Unlawful Assembly?   2008-06-03 01:36

According to the government, our candlelight protests are unlawful. It violates the Law on Assembly and Demonstration, because (1) no demonstrations are permitted after dusk, but candlelight vigils/protests take place after dusk; and (2) roadways should not be blocked except with prior permission, but no such permission has been given. Critics point out that the police is justified in trying to break up candlelight protests, because they are unlawful. But are our gatherings unlawful? Are we outlaws?

Maybe we are breaking the law, if existing statutes are taken literally. But if so, then what? The government did not listen to us when we stayed within the law, by characterizing our vigils as "festivals" (which are permitted at any time) and by staying off the streets. President Lee Myung-Bak (a.k.a. 2MB) and his officials had taken absolutely no notice of us. What other choice did we have but to seek a more effective means of communication?

I'm not saying that our assemblies are justified because we had no other choice. Sometimes, when you have no other choice but to break the law, you just need to drop the case in order to stay within the law. But this is a different case. I'm saying that our assemblies are justified because we are the People. This is our country. We are the Masters. We make the law through our own delegates. Who art thou to say that it is illegal for us to exercise our sovereignty, when thou, not we, are the ones who have failed to heed the People's counsel? Existing law must take a back seat, or at least be given a flexible interpretation, when the People demand so. This is especially true when the People in question are so many in number and yet have no intention of disrupting the society's order as a whole. Law is what the People say it is. We are the People; our candles represent our sovereignty.

Oh, yes. There were only 40,000 people out there, whereas "the People" is supposed to have a population of 49 million. To be sure, in a democracy, numbers mean a lot of things. But seriously, if 40,000 people showed up in the middle of the night with the full knowledge that they are at risk of being beaten and arrested, especially in a modern city of 10 million where everyone is supposed to mind their own business, this has got to mean something. A recent poll shows that 80% of Koreans think ill of President Lee, and the No. 1 reason for dissatisfaction is his unwillingness to listen to the People. And that poll was conducted by Chosun Ilbo, a conservative newspaper notorious for its unabashed support of President Lee! Not even they can hide what the People are thinking. We are the People, and we want change. There is nothing unlawful about it; and if it is unlawful, it is the law that must yield.

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