CINA

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DARK AMBITIONS vs."총"파업(*) 

The documentary was shot and produced by

"'High Speed' Hong Gil-dong from the Forest"

http://www.nodong.com/hong/

(*): a.k.a. the bright light of the REVOLUTIONARY FUTURE... ^^

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Today Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) called for "General Strike" (GS) against the planned new bill for, or better said against irregular workers in S. Korea. (Right now I just will write about what was going on today, what I understood from the Korean reports and documentaries. Later I will write down my thoughts about the GS. So, no comment right now!)

According to the internet magazine Minjung-ui Sori about 10.000 workers joined the main rally in Seoul/Yeouido, near the National Assembly (NA), the S.K. parliament.

According to a speech of KCTU all across S.K. 60.000 workers joined the GS. After the main rally several activists wanted to march in the direction of NA, but they were blocked by large units of riot cops and many lines of their huge buses.

After some - not really violent - clashes between the activists and the cops havy water canon attacks against the entire rally begun. From now some more serious clashes started: the cops used riot shields and truncheons and the protestors bamboo sticks. The clashes continued until the early evening hours.

A summarizing report in Korean, including three video docus about the rally and the clashes, you can read/see here:

http://www.vop.co.kr/new/2005120133506.html

Meanwhile thousands of farmers clashed with the riot cops downtown Seoul.

In the afternoon they begun a rally in Seoul's university district Daehak-no, near downtown, to protest against the past police terror against their protests (I already wrote about this several days ago).

After the rally they marched the short route to Jong-no/Sejong-no intersection, one of the main traffic routes in Seoul. There, after the protestors took the intersection, large units of riot cops with their buses and water canon tanks blocked the way what could lead to the dirction of Cheonghwadae, the residence of the S.K. president.

Source of the pics: Minjung-ui Sori

Only after a short while later also there the cops started massive attacks with water canons against the demonstrators, under them many women...

Also here direct confrontations between the cops and protestors errupted soon and continued until the early night hours.

Until now I don't found numbers of the cops, but when I think about my experience in protests like today I would estimate that several ten thousands of the riot cops were on the spot.

A summarizing report (in Korean) you can read here (including a video docu):

http://www.voiceofpeople.org/new/2005120133510.html

The semi-official news agency Yonhap reported this:

Militant labor group begins strike over non-regular worker bill

South Korea's militant umbrella labor group, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), launched a nationwide general strike on Thursday, asking for greater protection of non-regular workers' rights in a government-proposed legislation.

The walkout, however, is unlikely to have a serious impact on the nation's key industries, as merely 10 percent, or 60,000, of its 620,000 affiliated unionists complied with the strike call.

It continued here:

http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20051201/610000000020051201175313E6.html

What the bourgeois Korea Times is writing about the same issue you can read here:

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200512/kt2005120119372411990.htm

And as I wrote already: FROM ME, NOW, NO COMMENT...

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Here the first stuff from the bourgeois S.K. media about the so-called General Strike by KCTU, starting tomorrow, 12.01. More about it will follow soon.

Semi-official news agency Yonhap today, 11.30:

Violent clashes between police and protesters expected Thursday

Violent clashes between police and protesters are expected Thursday as thousands are set to protest further liberalization of the rice market and discrimination against non-regular workers at a rally in downtown Seoul, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Wednesday.

Nearly 8,000 people are to gather in the district of Daehakro as both a continuing form of protest and a memorial to Jeon Yong-cheol. Jeon was a farmer who died of brain injuries sustained in a recent clash with police during a street protest against opening the rice market.

Umbrella labor groups at odds over non-regular worker issue

South Korea's two umbrella labor groups are on the verge of severing their alliance of more than a year after failing to settle differences over how to best deal with the non-regular worker issue, labor officials said Wednesday.

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), the more amicable of the two influential labor groups, said that it will go ahead with the submission of a labor law revision bill to a National Assembly panel in December.

In Tuesday's meeting of standing committee members, the federation decided to present the bill independently as opposed to its rival group's push for a general strike scheduled for Thursday.

"It is impossible to leave the non-regular issue in limbo anymore, so we've come up with our own revision bill aimed at satisfying 60 percent to 70 percent of the labor community," a federation official said, asking to remain anonymous.

