회 노동영상제 (VoP)

On Sunday afternoon the "Central/National Workers' Rally" was held in front of Seoul's City Hall. According to several newspapers/Internet magazines about 30,000 workers (maximally) joined the event (KCTU actually expected at least 100,000 participants).

For more please check out following articles in Korean and English:

“싸울 것인가 말 것인가, 기로에 섰다” (Chamsesang)

등돌린 양대노총 엇갈린 ‘총력전’ (Hankyoreh)

http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/labor/171251.html

The German "socialist" daily Junge Welt reported 11.13 in short news:

"Seoul: 'We Want General Strike!'

..30,000 workers demonstrated in the S. Korean capital Seoul for better protection of irregular workers.. The crowd demanded 'We Want General Strike!'.."

Aeh~ from whom? As a gift? Or they want to pay for it? ...

BTW.. VoP headlined on its main/entrance page11.12:

"Strike - Victory, Anti-US Struggle"

Hae~ ????

And please, what's that (the background painting on the main stages for 11.11/12 workers' rallies)?

NK/KPA artillery shells raining on the heads of the SK working class??

PS:

Scenes from the same event ("National/Central Workers' Rally") but three years ago (Nov.9, 2003) you can watch here(for to see it, press the "play" button!):

Made by 숲속홍길동同志

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2001年 11月 12日 ~

"OH..!"

^_^

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Well, last night my comrades from MTU (Migrant Workers' Trade Union) uploaded for me a video message (THANX, dear dongji!!):

Made by 숲속홍길동同志

And they wrote following for me:

"..of course we are fighting an increasingly dangerous fight... These days we cannot even obtain permission for rallies and demonstrations. Crackdown is worse than ever and many of our comrades are being caught. Remember Kabir? He was caught on Sunday. We trying everything we can to get him released, and of course he is fighting very hard inside immigration. Down with EPS!!"

Kabir - a.k.a. "Seongsu"/"Cooking" Kabir(^^) is/was one of our most active members in MTU/ex ETU-MB. Beside his work of organization in the migrant worker community in SK, especially in the area where he was working and living, he was one of the most active persons during our one year sit-in strike in Myeong-dong in 2003/2004 (coming week I'll write more about it).

Comrade Kabir, arrested last Sunday by immigration cops

Of course MTU will have today (11.11) during the "Workers Struggle Culture Night" (I call it like that, actually originally it is called: 전국노동자대회 전야제)  - from the late evening until the early (??) morning - in Yeouido's Culture Park their own solidarity tent. JUST VISIT THEM!!!(*)

○일시 : 11월 11일(토) 7시부터
○장소 : 전국노동자대회 전야제 장소
○주최 : 민주노동당 서울시당

민주노동당 당원들과 이주노동자들이 함께 하는 "아름다운 동행"을
전국노동자대회 전야제 장소에 민주노동당 서울시당이 연대의 한마당으로
준비했습니다.

이주노동자들의 삶과 투쟁을 다룬 영상 과
민주노동당 당원과 이주노동자들이 함께 준비한 작은 문화공연을
준비했습니다.

민주노동당 당원동지들과 노동자 여러분들을 초대합니다.
많은 동지들의 참석과 성원 바랍니다.

* and enjoy together with our comrades Baek Saeju, Makolli, Soju.. Aeh, if there is still something left over..^^

PS: You should drink soju as much as you can, because - beside the fact that it's f.. cold tonight - the empty bottles can be used tomorrow for... (of course only) FLOWER VASES^^

전국노동자대회

일시 : 2006年 11月 12日, 14:00~

장소 : 서울시청앞 광장

*****

BTW.. JoongAng Ilbo's latest edition reported following:

Rally and rock concert to meet head-on

The "left"-liberal Hankyoreh published this article:

Gov’t approves alternate union rally plan

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전국노동자대회 전야제

(11月11日, Yeouido, Munhwa-madang/Culture Park)

Wow.. SOJU, MAKOLLI....^^....(only 3,000 won!!^^)

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STOP THE OCCUPATION!!

Already some days ago (11.3) Korea Herald reported following:

 Riot police unit to guard U.S. base site  
   
Police said yesterday they plan to keep riot police units around a U.S. base site from next week in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul.

The 14 units comprising 1,400 riot police will replace police troops to more effectively secure the site designated for a U.S. military base expansion.

Police have dispatched 32 rotating units to fend off attempts by local residents and anti-U.S. activists to break into the fenced land.

Protesters have staged a series of fierce resistances against the plan to triple the size of U.S. Camp Humphreys. The expansion is planned to take place by 2008.
 
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/site/data/html_dir/2006/11/03/200611030037.asp?kpage=11&kppage=1&scode=FA&art_id%22=

Now, since y'day, it seems that the government/police/military wants to carry out/realize its threat!

