Welcome to BASE21

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

After the first days in the new year passed relative quietly for the Myeongdong Sit 뻟n Struggle Collective (MSSC) on January 7 a new attack by immigration police took place.

On this afternoon MSSC held a rally in front of Bangladesh뭩 embassy in Seoul/Itaewon. During the rally the demonstrators had to learn that in the nearby Capitol Hotel a group of immigration officers is staying. Because the fact that this was not an accident the protestors finished the rally and went fast to the direction of the next subway station. But the 200 riot cops � during the rally they guarded the embassy � were faster and surrounded the MSSC members and blocked their way. Short while later around 50 immigration officers arrived and started to pull out specially ETU-MB (Equality Trade Union � Migrants Branch). But, even they used extreme violence, beaten the people and used tear gas guns, they got 뱋nly� two particularly weak members: Kul Bahadur Yakha (K.B.) a very small and light Nepalese and Enamul Haq (Haq) an elder Bangladeshi ETU-MB member. But even they were two very simple victims the immigration cops, especially in the case of Haq, maltreated him until they got him in the bus for evacuation.

Actually the MSSC members were heading to the Bangladeshi Embassy to protest the treatment of two of ETU-MB's members who had recently been deported from South Korea after spending two month in prison here. Dec 30, four officers flew with them to Bangladesh, where upon arrival they turned the two men over to Bangladeshi immigration authorities, who passed them on several hours later into police custody, he said. Bidduth claimed the four South Korean immigration officers that handed him over said he was a terrorist and gave the wrong information to the Bangladeshi immigration authorities. Following several days in jail, the two are now free.

Of course after this newest attack against migrant workers movement in generally and ETU-MB leadership in particular the MSSC, sometimes joined by the few members, many others left the place during the days before, of the sit-in struggle team of Anglican Church, protested against the attack and the capture of K.B. and Haq. The last rally and demonstration took place on Jan. 17 in downtown Seoul.

Meanwhile MSSC and supporting groups prepared for WSF 2004 in Mumbai (India). Here the new founded Joint Action Committee want to bring the issue of the migrant workers struggle in South Korea on the international agenda. By the means of signature campaign, speeches of several seminars and a joint rally on the last day they want to mobilize for an International Action Day for to support migrant workers struggle in South Korea, planned for January 28. The idea for this came from KCTU and ETU-MB.

Meanwhile, as last dangerous development in the case of migrant workers struggle on Jan. 17 several NGO뭩 had a secret meeting with government officials. Here the government offered a light modified plan for to get rid with the 뱎roblem of protesting migrants�. But because the plan brings nothing really new, the MSSC in a general assembly on Jan. 18 decided to continue the sit-in struggle, until the government meets their demands and migrants achieve legalization in South Korea and the government will release all migrant workers from detention centers.

A video about the attack on Jan. 7 you can see here:
http://www.nodong.com/zero/view.php?id=leesanghyun&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=137