Another representative umbrella labor group, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), decided Monday to go ahead with a general strike to demand greater labor rights for non-regular workers.

The KCTU said that its nationwide strike will be staged in alliance with trade groups of local farmers and teachers, who are fighting government policies for wider market opening and a new teacher evaluation system, respectively.

"Hope for the improvement of non-regular workers' labor rights
is turning into despair, while the rice-market opening bill passed
the National Assembly last week," said Jeon Jae-hwan, a spokesman for the KCTU.

The Korean Teachers & Education Workers' Union is planning to call a strike in protest against the government-led teacher assessment program, while groups of farmers stage demonstrations almost every day to vent their anger at wider rice market opening.

The KCTU has about 750 affiliated labor unions from across 18 industrial sectors and claims a total membership of about 620,000.

It has been one of the most influential forces in the nation's labor movement over the past decade.

However, it recently lost public confidence as a result of a rise in corruption cases ranging from embezzlement of union funds to bribe-taking in return for job placements.

The FKTU is also struggling in the aftermath of its own corruption scandals.

In October, former FKTU leader Lee Nam-soon was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for receiving bribes from construction companies in return for helping them win a bid to build a union welfare center.

The Ministry of Labor called the planned strike illegal and politically motivated, because it will happen while dialogue is under way between representatives of labor unions and the employers' group on introducing a bill on the rights of non-regular workers.

"It is not a responsible attitude by the labor community to try to have their demands met through physical power rather than dialogue. It should withdraw the strike, which is illegal," Vice Labor Minister Chung Byung-suk said.

Daily newspaper Korea Times, 11.27:

Umbrella labor groups at odds over non-regular worker issue

South Korea's two umbrella labor groups are on the verge of severing their alliance of more than a year after failing to settle differences over how to best deal with the non-regular worker issue, labor officials said Wednesday.

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), the more amicable of the two influential labor groups, said that it will go ahead with the submission of a labor law revision bill to a National Assembly panel in December.

In Tuesday's meeting of standing committee members, the federation decided to present the bill independently as opposed to its rival group's push for a general strike scheduled for Thursday.

"It is impossible to leave the non-regular issue in limbo anymore, so we've come up with our own revision bill aimed at satisfying 60 percent to 70 percent of the labor community," a federation official said, asking to remain anonymous.

Another representative umbrella labor group, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), decided Monday to go ahead with a general strike to demand greater labor rights for non-regular workers.

The KCTU said that its nationwide strike will be staged in alliance with trade groups of local farmers and teachers, who are fighting government policies for wider market opening and a new teacher evaluation system, respectively.

"Hope for the improvement of non-regular workers' labor rights
is turning into despair, while the rice-market opening bill passed
the National Assembly last week," said Jeon Jae-hwan, a spokesman for the KCTU.

The Korean Teachers & Education Workers' Union is planning to call a strike in protest against the government-led teacher assessment program, while groups of farmers stage demonstrations almost every day to vent their anger at wider rice market opening.

The KCTU has about 750 affiliated labor unions from across 18 industrial sectors and claims a total membership of about 620,000.

It has been one of the most influential forces in the nation's labor movement over the past decade.

However, it recently lost public confidence as a result of a rise in corruption cases ranging from embezzlement of union funds to bribe-taking in return for job placements.

The FKTU is also struggling in the aftermath of its own corruption scandals.

In October, former FKTU leader Lee Nam-soon was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for receiving bribes from construction companies in return for helping them win a bid to build a union welfare center.

The Ministry of Labor called the planned strike illegal and politically motivated, because it will happen while dialogue is under way between representatives of labor unions and the employers' group on introducing a bill on the rights of non-regular workers.

"It is not a responsible attitude by the labor community to try to have their demands met through physical power rather than dialogue. It should withdraw the strike, which is illegal," Vice Labor Minister Chung Byung-suk said.

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Following documentary I found on MTU's (이주노동자 노동조합) freebord.

I think it shows at least some important evidence of the brutality of the cops, even the docu is, for my "taste" a "little" to pathetic (actually we don't need martyrdom - a revolutionary (?) movement is not a crusader society...).

Finally here you can read the latest (11.29) article from Yonhap (by the way, I don't agree with their opinions, not at all!):

Civic groups file petition demanding probe into farmer's death

South Korean civic groups on Tuesday filed a petition with the nation's human rights watchdog, asking for a thorough investigation into the controversial death of a farming activist.

