Free Trade Opponents Plan US Protest

Some members of civil society organizations are planning to hold a demonstration early next month protesting against a Korea-U.S. free trade agreement in the U.S. The Korean government released a joint statement on May 19 in the names of ministers of five ministries: the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Labor, urging the demonstrators to bring the plan to a halt.

But the situation seems cloudy with the Association of the pan-national Campaign against Korea-U.S. FTA making clear its will to enforce the demonstration.

The government in a joint statement said, “A Korea-U.S. FTA is a part of a big current that cannot be swum against. We urge the civil society organization to abandon the plan that will damage the nation’s reputation and about which the Korean people are worried. We urge it to bring up its opinions through peaceful and legal procedures.”

The National Intelligence Service also released a document titled, ‘The Measures Taken against Demonstrations in the U.S. and Related Laws” this day and warned that “the actions of the demonstrators involving self-injury, and throwing hazardous materials at public buildings can be categorized as heavy crimes according to the anti-terrorism law of the U.S.”

The NIS further explained that casualties can be expected as the U.S. is very strict about challenges against public power, and added that “the U.S. police can arrest immediately those that do not abide by oral warnings against violating the regulation lines, regarding such actions as touching or attacking policemen to be serious crimes, and even has the right to shoot when they feel their lives are threatened.”

But a person concerned with the association of the pan-national Campaign said this day that they plan to have demonstrations in Washington from June 4-9 and will fly back on June 10, and added, “The representatives of 20-30 out of the 280 organizations that joined the association will participate in this demonstration.” There will be about 100 people participating in the demonstration according to the government’s calculations.