Today, over 2,500 people came to the City Hall Square in Seoul and cried out against the Korea-US FTA. Here are some pictures.
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Water Cannon Crackdown on Anti-Korea-US FTA Protesters
During a peaceful march near the National Assembly building on 10th November 2011, the police force aimed directly at the protesters and shoot out a powerful stream of water. Watch how strong it was. This caused one's eardrum ruptured and severals fallen down to the street.
For more detailed story, click here and Hani News.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Water Cannon Shooting Protesters
Police aimed water cannons directly at citizens during a peaceful protest against the Korea-US FTA.
Officials from National People’s Movement and Human Rights Joint
Meetings claimed one participant in the protest was hit with the water
cannon by the police and passed out with her eardrum ruptured. They
urged the police authorities to find and punish those responsible and
immediately apologize for its excessive use of force.
“I was sent to the hospital after being struck with water cannon.
Doctors told me my eardrum was ruptured from being pressured with
enormous force,” said Park Hee-jin, representative of the Korean Youth
Solidarity. “The police blasted powerful water cannon directly aiming in
short distance at the citizens. They are supposed to protect people,
but they chose to harm us, instead.”
“The rallies were proceeding peacefully but disrupted abruptly with the
use of water cannons. I was also hit with the shots and fell to the
ground,” said Korean Alliance of the Progressive Movements Chairwoman
Lee Gwang-sil.
The two groups said they plan to bring legal charges against those in the police accountable for the damage during the protest. (http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/505506.html)
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Stand in Solidarity with the 99% in Korea
Stand in Solidarity with the 99% in Korea
What: An international day of solidarity with the 99% in Korea against the US-Korea trade deal, the biggest job-killing agreement of its kind since NAFTA.
When: Tuesday, November 22, 2011. Day or Night.
How: Gather fellow fair trade activists. March, hold up signs, pass out flyers, and/or stand united with our Korean friends in a candle-light vigil.
Where: In front of the Korean Consulates in Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC—or any place where you can gather all your fellow fair trade activists and raise your voices against the Korea trade deal.
Call for Solidarity and Action
Call for Solidarity and Action - The Korea-US FTA is not for the 99%
November 16, 2011
Free Trade Agreements have a long history of mass protests. The Korea-US FTA is no different. Its official negotiation was kicked off in 2006 and signed five years ago in June 2007. From the outset of the negotiations, thousands of people in both countries have opposed the deal. One Korean labor union member took his own life in protest against the negotiations, and several hundreds of activists have been arrested during peaceful and legitimate demonstrations. They know that the deal only benefits big corporations, not the people. Nonetheless, the U.S. Congress approved the deal last month. Now the ball is in the court of the Korean National Assembly.
However, quite contrary to the expectation of both governments and proponents of the deal, a growing number of Koreans are opposing its approval. Inspired by the Occupy movements around the world, the people in Korea have realized that this deal is not for the 99%, but it is only for the benefit of the 1%.
This agreement is not just limited to trade; it also impacts policies governing public services, public health, environment and the rights of citizens. Under the name of trade liberalization, the agreement is very likely to jeopardize democratic policies that promote economic justice, alleviate poverty, regulate financial services, and promote healthy communities. Negotiated and signed before the financial crisis of 2008, the Korea-US FTA continues the dangerous trend of financial deregulation that allowed fat cats on Wall Street to wreck the global economy. Now, Wall Street wants to export that mistake to Korea, and in turn to other countries through the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement currently being pursued by the Obama Administration. As the U.S Trade Representative has said, the Korea-US FTA will become a model for trade agreements for the rest of the world.
We must stop this flawed deal. We have to bring an end to FTAs that are killing jobs and deepening the social divide. We can do this by asserting our power as the 99%. Since mid-October, we have held a candlelight vigil every night in Seoul. Every day more and more people join the movement. Even young people have started to raise their candles and speak out against the FTA that is bad for their future. As the Korean people’s resistance intensifies, the voting of the Korean National Assembly has been delayed, which has embarrassed proponents of the FTA. Meanwhile, the police enforcement against demonstrators has grown more violent. They have aimed high-pressured water-cannons onto protesters, even causing the rupture of a protestor’s eardrums last Sunday. More and more people are arrested during legitimate demonstrations.
But we will stand firmly against the approval of the flawed deal and never stop our fight. We believe this is the right way to change the world. We are confident that we can make another world. Now, we invite you to join this history-making movement and take action in solidarity with the people of Korea on November 22nd for the International Day of Action against the Korea-US FTA.
However, quite contrary to the expectation of both governments and proponents of the deal, a growing number of Koreans are opposing its approval. Inspired by the Occupy movements around the world, the people in Korea have realized that this deal is not for the 99%, but it is only for the benefit of the 1%.
This agreement is not just limited to trade; it also impacts policies governing public services, public health, environment and the rights of citizens. Under the name of trade liberalization, the agreement is very likely to jeopardize democratic policies that promote economic justice, alleviate poverty, regulate financial services, and promote healthy communities. Negotiated and signed before the financial crisis of 2008, the Korea-US FTA continues the dangerous trend of financial deregulation that allowed fat cats on Wall Street to wreck the global economy. Now, Wall Street wants to export that mistake to Korea, and in turn to other countries through the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement currently being pursued by the Obama Administration. As the U.S Trade Representative has said, the Korea-US FTA will become a model for trade agreements for the rest of the world.