The groups claimed that Jeon Yong-cheol died of brain injuries sustained in a clash with police during a street protest two weeks ago.

The 43-year-old Jeon collapsed in front of his house in Boryeong in the central province of South Chungcheong a day after he participated in the demonstration in Seoul on Nov. 15. He underwent two brain operations but died six days later.

About 60 civic and farming organizations alleged that Jeon was beaten up by police during the protest against the government's decision to open its rice market wider to cheap imports.

Police, backed by a state-supervised autopsy, denied the use of any violence against Jeon, saying pictures they obtained showed Jeon was in the rear area during the rally so there was little chance that he clashed with riot police.

A day after his death, the National Institute of Scientific Investigation said Jeon died from cerebral hemorrhaging and skull fractures as a result of a fall, not from direct blows to the head by police.

But the civic groups claimed they see problems in the autopsy results. The country's religious groups also made similar claims.

"The police used violence at the rally, which infringed on the freedom of assembly and association and eventually claimed Jeon's life," the groups said in a petition submitted to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

On Monday, the groups said another farmer is in critical condition from injuries sustained during the rally and that they will not hold Jeon's funeral until the cause of his death is completely disclosed.

South Korean farmers have staged violent demonstrations after the National Assembly ratified a government motion last week calling for Seoul to gradually double its rice import quota to 8 percent of domestic consumption by 2014.

Two farmers committed suicide this month to demonstrate their opposition to the market opening agreement.

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Source: Minjung-ui Sori

Korea Herald will write this today:

Farmers step up fight

Farmers and civic groups yesterday demanded that the police chief resign, blaming police violence for the death of a farmer after their recent demonstration against the wider opening of the domestic rice market. Jeon Yong-cheol, a 44-year-old farmer, died from cerebral hemorrhaging Thursday, ten days after attending the demonstration held in front of the National Assembly. Activists claimed that he died after being beaten by police during a mass rally on Nov. 15 in Seoul An emergency committee, composed of 59 civic groups protested in front of the National Police Agency yesterday calling for the resignation of Huh Joon-young, commissioner-general of the National Police Agency, to take responsibility for his death. They claimed that the police agency is attempting to cover up police brutality during the rally. An autopsy by the National Institute of Scientific Investigation showed that he died from cerebral hemorrhaging and skull fractures as a result of a fall, not from direct blows to the head by police. But, protesters claim that they witnessed the police being severely violent toward Jeon. "Jeon tried to prevent the police from charging before he fell onto his back as the police hit him in the chest and face with their shields," said Bae Geom, one of the witnesses. The committee showed Sunday a picture of four farmers, including Bae, helping Jeon, had collapsed, away from the site of the protest. "Whether Jeon was killed by a direct hit or the fall on his back after being hit by the police shields, it is the police violence that caused his death," the committee said in a statement. Police, on the other hand, presented yesterday four photos taken of Jeon on the day which show him standing at back of the demonstration group and said he hardly had physical contact with the police. "If the demonstrators took pictures which indicate a violent scene, they should have released them because they take more photos during the protest than we do," said a police official. "Jeon was not even on the list of names of causalities that they offered," he added. Police opened the photo evidence to reporters yesterday, however, did not allow them to take pictures of them. Leaders from religious groups also joined the force yesterday and urged police to investigate the death of a farmer. Buddhist and Christian leaders held a joint news conference and questioned the autopsy results which the investigation institute announced last week. "We see problems in the autopsy results of the National Institute of Scientific Investigation," they said in a statement. "The government should reveal the truth and apologize to the farmers." The religious groups claimed that Jeon died from "serious" injuries during scuffles with police at the rally, considering witness testimonies and photos taken at the scene. They rejected the explanation by that Jeon died from an accident. Farmers have held a series of demonstrations across the nation before and after the National Assembly ratified a government-proposed bill further opening rice market last Wednesday. The bill allows the nation to gradually double its rice import quota by 2014. Before the ratification of the bill, two farmers committed suicide this month against the market opening.

And here

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200511/28/200511282224306939900090409041.html

JoongAng Ilbo will write their sh... 

