KAWAN

Anti-FTA Signing Ceremony

2007-06-30T19:19:00.000-04:00

For immediate release
June 30, 2007

Contact: Hyun Lee 347 242 6801

As the U.S. and Korea Sign the Biggest Trade Agreement since NAFTA,
Koreans at the First U.S. Social Forum Sign Anti-FTA Resolution

ATLANTA, GA — Koreans from all over the U.S. and abroad at the first ever U.S. Social Forum marked the official June 30 signing of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with an “anti-FTA signing ceremony”. Leaders of people’s movements from Korea and the U.S. spoke out against the devastating consequences of NAFTA-style free trade.

“Today, the Korean and U.S. governments sign a death sentence for the millions of small farmers and workers in Korea,” said Jaesoo Lee, Executive Director of Korean Americans against War and Neoliberalism. “We, gathered at the first ever U.S. Social Forum, condemn the two governments for imposing NAFTA-style free trade that will devastate the lives of millions in both countries. In opposition, we sign a collective resolution to step up our fight to defeat the Korea-U.S. FTA.”

South Korean and U.S. trade officials sign today a free trade deal they struck in April that studies warn could wipe out Korea’s agricultural sector when markets open up to U.S. goods, and cut off access to life-saving medicines for the poor. The biggest U.S. trade deal in 15 years, reached after 10 months of negotiations, has faced fierce opposition from South Korean small farmers and trade unionists, as well as Korean Americans, who have joined forces to stop its passage. Today marks the deadline by which the FTA must be signed in order to be eligible for the fast-track process once it is sent to the U.S. Congress. After it is signed, the FTA must be voted on by the legislative bodies of both countries to be ratified.

Speaking of the last minute negotiation efforts by the U.S. to include provisions on labor and environment in the final agreement, Christine Ahn, National Coordinator for Korean Americans for Fair Trade said, “The so-called ‘fixes’ made to get the deal through the Democratic controlled Congress do not sufficiently address the problems with the NAFTA model and must not be passed."

“NAFTA [the North American Free Trade Agreement] was directly responsible for creating economic refugees, forcing Mexican small farmers off their land and to migrate in search of a more sustainable living,” added Hyuk-kyo Suh, Executive Director of National Association of Korean Americans. “This ‘one-size-fits-all’ U.S. free trade agreement model has been proven to fail.
The time for a new direction in U.S. trade policy is long overdue."

Farmer leaders from Korea, Colombia, and the U.S. led a crowd of four hundred gathered at the Atlanta Civic Center in hand-stamping red paint on a banner that read “No FTA” as a collective show of resolution to fight together to oppose the Korea-U.S. FTA.

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Resolution to Oppose the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement
And All NAFTA-Style “Free Trade”

For over a decade, multinational companies and their allies in government have been using so-called "free trade" agreements to restructure the economy for their own benefit. Corporations impose privatization, smaller public budgets, and lower labor and environmental standards on the world's people without our consent. So-called "free trade" allows companies to move jobs across borders in search of cheap labor and lax environmental standards, force workers into low wages and substandard conditions, and plunder the world’s scarce natural resources.

Working-class communities, communities of color and indigenous peoples have suffered the brunt of this attack, with the loss of good jobs, poisoning of our environment, and privatization of land and public services. As so-called “free trade” destroys the livelihoods of people in poorer countries, they are forced to leave their families to work in wealthier countries.

As we speak, the Bush administration seeks renewal of Trade Promotion Authority, or "fast track," which gives him the ability to sign trade agreements without democratic process. Bush is also seeking approval for free trade agreements recently negotiated between the United States with Colombia, Panama, Peru, and South Korea. These agreements are modeled after the failed NAFTA. The weak labor provisions of these free trade agreements will restrict the ability of workers to seek better wages and working conditions. They would add to the problem of global warming by removing South Korea’s auto emission standards, as well as causing severe damage to the virgin tropical forests of Colombia, Panama and Peru. Increased importation of subsidized American crops will devastate small farmers and destroy these countries’ food self-sufficiency.

The governments of Colombia, Peru, and South Korea, in their eagerness to pursue free trade agreements with the United States, have violated the basic principles of democracy and used violent repression against their own people, including the assassination of 2000 labor leaders in the case of Colombia, and the outlawing of all protests against the free trade agreement in South Korea.