In the latest online edition of (the conservative/extreme rightwing) JoongAng Daily following was published:

"Military engineers laying concertina wire yesterday on an expanded perimeter of the U.S. base site in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi province. The barrier is an attempt to keep dogged anti-U.S. protesters from entering the area." [NEWSIS-JoongAng Ilbo, 11.8]

The Internet magazine Voice of the People (VoP) published just a short while ago following pictures about yesterday's occupation activities by the SK military in the area of Pyeongtaek-Daechuri/Daeduri:

Unfortunately there is no detailed information in English about the latest developments there available..

But VoP published a report (in Korean), incl. two docu videos. Please check it out here:

평택 철조망 추가 설치...지킴이들 진입하다 연행

More here:

국방부의 야만적인 추가철조망작업 시작!!

(평택미군기지확장저지 범국민대책위원)

철조망 추가 설치로 주민들 고립압박 자행하는

국방부를 규탄한다. (With a lot of pictures!!)

http://www.spark946.org/bugsboard/index.php?BBS=s_news&action=viewForm&uid=1363&page=1

평택 20만평 철조망 추가설치...주민 반발 (Ohmynews)

www.saveptfarmers.org (NEWS) wrote following report:

Police and soldiers invade and fence off Pyeongtaek fields

A huge number of police and soldiers attacked Daechuri and Doduri fields on November 8th. The soldiers dug up the edge of the fields with backhoes and set barbed wire all day long, surrounded by the police on guard. On the previous day, the Ministry of National Defense had announced that they were planning to add 2.8 km of barbed wire to the fields in Daechuri and Doduri, in order to block the residents from farming in the fields that hadn't been fenced off in May. They also said that they had invented a special unit of 1,400 soldiers to put on guard in the fields every day.
 

This most recent barbed wire attack is considered to be another tactic to make people give up their struggle by stopping their farming. The farmers had been farming the fields collectively since May. They had successfully completed this season's rice harvest and were preparing to plant winter crops. The attack has made the situation of struggle worse, especially after the residents' representative, Kim Ji-Tae was given 2 years-prison sentence last week.
 

While the police and soldiers were working on the barbed wire, several KCPT activists ran into the field crying, "Stop it!", "Don't break the peace!" and "Give up on extending the base!". Soon after, they were surrounded by the police and arrested. The other members of KCPT were having an urgent press conference in front of the police line and protesting, "Stop digging the field and setting the barbed wire, and free Kim Ji-Tae right now!"
 

However, the number of people who struggled this day was just about 20 while the police and the army moved more than 2 helicopters and 45 infantry companies to carry out the attack...(!!!)

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*****

Coming Sunday, as it is a tradition in SK, the "Central Demonstration of the Working Class" should take the streets of downtown Seoul, but the f.. cops (National Police Agency/Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency) seems to have complete different plans..

In Korea Times latest edition following unbelievable story is published:

Police Ban Weekend Rallies in Central Seoul
 

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Tuesday that it refused to give permission to the two flagship labor unions to hold massive rallies in central Seoul because they could cause traffic jams.

One of the rejected rallies was planned by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) which aimed to bring 200,000 workers from across the country to Kwanghwamun, in central Seoul on Nov. 12...

The police said that the rally planned by KCTU would have caused serious traffic jams and inconvenience to the public since its industrial unions planned to march toward Kwanghwamun after holding rallies at Chongmyo, Myongdong and Seoul Station...

The rejections of the requests is in line with the National Police Agency’s (NPA’s) policy to deal strictly with rallies that could cause inconvenience to the public. As the inconvenience of traffic jams caused by massive rallies takes place frequently, the National Police Agency (NPA) ordered regional offices on Sept. 27 to disallow rallies that would cause traffic congestion.

However, a mass rally by the Dump Truck Drivers’ Confederation in central Seoul is to take place since their request was made before NPA’s order. The police are currently attempting to persuade the association not to allow its members to march on roads during the rally.

The NPA’s order has sparked criticism from civic groups which claim the measures limit the freedom of assembly guaranteed by the Constitution...

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200611/kt2006110717380653460.htm

The "left-liberal" daily Hankyoreh is writing following about the same case:

S.K. freedom of assembly questioned

(incl. a mistake: they confuse FKTU with KCTU^^)

But... Just remember Mao Zedong's words:

"When the enemy is fighting us, it's good and not bad!" (^^)

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"The Korean people dislike following foreign style, dancing to others' tune and lagging behind them. They prefer Korean dances when they dance and love Korean songs when they sing."

(All Koreans Called upon to Deepen National Self-Respect in Rodong Shinmun)

Yeah, that's really true! Just watch and enjoy this perfect performance:

And here's another very impressive example - "Shinhwa performing in the DPRK" - to proof Rodong Shinmun's statement (please watch carefully the reaction of the audience!!^^):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM1avYwLC6I

Yaya, "The Korean people.."

