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by Christian / Base21 Media Activists
dvs-b@t-online.de

South Korea is preparing for a massive demonstration for next Friday here in Seoul. The reason: The tragic accident exactly one year before in Hyochon Village north of Seoul. Shin Hyo-soon and Shim Mi-seon walked to a friend's birthday party when they were struck and killed by a 45-ton armored U.S. military vehicle. The extremely bloody pictures of the scene were quickly circulated around the country, prompting a few conspiracy theories. Some talked seriously about an act of revenge for the lost soccer game by the U.S. team during the World Cup.

The decisive moment of the nation-wide outrage was the immediate claim of innocence made by the USFK and the plan to bring the two suspected drivers back to the U.S. After some months of militant protests across the nation against that plan, the U.S. military finally agreed to hold the trial in South Korea, but only in a U.S. military court.

The final decision was exactly what everyone here expected: the acquittal of the vehicle's drivers by a U.S. military court in Dongducheon. They were found not guilty of negligent homicide.

After the acquittals a storm of outrage took the streets of South Korea. The demonstrations we could see now nearly every weekend after the acquittals led to the massive candle light vigils last November and December with sometimes more than 100.000 participants.

Now ?one year later ?South Koreans want to remember the tragic accident. But they also want to express their opposition to the course of the Roh administration to follow the US Imperialism. South Koreans don뭪 want to forget the vote of the parliament in April to support the US aggression against Iraq. And they뭨e highly alarmed by the last developments on the Korean peninsula. After the US and the DPRK escalated their dispute about the North Korean nuclear development program US officials like Richard Perle, adviser to 밺efense?secretary Rumsfeld, are thinking very openly about preemptive strikes against the DPRK. In this case, the North says, the peninsula will end in a 뱒ee of blood?or in a 밷owl, full with ash? So, the South Koreans, especially the youth worry about their future live.

In preparation of next Friday뭩 demonstration since some times nearly every weekend we saw rallies against the US aggression in Iraq and a possible military conflict here. Last Saturday hundreds of students ?mainly members of Hanchongryeong (Korean Federation of Student Councils) and Da-hamkke (All Together) gathered and demonstrated against the US policy of militarism and preparing for war. They demanded very openly the withdrawal of US troops out off Korea. On the end of the rally on Gwanghwamun intersection, near the US embassy, large units of riot cops started to attack the protesters. But the kids promised to come back next Friday and to continue the struggle for peace on the here and everywhere.
One student said: 밯e are sure, a better world in peace and without exploitation and oppression is possible. We only have to fight for this aim!?

More pictures and an article (only in Korean) you can see here:
http://www.voiceofpeople.org/new/news_view.html?serial=4643&category=type10
and a video here:
http://www.ohmytv.co.kr/view.asp?no=88397&rel_no=1&menu=01&to_root_done=yes#