>From: "T Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: sfb: Korean Villagers, civic groups threaten to occupy U.S. Koon-ni >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Korean Villagers, civic groups threaten to occupy U.S. Koon-ni range today > > After police blocked a planned mass rally Saturday, civic groups and >villagers living near the U.S. Koon-ni bombing and strafing range on the >west coast are threatening to forcibly occupy the facility today, if and >when the U.S. Air Force goes ahead with the scheduled resumption of drills >there. > > Thousands of riot police are bracing for the planned demonstration at >the range, some 80 km southwest of Seoul, police said. > > Calling for the closure of the training range, some 3,000 local >residents, students and union and civic group members clashed with >baton-wielding riot police Saturday, leaving dozens of people injured. > > It was the second violent protest in 11 days at the facility. > > Shouting anti-U.S. slogans, protesters hurled rocks and dirt when >police blocked them from marching on the range. They also waved banners >reading "Yankee go home" and "Close the Koon-ni Range." > > Anger built up during the day as police put up blockades to keep the >demonstrators away from the facility. > > About 6,000 riot police were deployed around the range, officials said. > > Later in the day, some 300 people held a brief gathering in front of >the Maehyang-ri village center to demand the suspension of U.S. bombing and >strafing drills and the facility's closure. > > They also called for a formal U.S. apology for alleged injuries and >property damage arising from the operation of the range and the immediate >release of people involved in recent protests. > > Among the participants in Saturday's demonstration were Dan Byung-ho, >head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a militant umbrella >labor union, Kwon Young-kil, chairman of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), >and Roman Catholic priest Moon Jong-hyon, co-head of the People's Action for >Reform of the Unjust ROK-U.S. SOFA Agreement. > > At the gathering, Moon said demonstrators would hold a sit-in protest >at the village center over the weekend and forcibly occupy Nong Island if >the U.S. Air Force resumes its bombing drills today. > > Nong Island, about 2.4 km off the coastal area where Maehyang-ri >village is located, is used for U.S. Air Force bombing training. Live bombs >are not used. The island can be reached on foot at low tide. The strafing >pits where U.S. Air Force F-16 and A-10 jets conduct gunnery practice during >daylight hours are located on shore. > > > >Updated: 06/19/2000 >by Kang Seok-jae Staff reporter > > >________________________________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com > > >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > The Socialism From Below listserve was created by the New Socialist > Group to discuss and debate socialist activism, share news relating to > revolutionary struggles around the world, assist in organizing projects > of socialist renewal and on the ground activism. Views expressed on > the SFB list do not necessarily represent the views of the New Socialist > Group as an organization or those of its members. For more information on > the New Socialist Group and its politics and its activities contact > [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit www.web.net/~newsoc >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >To join or leave the Socialism From Below list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > __________________________________ 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] ___________________________________
