Amnesty International Reports on Korea   2008-07-20 17:14

Amnesty International, a well-known organization that has been working hard to put an end to torture and to protect the freedom of conscience around the world, has wrapped up its two-week investigation of recent brutalities in South Korea. In its press release, AI observes that whereas there was violence both on the protesters' side and the police's side, the police employed excessive violence against peaceful protesters on several occasions. AI also recognizes that many of the over 1,000 arrests that took place over the last several weeks were clearly arbitrary, and that many arrestees were denied adequate health care. The press release mentions two such victims, a young woman and a 14-year-old boy, both of whom were defenseless and/or running away when they were severely injured by police forces. This, of course, contradicts the Korean government's position that the amount of violence it employed is more than justified given the aggressive behavior of its victims.

In an interview with Hankyoreh (Korean), AI researcher Norma Kang Muico remarked that the protests she witnessed were unlike any other she had seen. "There were no clear leaders," said Ms. Muico. "Different people had come together voluntarily, creating an organically growing crowd." She also said, in the interview, a few things that were left out in AI's English press release. For example, Ms. Muico observed that not only the two individuals mentioned above but many other victims of police violence had suffered injuries to the back of their heads, clearly indicating the fact that they were attacked while running away. "The police must protect the citizens first and foremost," said Ms. Muico. "Their shields and batons are only for self-protection, not for attacking those who are already running away." Ms. Muico also expressed concerns about the welfare of tens of thousands of riot police who have been employed to control the crowd. Most of these men are 20-22 years of age, performing their mandatory military service. Because they have been ordered repeatedly to attack their own brothers and sisters, parents and friends -- not only metaphorically, but also literally in some cases -- they are under great stress. In addition, because these men are technically serving in the military, their employment in crowd-control maneuvers has the same significance as the employment of actual military personnel in such maneuvers. Ms. Muico did not press this point far enough, but she noted that there is an air of unconstitutionality in this situation.

Protesters hold various pickets during their gathering on July 17. The red pickets in the front read: "Fire Uh Chung-Soo!" (he's the man who ordered the police to beat us up), "Stop the police-state oppression!" and "President Lee Myung-Bak is destroying the Constitution!" Perhaps not by coincidence, Lee's Hannara Party -- which now controls two-thirds of the legislature -- has recently begun to talk about amending the constitution, deleting sections that warrant government intervention in the economy. It's laissez-faire all the way for Lee Myung-Bak. We should have known it earlier; after all, he's been a businessman all his life!

It is good to hear an independent third party -- and an internationally renowned one -- making objective statements about the current situation in Korea. But until these statements lead to tangible results, more people will suffer in the meantime. Thursday was the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean Constitution. The constitution of July 17, 1948, sadly, does not survive; two generations of military dictators made such a mess of it that a new one had to be written in 1987. Nonetheless, this forgotten anniversary was good enough a motivation for over ten thousand citizens to take it to the streets once again. Because Seoul Plaza is still off-limits to us, we had to gather in other places, often occupying entire streets. Is it illegal to do so? Of course it is. But then, it seems also illegal to protest on the sidewalk or even to carry an anti-government picket. Forget the law; the enforcement of the Law on Assembly and Demonstration has become so arbitrary and inconsistent that it's hardly less messy than the forgotten Constitution of 1948. How can you obey the law when the law is whatever the government says it is on any given day?

Protesters fill the streets.

Here's the latest hit in slogan-writing. It's a parody of the title "The Good, the Bad, and the Weird", a Korean "Western" that has been getting favorable reviews abroad, which itself seems to be a parody of the Clint Eastwood movie. Anyway, the actual slogan is "The Good, the Courtious, and the Useless". President Lee Myung-Bak, according to the protesters, is good to the U.S. (because American corporations are going to make billions of dollars thanks to Lee's policies), courtious to Japan (because he bowed to the Japanese Emperor), but useless to his own people. Oh, and the reason that candlestick wears a pink lacy skirt is because this picket was prepared by a group of young women.

And it begins again... the water cannon. When it's really hot like it is these days, we sometimes miss the shower; but not when the shower is so powerful it blows you out of your way! Injuries from the water cannon have declined lately, thanks to our clever citizens' preparedness. When the police begins to shoot those nasty cannons, sturdy men will take the blow upon themselves to protect the rest of the citizens. Raincoats and bicycle helmets also help a lot.

There are unconfirmed reports that diluted tear gas was mixed into the water on Thursday. Several people who were at the front of the crowd complained about strange sorts of irritation, but perhaps the density of the material was too low to allow the rest of the protesters to sense it.

All right, you're holding the National Flag right-side left... but whatever direction you hold it in, it's a bad government that attacks flag-carrying citizens. Wasn't there a penalty for defacing the National Flag? When we were young, our teachers told us not to let the flag get wet.

A man was arrsted for providing coffee to protesters on the street. The police stopped his van and took him away, while other citizens vigorously protested the arbitrary arrest.

Heavy rain on July 19 due to a typhoon did not stop thousands from demonstrating yet again. No matter how hard it rains, it's nothing compared to the water cannon! Large crowds have been broken down into small gatherings, and many have resorted to surprise demonstrations in unexpected street corners and transit hubs. Despite it all, protests continue.

We are also trying really hard to stop the government from trying to control the media. The CEO of YTN, the nation's fourth-largest TV station, was replaced with a pro-government man a couple of days ago in a shareholders' meeting that lasted only 40 seconds. The meeting was heavily guarded by thugs (known as "service personnel"), and dissenting parties -- including the labor union -- were shut out. The government is also tightening its grip on KBS and MBC, the two towers of Korea's broadcasting industry. I can't say that these companies did nothing wrong, but every little fault of theirs is being used by the government as an opportunity to bring them to their knees. One of President Lee's aides has even said that KBS, because it is publicly funded, must express the government's philosophy. (See this news report, it's in Korean.) What century does he live in? If you're so fond of controlling everything, why not go to China or North Korea? They've got nice TV stations that are nothing more than government mouthpieces. But not here. Our 1987 constitution clearly states that we have free speech in this country.

And of course, there's Daum Agora. The discussion site has been under government pressure like no other, due to the activism of its loyal members. Since June, various kinds of censorship are hard at work in those forums, all designed to give the average visitor the impression that nobody cares about candlelight protests anymore. After all, the vast majority of protesters say that they heard about the ongoing affairs either on TV or on the Internet. Blocking the flow of accurate information is therefore likely to have a crippling effect on the force of our demonstrations. But this isn't the 80's anymore. Nobody can censor all those mobile phones, satellite TV's, and Internet sites. Daum's latest attempt to rig the voting system to give pro-government opinions a disproportionately large share of online exposure failed miserably, as the crippled voting system was quickly taken advantage of by smart netizens. Censored keywords, such as "death theory", were injected with typos to bypass the filters. Forums specializing in the collection and discussion of sensitive information have sprouted everywhere, a little bit like Wikileaks. Sooner or later, the government will have to admit that the only way to fill the 'net with friendly information is to behave well. When 30 Hannara Party members in the Seoul City Council are involved in a bribery scandal, it's no surprise that the People don't trust Lee's gang!