Thursday, December 07, 2006

Solidarity Anti-FTA Protest in DC




In solidarity with KoA and KAWAN protesters in Big Sky, Montana and hundreds of thousands of protesters in Korea, DC area activists held a rally against the proposed Korea-US FTA in front of the White House on Dec. 7 at 5 pm. The cold (not as cold as in Montana for sure) and darkness did not deter more than 25 protesters -- most of whom had participated in the week-long June protests in DC. Jaesoo Lee is the veteran of the group, having participated in the DC, Seattle and Seoul protests.

The action was co-sponsored by KAWAN and the ANSWER Coalition. H.K. Suh spoke for KAWAN, highlighting the history of anti-KorUS FTA protests and the reasons why there is so much opposition to it, and Brian Becker spoke for ANSWER, sending solidarity to Korean protesters who are being repressed by the South Korean government.

The NHK-TV and local Korean media covered the event. The WPFW radio had interviewed us earlier in the day. By coincidence -- or perhaps by fate -- an official group of Koreans from Korea on a policy research meeting on FTA came out to the Lafayette Park in front of the White House after their meeting and encountered the shouts of "Down, Down, FTA!" They must have thought that the protesters are following their every move! No place to hide -- either in Big Sky or in Washington, DC!

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