>From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [STOPNATO] S. Koreans Protest US Base Ahead of Cohen Visit > >STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG > >[Continuing coverage of Imperator Cohen's wildly >popular tour of the Far East. He, Albright and Clinton >just seem to bring out the best in folks.] > > >http://www.newsday.com/ap/topnews/ap183.htm > > Protest Held at US Base in S. Korea >By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer > >SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- About 100 demonstrators >angered by the presence of American soldiers in South >Korea gathered near the main U.S. military base in >Seoul today ahead of a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary >William Cohen. > >The protesters displayed photographs of South Korean >victims of rape and beatings allegedly carried out by >U.S. servicemen and unfurled a banner that read: >''Apologize for Continuing Barbarism of U.S. >Soldiers.'' > >Earlier this week, a few dozen anti-U.S. demonstrators >near the U.S. Embassy shouted ''Yankee go home!'' > >The rallies were a far cry from the massive and often >violent demonstrations in the 1980s that vilified the >United States as an imperialist accomplice of South >Korea's military-led governments. > >But the recent protests do highlight a minor irritant >in U.S.-South Korean relations that has persisted well >beyond the advent of democracy in the southern half of >the peninsula, which remains divided by Cold War-era >hostility. > >The source of controversy is the Status of Forces >Agreement, the legal code governing the treatment of >the 37,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea to >ward off any military threat from communist North >Korea. The United States has similar deals with dozens >of countries. > >South Korean officials said they would raise the issue >of the agreement, which was signed in 1966 and revised >in 1991, during talks with Cohen on Saturday. > >A minority of South Koreans view the agreement, known >by its acronym SOFA, as an infringement on their >sovereignty. Their views gain currency every time a >U.S. soldier is suspected of a heinous crime against a >South Korean, such as last month's arrest by U.S. >forces of an American soldier in connection with the >killing of a South Korean bar waitress. > >The victim was found dead with severe bruises on her >face and neck. > >Under SOFA, the 22-year-old suspect, Spc. Christopher >K. McCarthy, of Concord, N.H., will likely remain in >U.S. custody even if South Korean prosecutors file >charges against him. > >The U.S. position is that a suspect is innocent until >proven guilty and should be handed over only after a >conviction. > >The South Korean Justice Ministry seeks a SOFA >revision that would allow transfer of a suspect >shortly after an indictment or the issuance of an >arrest warrant. However, recent efforts to open talks >have foundered. > >Four U.S. servicemen who were convicted of crimes >against South Koreans in the 1990s are being held in >South Korean jails. The most notorious is Kenneth >Markle III, who is serving a 15-year sentence for the >beating death of a bar waitress in 1992. > >The death of the waitress, Yun Kum-i, fueled protests >by activists who were pushing for the removal of U.S. >troops from South Korea. Protesters demanded Markle be >executed. > >In the protest near the U.S. Embassy, demonstrators >said SOFA was unfair because it allowed the U.S. >military free use of South Korean property and >condoned environmental damage by American troops. > >''The agreement should be revised or our country will >never be a truly sovereign nation,'' said Moon >Jung-hyun, an activist and Roman Catholic priest. The >embassy and the U.S. military declined to comment. > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. >http://im.yahoo.com > > >______________________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
