[Via... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] . ----- Original Message ----- From: Downwithcapitalism <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2001 9:27 PM Subject: [downwithcapitalism] FW: Unified Korean May Day (update) Korea Herald. 2 May 2001. Workers mark May Day with marches, joint programs with North Koreans. Excerpts. The nation's labor activists yesterday held mass rallies in commemoration of the 111th May Day in which they renewed vows to launch a general strike next month over demands for a halt to economic restructuring, shortened work hours and the abolition of the National Security Law. They also called on the government to stop the suppression of the labor movement, a reference made to the recent brutal police breakup of Daewoo Motor Workers and prosecution of bank unionists. "On this day of May Day, happiness is given to anger. The Kim Dae-jung administration has pushed the workers and the people into the swamp of limitless competition by stressing the sharing of pain. What we have before us now is the bleak reality represented by 2 million unemployed and 7 million temporary workers," said the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) chairman Dan Byung-ho at a rally held in Taehangno, downtown Seoul, attended by over 20,000 unionists. "We oppose the Kim administration that demands only despair from workers. We declare we'll fight with all our might for the withdrawal of Kim's administration and shattering of new liberalism," Dan said. The KCTU members wound up their protest with a march from Taehangno to Chongno, using traffic lanes. About 4,000 members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) - the other major umbrella labor group - also held a rally in front of Seoul Station to commemorate May Day, followed by a march to Myongdong Cathedral. Meanwhile, about 1,000 workers from South Korea and North Korea gathered at Mt. Kumgang in North Korea for a landmark joint commemoration of May Day. "Workers from the North and the South gathered at this internationally famous Mt. Kumgang to celebrate May Day," the Yonhap News Agency quoted an official of North Korean workers as saying when he welcomed the 545 South Korean workers. "Let's gather our strength to realize what was declared at the June 15 inter-Korean summit," he said. ... At one moment, the inter-Korean May Day fest appeared to be set for cancellation as members of the KCTU, a major part of the celebrations, refused to go to the North in protest over the South Korean government's travel ban on one of its key leaders. The Unification Ministry has rejected the application of Lee Kyu-jae, a KCTU vice president, to go to the North. The ministry based their decision on the grounds that Lee is still under investigation for allegedly having violated the National Security Law. However 294 KCTU members, along with 236 FKTU unionists, finally took off for the North late Monday night via a ferry from the South's eastern port of Sokcho where they staged a seven-hour sit-in. During the three-day event that lasted through until today, the workers from the two Koreas will engage in various sports activities together. SPAM TO FOLLOW Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