The social and environmental justice movements around the world have been at the center of resistance to corporate globalization. The spirit of internationalism, solidarity, and militant struggle for another world unite the fifteen thousand people gathered here in Atlanta for the first-ever U.S. Social Forum. Now is the time to intensify the struggle for an alternative model of economic integration, an alternative which reflects the needs and aspirations of those most affected by corporate globalization. We must continue our opposition to all alleged "free trade" agreements, and "fast-track," which serve only to enrich multinational corporations at the expense of the rest of us.

Today, June 30, 2007, marks the official signing of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement between the Korean and U.S. governments. We, gathered at the first-ever U.S. Social Forum, condemn the two governments for signing what amounts to a death sentence for the millions of small farmers and ordinary workers in both countries. Therefore, we are resolved to strengthen our struggle to defeat the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and all NAFTA-style free trade. We are further resolved to redouble our efforts to build a just, inclusive, and sustainable world, where people and environment come first before profits.

June 30, 2007
U.S. Social Forum, Atlanta Georgia

Korean caucus at the USSF

2007-06-29T22:04:00.000-04:00

Come to our remaining USSF events: NOTE LOCATION HAS CHANGED FOR MILITARISM WORKSHOP!!!

Saturday, June 30, 2007
"Fighting US Militarism in the Asia Pacific Region" Westin Hotel International G (NOTE ROOM CHANGE)
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/1679

"Approaches to Organizing on Trade" 1 PM International B Room at the Westin Hotel
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/3558

As someone who is new to blogging, please bear with me as I develop a blogging style that is suitable for our blog.

It's Friday night and I'm at the Westin Hotel. It's been a full day at the USSF. We started today's sessions with an incredible Korean caucus. We had all of our Kawan members--over 20--and then some 30 new Korean faces. We went around the room introducing ourselves and where we came from, and there were cities never represented before by KAWAN--Atlanta, Burlington, and several others.

Then JC did an off the hook brief history of progressive Korean activism stemming from the turn of the last century. We're hoping to upload the presentation since it was so good and concise. I wont attempt to go into the history but one statistic that stayed with me was the fact that Koreans in the US had sent $88,000 despite earning something like 65 cents per day over 35 years to Shanghai province to support independence struggles during japanese occupation. After that, Hyun brought us to the present and updated us on the work that KAWAN has done in the past year around Pyongtaek and the Korus FTA. It was remarkable to hear how we've managed to organize resistance at every negotiation from DC to Seattle to Montana to DC. We've also managed to publish several opeds and even organize a legislative lobby strategy! Plus we organized the eyewitness delegation to Pyongtaek and for the FTA struggle in Seoul.

But KAWAN is significant because it is the first time that Coreans in the US are coming together since the 1980s when they were supporting the pro-democracy movements. Plus we are very diverse in age, generations, language, gender, politics, etc. We then discussed our challenges and opportunities, which were a remarkable list of what's possible. We closed our caucus with the Assata Shakur quote:
"It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to lose but our chains."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked around the circle and saw the powerful young leaders who will carry on this work of reunification and equality. We then finished with some groups photos, which I will post later.

There's so much going on here at the US SF, but there seems to be alot of energy around the Right to City campaign organized by CAAAV, Miami Workers Center, and several other movement-based organizations around the country. Keep your eyes peeled for this exciting movement.

More to come,
Christine

Countering the Bilateral Free Trade Agenda

2007-06-28T21:30:00.000-04:00

KAWAN at the US Social Forum Events to Come

Friday, June 29, 2007
KAWAN Caucus, 10:30 AM at Atlanta Ballroom H, Westin Hotel
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/2424

Saturday, June 30, 2007
"Fighting US Militarism in the Asia Pacific Region" 1PM at Balcony Left room, Atlanta Civic Center
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/1679

"Approaches to Organizing on Trade" 1 PM International B Room at the Westin Hotel
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/3558

Greetings from Atlanta!

KAWAN organized its first workshop today with Grassroots Global Justice and Witness for Peace on Countering the Bilateral Free Trade Agenda. At one point during the workshop, I looked around the room in total awe at the diversity and power that existed in the room. Speaking to the experience that unfettered free trade has had on farmers and peasants in the U.S. and around the world were Norberto Jimenez from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, German Bedoya--a Colombian campesina, Bill Christensen from the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, and Sin Moon Hee of the Korean Women Peasants Alliance.

Norberto Jimenez from CIW immigrated to Immokalee, FL from Oaxaca, Mexico where before NAFTA he and his family were subsistence farmers. He said, "Before NAFTA, our lives were never easy, but we had enough food for ourselves and our families." But because NAFTA allowed massively subsidized crops from the United States to be dumped into Mexico, millions of Mexican farmers and peasants, unable to survive have been forced to migrate to the cities to find work in the factories or to risk their lives crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to find slave wages and no human rights in America.