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Today (11.28) semi-official (of course bourgeois) news agency Yonhap wrote this:

Religious groups call for probe into death of farmer

South Korea's religious groups on Monday called for a thorough investigation into the death of a farmer who collapsed from brain injuries last week after attending a rally opposing further opening of the country's rice market.

Human rights panels from the country's Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant and Won-Buddhist sectors held a joint news conference at Seoul National University hospital in downtown Seoul, where the farmer's body was located.

Jeon Yong-cheol, a 43-year-old farmer from Boryeong of South Chungcheong Province, collapsed in front of his house a day after he participated in the demonstration in Seoul on Nov. 15. He underwent two brain operations on Nov. 18, but died six days later.

The religious groups claimed that Jeon died from serious injuries during scuffles with police at the rally, considering witness testimonies and photos taken at the scene. They rejected the explanation by the state-run forensic agency that Jeon died accidentally.

"We see problems in the autopsy results of the National Institute of Scientific Investigation," they said in a statement. "The government should reveal the truth and apologize to farmers."
The agency announced on Friday after its autopsy that Jeon died from cerebral hemorrhaging and skull fractures as a result of a fall, not from direct blows to the head by police.

The police said it obtained four pictures showing Jeon was in the rear area during the rally, which indicates he didn't have much of a chance to physically clash with riot police. The police said one of the four pictures showed Kim lying on the ground, but his face and clothes were clean and didn't have evidence of being beaten by the police.

In a separate news conference on Monday, an emergency committee established by 59 civic organizations demanded the resignation of Huh Joon-young, commissioner-general of the National Police Agency for allegedly hiding police brutality.

Whether the injuries occurred as the result of a direct hit or by Jeon falling on his back after being hit by police shields, it was police violence that caused his death, the committee said.

The committee said it will not hold Jeon's funeral until the cause of his death is completely disclosed.

It also said another farmer is also in critical condition from injuries sustained during the rally. After the news conference, some angry farmers tried to march into the National Police Agency building in Seoul, but were stopped by security guards.

Earlier on Sunday, Bae Geom, who claims to have witnessed the police violence against Jeon during the rally, said the farmer fell on his back when he tried to prevent the police from charging, and the police hit him in the chest and face with their shields.

In recent weeks, South Korean farmers have staged demonstrations almost daily in various locations across the country before and after the National Assembly ratified a government motion last Wednesday calling for Seoul to gradually double its rice import quota by 2014.

Two farmers committed suicide this month in protest of the market opening agreement.

More about this killer units you can read (in Korean) here:

http://www.voiceofpeople.org/new/2005112833352.html

Some years ago, during the anti-USFK struggle, my comrade told me, we were joining a mass demonstration, that we should not use force, violence against the cops, because "...they're not our enemies". But when I see this docus, I have some doubts about her opinion...

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Yonhap wrote this yesterday:

Police brutality under spotlight after farmer's death

Police brutality at a demonstration against further opening of the South Korean rice market caused the death of a farmer from cerebral hemorrhaging Thursday, an emergency committee established by 59 civic organizations claimed Sunday.

Jeon Yong-cheol, 44, collapsed in front of his house a day after attending the demonstration on Nov. 15. He underwent two brain operations on Nov. 18, but died six days later.

11.15: Riot cops' attack on Yeouido against the farmers demonstration

Here:

http://www.voiceofpeople.org/new/2005112733315.html
and in the following articles you can read about it in Korean.

Before yesterday (11.26) a rally in Seoul, near Gwanghwamun, took place to protest against this. About 300 (still I'm waiting for the confirmation) people participated.

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-TWO FACES OF THE STRUGGLE-

Source of the picture:

http://blog.jinbo.net/isang/?pid=13

Beside that "All Together" is making everywhere - even in Europe you can't avoid it - "propaganda" for a web site (www.alltogether.or.kr ), what is not existing anymore...

..NO COMMENT!

Mao Zedong (...): "The revolution is not a dinner party..." ...and at least it's not a RAVER PARTY..!!!!

Uhuu... and until Thursday I have to write an article about the anti-APEC protests for a German weekly magazine...

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...BUT THE CLASS STRUGGLE

ON THE SPOT IS STILL CONTINUING! -철거민 투쟁/龍山區-

Since long, long time many residents in the Yong-san area (Yongsan-dong 5-ga, the last time I was there, I spent a night there, it was last spring...) are fighting against the Construction Mafia.