Korea Times, Seoul
Protests to Intensify Over FTA
By Kim Tong-hyung, Staff Reporter
10 July 2006
As Korea resumed its talks with the United States over a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) yesterday, anti-globalization activists also made their presence felt, organizing scattered demonstrations in Seoul calling for the government to withdraw from the negotiations.
Aside from some minor scuffles between protestors and riot police most of Monday’s rallies ended peacefully, with heavy rain brought by Typhoon Ewiniar preventing large crowds from gathering.
However, law enforcement authorities fear it could be a totally different situation tomorrow with farmers and labor activists scheduling massive rallies in downtown Seoul that are expected to attract tens of thousands.
Dozens of members of the Korean Alliance Against Korea-U.S. FTA,'' which represents 282 farmers' organizations, labor unions and civic activist groups, organized a morning rally in front of the Shilla Hotel, downtown Seoul, the venue for the second round of FTA talks. Several were chantingWendy Cutler go home,’’ targeting the assistant U.S. trade representative leading the negotiations for her country.
The rally was also joined by leaders of Korea’s two flagship labor groups _ the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) _ and a six-man delegation from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest confederation of unions in the U.S.
The labor groups held a joint news conference, claiming a free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S. will hurt employment and threaten the livelihoods of workers in both countries.
Tension rose when riot police engaged in a shoving match with some protestors, including a group of recently-fired Korea Train Express (KTX) female employees who had attempted to hold a separate news conference in front of the Shilla Hotel’s main gate. No serious injuries were reported.
More than 3,200 riot police were deployed to the Shilla Hotel and its neighboring areas.
Government officials are now bracing for the possibility of protests intensifying over the week, with anti-globalization activists upping the level of their actions.
Major disruptions are anticipated Wednesday when farmers, labor unionists and civic activists gather for massive rallies in Kwanghwamun and at Seoul City Hall, which organizers hope will lure over 100,000 protestors.
National Police Agency Commissioner-General Lee Taek-soon told reporters Monday he plans to deploy around 25,000 riot police _ about 80 percent of the total capacity of mobile police units in Korea _ to guard Wedneday’s demonstration scenes. Police will also restrict traffic in downtown areas, which is expected to increase the congestion on the roads.
``The scale of mobilization would be the largest since the early 1990s, when street protests were violent. We expect to use all of our mobile police personnel, except for the officers guarding airports and harbors, and those deployed in Pusan for the inter-Korean ministerial talks,’’ Lee said in a news briefing Monday.