The next speaker was German Bedoya, a Colombian campesina, who KAWAN had the fortune of traveling with us all the way to Korea for the Eyewitness delegation last November. German shared how the Colombian economy was forced open in 1990 as cheap products began to flood their markets from all over, which rapidly led to the disappearance of Colombia's domestic bean, rice, and wheat production. Then came "Plan Colombia", which he said has been "Plan for War." Since then over 4 million indigenous peasants have been displaced, ranking Colombia second in the world for internally displaced people. The increasing military and paramilitary in Colombia has been used to suppress the people and any opposition to the Colombia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, already signed by the governments of both countries and awaiting Congressional ratification. German said that approximately 90 percent of the parliamentary members are affiliated with the paramilitaries, which makes engaging the democratic process in Colombia virtually worthless. "Once the FTA is passed," German said, "We will be forced to cultivate bitter yucca, sugar cane, and palm oil using genetically modified technology for transnational corporations." The growing demand for biofuels is driving an insane agenda where the emphasis is on more fuel for cars than to feed humans. German told us that there was tremendous opposition in Colombia to the FTA, and reminded us that there was resistance movements that needed the organizing of the people across borders to stop the neoliberal free trade regime.

Bill Christensen, a fourth generation family farmer from Missouri, started his talk by reminding us that the free trade agenda is driven by multinational corporations. Most of the beef in the United States, which has become a contentious issue in the Korea US Free Trade Agreement, is produced by corporations, not family farmers. "Someone is benefiting from NAFTA and the FTAs," Christensen said, "but not family farmers in the United States." He said that a combination of bad farm bill and broken trade policies makes for a disastrous scenario for U.S. family farmers where the trade surplus has now shrunk to a deficit. He pointed to the winners: In the first year of NAFTA, the agribusiness corporate moguls Archer Daniels Midland had grown their profits from $110 million to $300 million, and Cargill had grown their profits from $468 million to $827 million. And despite the promises of the free traders that these agreements will lower our food costs, Christensen informed us that since NAFTA the price of food has increased by 27% and the money paid to farmers per dollar dropped from $0.32 to $0.19. "The production of fruits, vegetables and meats would not be possible without immigrants," Christensen said, "They are the ones growing our food."

Last but not least, Sin Moon Hee, the General Secretary of the Korean Womens' Peasants Alliance, began by thanking KAWAN for inviting not just a peasant, but a woman peasant, to come to the US Social Forum to share their struggle against the Korea-US FTA. She began by giving some context to the current US-Korea relations. When North and South Korea signed their historic agreement on June 15 2000 where they committed to begin reunification efforts, this frightened the U.S. and the challenge that reunification posed over its grip economically and militarily on the Korean peninsula. And like Colombia, when the IMF crisis swept through South Korea, the country was forced to open its agricultural markets. As a result, over 50 percent of South Korean stocks are owned by foreign corporations and now over 50% of south Korean workers are irregular, meaning they dont have basic labor rights or pensions. As a a result, in the last 10 years, Korean peasants have been suffering and instead of investing in those who produce food for people, the government has chosen to add further insult to injury by offering the Korea-US FTA as a silver bullet to solve poverty and unemployment in Korea. This has led desperate peasants to take their lives. According to Moon-Hee, at least one peasant has taken their life daily. In 1990, South Korea had 10 million farmers. Today, she said that there is approximately 3 million. This is what unfettered free trade has done to the Korean farmers and the countryside. She told us that the South Korean government has been waging a fierce campaign in support of the FTA, despite the fact that there are millions opposed to this unfair trade deal. She said that one-third of parliamentarians are opposed to the deal and that there is a good chance that the Korea-US FTA can be defeated. "Are you going to have Cargill or Monsanto determine what you eat?" she asked. We need to honor those who grow our food, and this workshop demonstrated how farmers around the world--including in the U.S.--have had their lives, livelihoods, and the environment devastated under the free trade regime.

Lastly, I went with Sin Moon Hee to the Via Campesina caucus meeting at the migrant rights tent. It was a great opportunity for her to see the number of peasants and farmworkers sitting together under that tent. She was also very moved, she told me, that whenever she lets other peasants know that she is from Korea, that their eyes light up with respect and admiration for how the Korean peasants and trade unionists have been waging a fierce opposition to the WTO and the bilaterals.

We must not forget that peoples' movements have managed to stop talks in Seattle, Cancun, and Hong Kong. Now we just need to stop the bilaterals which is the tactic used by the neoliberalists since the WTO is near collapse. We must keep the pressure on and as the US Social Forum motto says, "Another World is Possible, Another U.S. is Necessary."