We must stop this flawed deal. We have to bring an end to FTAs that are killing jobs and deepening the social divide. We can do this by asserting our power as the 99%. Since mid-October, we have held a candlelight vigil every night in Seoul. Every day more and more people join the movement. Even young people have started to raise their candles and speak out against the FTA that is bad for their future. As the Korean people’s resistance intensifies, the voting of the Korean National Assembly has been delayed, which has embarrassed proponents of the FTA. Meanwhile, the police enforcement against demonstrators has grown more violent. They have aimed high-pressured water-cannons onto protesters, even causing the rupture of a protestor’s eardrums last Sunday. More and more people are arrested during legitimate demonstrations.
But we will stand firmly against the approval of the flawed deal and never stop our fight. We believe this is the right way to change the world. We are confident that we can make another world. Now, we invite you to join this history-making movement and take action in solidarity with the people of Korea on November 22nd for the International Day of Action against the Korea-US FTA.
###
Exchange of Letter between the USTR and the Korean
Recently the U.S. Trade Representative and the Korean Trade Minister exchanged a letter, which reflects the concerns raised by Korean law makers.
President Lee's Tricky Offer to the National Assembly
On 16th November, President Lee visited the National Assembly to persuade the lawmakers to pass a bill for the Korea-US FTA. The Democratic Party, the biggest opposition party, has called for the President to re-negotiate with the U.S. counterpart in advance and delete the Investor-State Dispute Settlement procedures from the FTA texts. In this unprecedent visit, President Lee offered that he would ask the U.S. government to reopen the negotiation table if the National Assembly approves the bill. But the President's offer is tricky because what he offered is not different from what the trade officials can do after the FTA comes into effect.
An editorial of KHan on the President's offer is here, reproduced below.
Yesterday, President Lee Myung-bak said that if the National Assembly ratifies the KORUS FTA, he would propose to the Americans the renegotiation of the Investor-State Dispute system (ISD) provisions, one of the biggest points of contention in the agreement, within three months of it going into effect.
President Lee said this during a visit to the National Assembly, prefacing his comments with the words "if the National Assembly advises me to do so."
When pressed by the Democratic Party on how he would guarantee this, he said he would get the US government to agree to talks. We did not expect a new decision or proposal from the president, but we are still very disappointed in his sounding out the National Assembly's position on renegotiating the ISD provisions after the FTA goes into effect.
President Lee's offer contains nothing new apart from the fact that it came directly from his mouth, and its effectiveness is by no means guaranteed.
The president's approach of sounding out the National Assembly's position on renegotiating the ISD provisions after the FTA goes into effect is no different from the provisional plan that was recently agreed upon by the Grand National Party and a Democratic Party parliamentary delegation, but ran into trouble due to objections from the Democratic Party.
The two parties agreed at the time that the Korean and American governments should form a service and investment committee within three months of the FTA going into effect; this committee would negotiate whether the ISD should be maintained, and report the results to the National Assembly within a year.
What meaning is there in renegotiating whether to keep the ISD provisions, which have been criticized as handing over Korea's legal sovereignty to the United States, when the provisions have already been allowed to go into effect?
We think Democratic Labor Party chairperson Lee Jung-hee got to the core of the problem when she observed that President Lee seems to want to enjoy the fruits of the FTA going into effect, while allowing the next administration to take responsibility from any problems that occur.
The effectiveness of this measure is also questionable. The United States has not given any promise to renegotiate, and even if an assurance were given, there is nothing to be done if the American government decides not to accept it.
Renegotiations are something a government is supposed to accept when a parliament suggests them. Concluding and amending treaties requires approval from the US Congress, not the US government.
Every Tom, Dick, and Harry can tell that the president's offer is an approach that places getting the FTA into effect ahead of getting rid of or amending the ISD provisions.
Following discussions, the Democratic Party's supreme council decided to reject the deal, but the Democratic Party should reflect on the fact that its exclusive focus on resolving the ISD matter has provided an excuse to Lee.
President Lee's visit to the National Assembly has only confirmed once again his illusions regarding the KORUS FTA.
To try---unlike the United States, which satisfied its interests by going so far as to hold additional negotiations---to get the KORUS FTA into effect by early next year simply because "the Americans have ratified it, so we should ratify it, too," even while the agreement has all sorts of poisonous articles besides the ISD that are ruinous to national sovereignty, is truly irresponsible.
The self-righteousness and blindness of the president, who holds that the only patriotic position is in favor of the KORUS FTA, are simply staggering.
Watching the members in the ruling party who wish to use the president's visit as a pretext for railroading the KORUS FTA through furtively nodding their heads, one could certainly guess the purpose of Lee's visit to the National Assembly. (Editorial, The Kyunghyang Daily News. Nov 16, 2011)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)