Violent Anti-FTA Rallies Condemned

The Korea Coalition against the Korea-U.S. FTA held its first nationwide rallies on Wednesday, but they ended with serious violence in many cities. As a result, civic groups that joined the rallies are divided over the use of violence.

“A free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. is pushing farmers to the edge of a cliff. They have no more room to step back,” said Sun Yong-jin, the deputy-secretary general of the Cultural Coalition, one of the organizations participated in the rallies.

However, some civil organizations that joined the rallies raised their voice, saying that the use of violence must be avoided. “(Demonstrations) should be held in a rational, democratic way; yesterday’s violence was clearly unacceptable,” said Lee Sang-hoon, policy planner of Korean Federation of Environmental Movements.

“I feel sad that there were physical conflicts in local regions during the rallies, though carried out peacefully in the Seoul metropolitan area. Rallies must be held peacefully; only then can rallies exert stronger influence,” said Lee Tae-ho, policy director of the People’ Solidarity for Participatory Democracy.

The coalition was first launched on March 28, 2006 with an aim to deter the FTA agreement when the Roh administration announced its plan to reduce the screen quota at the onset of Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations. The coalition increased in size after civic groups in areas such as film, culture and agriculture actively launched the anti-FTA movement.

The coalition is now made up of over 300 civil groups, including the radical Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party and the People’ Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. Many agricultural and cultural organizations whose members are expected to suffer serious damage from the FTA agreement are also included, as well as anti-American civil groups like the South Korean Federation of University Student Councils and the Unification Solidarity for Attainment of the 6.15 Joint Declaration.

The coalition has 13 joint directors including, Oh Jong-ryeol, chairman of National Alliance for Democracy and Reunification of Korea, Park Seok-un, chairman of the Korean People’s Solidarity, Kim Ki-sik, secretary general of the People’ Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and Kim Tae-il, secretary general of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

The coalition held a press conference Wednesday in downtown Seoul calling for a halt to the FTA negotiations and talks with President Roh Moo-hyun.

“Wednesday’s clash between the police and demonstrators reflects how upset the people are. The government should address the cause of the violence instead of punishing demonstrators or banning rallies,” officials of the coalition said.

Meanwhile, both ruling and opposition politicians urged the government to take strong measures, criticizing the illicit use of violence during the rallies. “There has been an increasing consensus on establishing a lawful demonstration culture in Korea. The public will not tolerate violence such as breaking the gate of a public building or setting fires. The government must deal with it strictly so as to prevent violent rallies from recurring,” Uri spokesman Rep. Woo Sang-ho said.

“All of those are clear evidence that the national security and national discipline have been shaken. I urge the government to handle all these matters properly according to the law,” Kang Jae-sup, the leader of the Grand National Party, said.

“The government should not repeatedly punish them softly, but root out the violence in illegal demonstrations by addressing the matter strictly according to the law,” Lee Sang-yeol, the spokesman of the Democratic Party, said.