More to come tomorrow. Peace.

KAWAN is going to the US Social Forum - June 27, 2007-July 1, 2007

2007-06-24T09:52:00.000-04:00

The following workshops have been organized by KAWAN, see you in Atlanta!

Thursday, June 28, 2007
"Countering the Bilateral Free Trade Strategy" 1PM - Workshop,` Centennial Ballroom, Atlanta Marriott Downtown
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/297

Friday, June 29, 2007
KAWAN Caucus, 10:30 AM at Atlanta Ballroom H, Westin Hotel
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/2424

Saturday, June 30, 2007
"Fighting US Militarism in the Asia Pacific Region" 1PM at Balcony Left room, Atlanta Civic Center
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/1679

"Approaches to Organizing on Trade" 1 PM International B Room at the Westin Hotel
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/3558

Anti-Korea/US FTA Events in DC

2007-06-17T14:23:00.000-04:00

A 3-day series of events highlighting the opposition to Korea-US FTA included a public forum on 6/11 ("People's Forum on KORUS FTA: Fighting for Our Jobs, Health, Environment and Human Rights"), sponsored by Korean Americans for Fair Trade, AFL-CIO, Alliance for Responsible Trade, 50 Years is Enough Network, and a Congressional Lobby Day on 6/12, with participants from Korea, Seattle, San Francisco, Oregon, Vermont, New York, and Virginia. Related events were held in San Francisco (6/8-9) and in Harlem, New York City (6/14).

Five US Congressmen (Phil Hare, Michaud, Lipinsky, Braley, Walter Jones) spoke against the Korea-US FTA during the press conference at the Cannon House Building on 6/13, along with delegates from the Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA, Korean Confederation of Trade
Unions, Korean Government Employees Union, Korean Metal Workers Union, AFL-CIO and Korean Americans for Fair Trade. A Congressional briefing on the impact of Korea-US FTA took place following the press conference.

Democratic Leadership Turn Their Backs on Labor and Progressives

2007-05-18T17:25:00.000-04:00

Democratic Leadership Turn Their Backs on Labor and Progressives

By Young Choe*

It’s been over 120 days since Democrats regained control over Congress, but one could hardly tell by the recent trade deal struck between the Democratic leadership with the Bush administration. Democrats have stayed the course on some promises made during the mid-term elections, like securing a timetable for withdrawing troops, but on the issue of trade, which rocked the vote and mobilized the masses, the Democratic leadership has turned their backs on the working class and progressives who put them in power.

The Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Ways and Means Chair Charles Rangel, and Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus, struck a deal with the Bush administration that lobbyists for multinational corporations are declaring will pave the way for Congress to pass four bilateral trade agreements, including Panama, Peru and Korea, and extend Fast Track authority to President Bush.

“Pending U.S. free trade agreements will be amended to incorporate key Democratic priorities,” read a press release from Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi trumpeting this compromise, which was then substantiated with vague rhetoric on fair trade, workers’ rights and environmental protections. I'm really glad that Pelosi is against things that most Americans agree are bad, like child and slave labor. But saying that core labor and environmental standards will be included—but not enforced—in agreements that just expand the failed NAFTA model is an affront to the auto workers who will be laid off in Detroit. We haven’t actually seen the legislation, but if statements by K Street lobbyists are accurate, the compromise fails to grant unions the right to go to courts to demand the enforcement of labor laws while granting multinational corporations greater rights to sue sovereign local, state and federal governments for laws that protect us.

Worse, if Democrats extend Fast Track to President Bush, they will not only sign over to this lawless president the exclusive right to negotiate massive trade deals. They will never realize the trade agenda put forth by freshmen Democrats and their progressive colleagues who have consistently demanded a “trade policy which will work for America’s working families, farmers, businesses, the environment and our local communities.”

As a Korean American, I don't want to pit American workers versus, say, Korean workers. The Korean Metalworkers Union is just as opposed to the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement as the UAW, and both view this trade agreement as an opportunity for multinational corporations to reap more off the backs of working people of both nations. In this globalized economy, workers are forced to build solidarity across national borders as the landscape is not so clearly drawn: the U.S. automaker GM owns South Korean Daewoo Motors, and Hyundai sets up shop in the South, where labor is not as strong as in Detroit. Workers in South Korea and the United States also share in common their struggle against ever encroaching multinational corporate power over the democratic process.

