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KoA's Action Team Finishes Ten Days of Intense Struggle
Demands release of KoA officers; blocks sale of U.S. beef; meets presidential candidates; and engages solidarity with temporary workers
In response to the arrests of two Co-Chairs of the Korean Alliance (KoA) and the on-going suppression against KoA, an action team was formed, and an outdoor action camp was set up at the center of the city on July 9. About one-hundred strong each day, KoA's action team was mostly made up of activists of the new permanent coalition-front, Korea Solidarity for Progress (which operates now as a preparatory body, to be officially launched in September).
Formed out of a dire need to take action, the members of the action team came from various regions and organizations. They slept outside in the sometimes leaky tent, they ate together, and they all got up at 6AM to began each day with a renewed sense of resolution. In ten days, they, who had from various movement sectors and regions, became a single struggle unit.
The action team was unified around four main issues: 1) to demand the release of Mr. Oh and Mr. Jung, 2) to stop the Korea-U.S. FTA and block the selling of U.S. beef, and 3) to meet presidential candidates and demand their support in stopping the Korea-U.S. free trade.
The Arrests are Unjust!
Everywhere the action team went, the key message was the unjust arrests of KoA's two officers and the demand of their immediate release. The action team visited the jail at the beginning and end of the struggle period and held candlelight vigils and rallies outside the jail.
Thus far, over a hundred organizations and two hundred individuals have signed the protest letter demanding their release, including trade unions and NGOs. Within Korea, over a thousand protest letters have been sent in. However, the Roh Administration has been ignoring the concerns of domestic and international groups.
The Korea-U.S. FTA is Invalid!
One important goal for the action team was to continue the struggle against the Korea-U.S. FTA and block the selling of U.S. beef, which are still pushed through an inadequate inspection process. Even with the risk of BSE, the U.S. government has pressured Korea's Administration to sell U.S. beef to Korean consumers if Korea wants a free trade agreement with the U.S.
The action team went to ten branches of Lotte Mart, which is the first store to sell U.S. beef. At the first store, near Seoul Station, the action team broke through the police line and entered the store and protested in front of the beef display. At the end, the manager promised to not sell U.S. beef until further discussion with the headquarters and removed the beef from display. The action team attained the same promise from all the stores.
The action team also occupied the campaign headquarters of six presidential candidates, including Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak of the conservative Grand National Party as well as Chun Jung-bae, who opposes the free trade, and Son Hak-kyu, whose headquarters the action team occupied for over 24 hours. Except for Chun Jung-bae, the action team was met with resistance, sometimes by the police, but the action team was clear in delivering its message that all presidential candidates must listen to the people and any suppression of democratic rights must end immediately. KoA aims to make the free trade issue an important campaign issue for presidential election, which comes up at the end of the year.
The ten-day struggle was physically demanding at times, but the activists renewed their solidarity with each other and other organizations. The struggle against the Korea-U.S. FTA faces the difficult challenge of stopping its ratification. The suppression against KoA and the workers movement continues on. But from the look of their faces, the challenges of the struggle had already heightened their spirit and set their bodies in motion.
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