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Following article, based on a (in my opinion very significant) interview with "Prachanda", the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal(Maoist), was published in Daily Telegraph(UK) 11.01.

Nepal's 'fierce one' spurns Chairman Mao and claims centre ground in peace talks

The commander of the most successful modern-day Communist insurgency, in Nepal, has turned his back on the legacy of Mao Tse-tung, claiming that he will embrace multi-party democracy to bring peace to the country after a decade of bloodshed.

Prachanda, the rebel leader who took inspiration from revolutionary China to prosecute his "people's war", indicated that he was even prepared to accept a transitional period in which Nepal's monarchy would be preserved.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Prachanda, whose nom de guerre means "the fierce one", said his Maoist rebels had learnt the lessons of past revolutionary movements and recognised that the way to achieve a "vibrant and dynamic society" was by permitting healthy competition among political parties.

Speaking as a new round of negotiations with the government opened, he explained how he hoped ultimately to trade lasting peace for an end to the country's 238-year-old monarchy.

Prachanda, 52, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, said: "We have taken so many lessons from the revolutions and counter revolutions of the 20th century.

"Even under the dictatorship of the proletariat, multi-party competition is necessary to have a vibrant and dynamic society."

He blamed the monarchy for Nepal's status as one of Asia's poorest countries, with a per capita annual income of around £140.

"We are not fighting for socialism,"(*) he said, claiming that his party had drifted to the centre.

"We are just fighting against feudalism. We are fighting for a capitalistic mode of production. We are trying to give more profit to the capitalists and industrialists."

The Daily Telegraph met Prachanda after a taxi ride to a discreet Kathmandu hotel, accompanied by Maoists.

Along the route, the guide signalled our progress to plain-clothed spotters standing amid the crowds on the bustling pavements.

Prachanda, a former school teacher and erstwhile employee of the American development agency USAID, believes that he is just a step away from joining mainstream politics, and was at pains to present a moderate image.

"If [the prime minister Girija Koirala] can go for a republican state then we can easily lock up 100 per cent of our arms right now," he said.

"But if you want to compromise with the feudal monarchy then it will not be beneficial for the democratic expression of the people to lock up all our arms right now."

Prachanda's rebel campaign has cost more than 13,000 lives and transformed Nepal from a sleepy backwater into what many analysts fear could become a failed state.

But in April, the Maoists and democratic opposition parties jointly organised protests against the autocratic government led by King Gyanendra. Hundreds of thousands of people joined the movement which forced the king from power. He appointed a prime minister and took on merely ceremonial duties.

Democrats then formed a coalition government committed to making peace with the Maoists.

They pledged to hold elections for an assembly that would rewrite the constitution, a long standing rebel demand.

Since then, the prime minister has consistently supported a ceremonial role for the king, but Prachanda spoke optimistically of a "breakthrough" within the next week.

He believes that a compromise is possible, with the rebels submitting to phased "arms management" under United Nations supervision. In return, he insists, all the king's property must be nationalised.

Under the proposed deal, the fate of the monarchy would then be decided by the first meeting of the constitutional assembly to be elected next year.

Despite the modernising rhetoric, Prachanda was unrepentant about the deaths that his unfinished revolution has caused. He described meeting with the relatives of young policemen and soldiers his party had killed.

He said he had told them: "We are sorry, but this is a political process."

Prachanda added: "We are not happy that so many people have died but historical necessity is a very strong thing, you know."

Critics claim that human rights abuses by the Maoists continue, especially in connection with their "people's courts" justice system, but he dismissed the allegations as "minor mistakes" and "propaganda". Two weeks ago, industrialists called a general strike in protest at Maoist "extortion". Prachanda describes the payments as "voluntary donations".

But, despite the high stakes and continuing acrimony, Prachanda appears relaxed. Even during the hectic peace negotiations process, he said, he liked to watch films in the evenings.

Some European "comrades" recently sent him DVDs of the slavery movies Sparticus and Amistad.

"There are still some European communists," he said.(**)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/31/wnepal31.xml

* ??? What the f.. hell is that? A "communist" party not fighting for socialism anymore, but for capitalism ("We are trying to give more profit to the capitalists..")?? Harrharr..

** If the article/interview is true - and actually I believe it - likely he really means "There are still some idiots in Europe".

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Kim Jong-Il Interprets Sunrise As Act Of War (10.31)
 
PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA – Increasingly defiant toward international pressure since his nation's first nuclear test in early October, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il condemned this morning's sunrise, calling it "another hostile, deliberately timed act by the world community" and "a clear and blatant declaration of war."

According to North Korean military sources, the sunrise, sighted at 6:17 a.m. by patrolling officers, was not fully confirmed until an hour later, at which time Kim assessed the threat himself, and immediately released a harshly worded warning to the U.S. and the United Nations Security Council.

