Who's Causing the Violence?   2008-06-08 14:59

People are getting really concerned about the violence exerted by some of the protesters in the early morning hours of today. Shortly after midnight, these people brought ladders, fire extinguishers, saws, and other tools to breach the police barricade. They threw the fire extinguishers they brought, as well as water bottles they obtained from others, to the officers who were trying to keep the barricade secure. When they couldn't climb over the police buses, they began to trash the buses with steel pipes and other pieces of dangerous hardware. These attacks provoked the police to react with violence, resulting in more than a dozen injuries and arrests. Until yesterday, peaceful protesters could restrain the overzealous. In another post, we wrote about the 16-year-old girl who succeeded in keeping the peace. But last night, the outlaws ran loose. Not only did they provoke further violence, but the exchange of fire extinguishers sprayed powdery chemicals all over the street, causing respiratory problems in many.

Dozens of people who had been at the scene, and lots of others who have been watching the video footage of the violent confrontation, are beginning to notice something very suspicious. These violent individuals don't look like anyone we've seen among ourselves so far. They are nowhere to be found when the protests are peaceful. And they arrive well-equipped, as if the only reason they show up is because they want to do some damage. In addition, some of them have been caught on camera appearing from the midst of the rows of riot police rather than from among the protesters, and they have also been noticed returning to the police side of the barricade after they wreaked havoc. All of this makes us imagine the most hideous of scenarios: that these violent individuals were employed by the government to give the police an excuse for a brutal crackdown. It has already been speculated by many -- in fact, "speculated" would be far too weak an expression, as we're actually quite convinced -- that the unidentifiable group of thugs who kept the protesters away from Seoul Plaza from June 5 until the following afternoon (and who broke the nose of one college student who complained) were also paid by the government to do what they did. This is truly terrifying. Domestic and foreign media alike are now reporting that the Korean police was forced to employ violence because the protesters turned violent! What better way to characterize our candlelight vigils as a meaningless gathering of outlaws?

Thankfully, some of our best men have volunteered to maintain peace between the police and the protesters. These are the reserve officers -- men who have recently been discharged from the armed forces. Like it or not, the military uniform carries a significant moral authority, and especially so because every man in Korea is required to serve in the military for a minimum of two years. While those who are currently serving in the army are not free to join our protests, reserve officers are. And they have shown up in their uniforms, carrying a banner identifying themselves as keepers of peace. Few would dare challenge their authority when they step in between the police and the protesters. We hope that their presence will help prevent violence in future protests.

The night is over, but protests continue. Today is the last day of the weekend, and also the last day of the planned 72-hour nonstop protest. Thousands upon thousands of citizens have filled the streets of downtown Seoul, singing and talking and making demands. The "free speech" program has always been the best part of our recent protests. Anyone from teenagers to senior citizens can take the microphone and say what they want to say. Except professional politicians who we think should be doing their part in the National Assembly. It's getting rather warm, and some have remarked half jokingly that they miss the water cannons. Well, at least we have a truckload of watermelons, which an anonymous farmer sent us as a gift of encouragement.

Meanwhile, this morning, the government announced a 10-trillion-won ($10 billion) plan to support those with low income and mitigate the effects of high oil prices. While a lot of people will benefit from this plan, we cannot but drop the suspicion that this massive plan was improvised hastily to sooth the People's feelings towards the government. A lot of us are already asking where the budget is going to come from -- given President Lee Myung-Bak's neo-conservative background, it is unlikely that the money will be extracted from the super rich. Besides, if Lee thought that this would make us drop our pickets and go home, he is badly mistaken. We, the sovereign People of Korea, are not as naive and stupid as he might think we are.

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