"The Democratic People's Republic Of Korea condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this act of aggression on our eastern border," read a statement printed in the state-run Korean Central News Agency. "If another act of this nature occurs at any time in the next 24 hours, we will be left with no choice but to retaliate with the full might and power of our armed forces."
 

In addition to denouncing the "imperialist invasive assault," Kim also supplied the U.N. with an extensive list of "unacceptable" international actions. According to Kim's list, North Korea will no longer tolerate the encroachment of Japanese waters onto its western shore, will view the accumulation of cumulus clouds in restricted airspace as acts of intimidation, and will not hesitate to respond militarily to any "violent and unprovoked bursts of wind."

Kim outlined further "extreme transgressions" that would be worthy of more immediate and serious military retaliation.
 

"Economic sanctions on North Korean imports and exports, the reintroduction of cuff links as a fashion accessory, a sudden drop in lower-middle-class spending habits, sporadic changes in the migratory patterns of monarch butterflies, the announcement of yet another new sports drink, a daily rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher than 3.5 points, shorter hemlines, inspections of North Korean cargo in an attempt to intercept weapons or weapons parts, or the release of a new U2 album—any of these actions will be interpreted as an act of war, and force us to take drastic measures to protect our sovereignty," said Kim in a written statement, which also warned that the world's third-largest standing army is prepared to deliver a "merciless blow at a moment's notice" if the leaves begin to turn colors and fall from the trees of North Korea. "Though we desire peace, we have seen the signs of war on the horizon, and we are not afraid to act."

Despite claims from China that Kim's statements are "nothing more than hollow threats," the U.S. remains worried that the communist republic may test a second nuclear weapon in response to Sony's new line of 62-inch flat-screen television sets.
 

"The United States wants nothing more than to engage the North Koreans in diplomatic talks, but we will not simply cave in to these bullying tactics," said Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice, who called the Asian nation's response to Wednesday's events "politically questionable." "That said, we are carefully reviewing their demands, and believe we can find some common ground on concerns over NBC's Thursday-night lineup."

Kim Jong-Il decried Rice's remarks, the side to which her hair was parted, and the fact that she was wearing blue, calling each an "indisputable and highly charged admission of war that North Korea will not be cowed by."

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/54667

Angry KPA units promising deadliest retaliation

against any attacks against the DPRK

Meanwhile, just few days before and later..

Successful Nuclear Test Hailed in Different Provinces (10.26)

More Meetings Hail Successful Nuclear Test (10.28)

More Meetings Hail Successful Nuclear Test (10.30)

More Meetings Held to Hail Successful Nuclear Test (11.2)

..while nearly at the same time, at least since last Tuesday, the DPRK promised to rejoin the 6-party-talks to dismantle its nuclear weapon program ^^

*****

Another really "funny" remark by KCNA (11.1):

Workers' Struggle in S. Korea

Pyongyang, October 31 (KCNA) -- Organizations under the south Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) are these days waging a struggle for a victory in the general strike of workers in Seoul, according to a media report. The Federation of Public Transport and Service Trade Unions under the KCTU on October 26 held its Seoul regional meeting for a victory in the general strike near the general building of the "government".

    A resolution read out at the meeting bitterly denounced the "government" for gravely threatening the right to existence of the workers and other strata of the people by the negotiations for the conclusion of the south Korea-U.S. "Free Trade Agreement" and declared that the workers would closely unite and stubbornly wage the struggle to thwart the signing of FTA...

http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200611/news11/01.htm#3

Well, please keep in mind that the SK gov't ("south Korean war maniacs"/KCNA) is just a  "government" - a so-called gov't.(*)

..

S. Korean Security Authorities' Fascist Plot under Fire

..

Book on Songun Policy Published in S. Korea 

"Songun policy.. has an enormous influence on the victory of the movement for independence and democracy of the south Korean society and national reunification, helps defend peace with the strength of justice, makes it possible to defeat imperialism with a steadfast anti-imperialist class stand and pushes forward global independence and helps fully meet the demand of the Juche idea. 
The book is reportedly on sale in south Korea." ^^ 

And now you just have to find out what's parody and what's not..^^

* BTW I have nothing to do with any gov't!!! I only wanted to say..

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About two month ago friends of mine from Finland - once again - got the possibility to participate on Pyeongyang Int'l Film Festival. And only two days ago another friend (from Japan) sent me a copy of p. 174 of the official festival catalogue:

하하..

Sept. 2000 I had also the possibility to participate PY Film Festival. And only few weeks later my first article about Korea, in this case about the DPRK, was published in a German magazine:

"Party in Pyeongyang"

http://www.nadir.org/nadir/periodika/jungle_world/_2000/43/32a.htm (독어..hihi..)

And a little more than one year later I visited the first time S.K. (during PIFF), .. but this is another story..^^