Ever since the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement negotiations began, it has been shrouded in secrecy, and the deal made by the Democratic leadership with the Bush Administration is more of the same. Americans have heard virtually nothing of this trade agreement, even though it is set to be the second largest trade deal since NAFTA. Six weeks after U.S. and South Korean negotiators claimed a deal, not only has the text still not been released to the public, the Bush Administration and the Democratic leadership are attempting to finalize a deal even before the text has been released to the American and Korean public!

It has been well-documented that the Roh Moo-Hyun government has quashed dissent by shutting down public hearings, denying the airing of an advertisement produced by peasants and filmmakers about the dangers of the FTA, and outlawing public protest of the FTA. The government broke into nine regional offices of the Korea Alliance Against the Korea-US FTA (KoA), arrested trade unionists and movement leaders, and deployed police violence using clubs and water cannons against protestors. As trade negotiators frenetically worked to sign the trade deal minutes before the April 1 deadline, Heo Seowook, a 54-year old South Korean taxicab driver, set himself on fire in protest of the FTA. Over one week later, he died from second-degree burns. This act of sacrifice symbolizes the desperation felt by working people around the globe due to spiraling housing and health costs, and anxieties over wages and job security--desperation to be further worsened by FTAs. In their imaginary world, free traders tout the miracles of neoliberal economics. In the real world, free trade has consistently hurt ordinary workers and farmers around the world.

For far too long American workers have trusted Democrats to put forth a trade agenda that protects us from corporate piracy, only to be reminded time and again that many Democrats are beholden to the very same corporations controlling Republicans. In 2006, 37 brand new Democrats were elected on a fair trade platform that gave Democrats the majority in Congress. The buzz in Washington is that the freshmen democrats are hard at work to fulfill their campaign promises. It’s time for the Democratic base—labor and progressives—to remind the Democratic leadership that they must be held accountable to the people that gave them power and stop ceding it to the Republicans and corporations driving the free trade agenda.

* Young Choe works at the Nodutdol for Korean Community Development in Queens, New York and is a member of Korean Americans for Fair Trade.

Korean Americans for Fair Trade: Statement in Protest of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement

2007-04-03T11:31:00.000-04:00

At the eleventh hour, the United States and South Korea signed the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (Korus FTA), the second largest free trade deal since NAFTA. President Bush and big business claim victory, but democracy has lost.

It is a sad day for peoples' movements around the world who are fighting to preserve human dignity amid growing corporate power over our lives and democracies. At 3:55 pm on April 1, 54-year old Heo Se-Wook, a union member of KCTU, attempted suicide by self-immolation as an act of resistance against the Korea-US FTA negotiation. He is in critical emergency condition at the Han-River Sungshim Hospital.

Heo Se-Wook, Lee Kyung-Hae and others who have sacrificed their lives have done so to salvage what little social protections remain under corporate-led globalization. By eliminating the power of governments to protect their own farms and factories that provide livelihoods to their citizens, the Korus FTA will enable the largest corporations in the world to dictate our nations' development. This is the lesson of NAFTA, which has exported over 1 million good paying U.S. manufacturing jobs and has forced over 1 million Mexican corn farmers off the land. The same
will happen under the Korus FTA, and even greater intellectual property rights will be granted to corporations to overturn our public laws, in the United States and South Korea.

Tens of thousands of people in South Korea have been protesting the FTA for the past 10 months, fearing what it will do to their livelihoods, their access to medicine, and their right to food security. A nation that recently suffered over three decades of brutal repression under dictatorships knows well the experience of sacrificing democracy for development.
And again, democratic rights have failed.

The South Korean government has deployed severely repressive tactics to quash dissent and opposition to the free trade talks. Whether it was the mere 20 minutes allowed for a hearing before President Roh Moo Hyun announced trade talks, or the fact that the Korean Advertising Broadcasting Agency blocked running an advertisement produced by farmers and filmmaker, the government has not allowed for open, public debate about the FTA's impact on the nation's economy and sovereignty. Tens of thousands of police have been deployed, checkpoints set up on major roads to halt workers and farmers from exercising their freedom of assembly and travel, and water cannons and batons have been used to strike fear into the minds and bodies of
protestors. The police has issued summons and warrants for over 170 social movement leaders, raided the local offices of civic organizations, detained leaders of farmers and workers organizations, and even made threatening phone calls to potential participants of public rallies. But this has not stopped the South Korean people from using their hard won democratic rights to organize by the tens of thousands in protest, waging hunger strikes and candlelight vigils.

Despite the South Korean government's efforts to quash dissent to the FTA, popular opposition has turned the disapproval rate of the FTA from 29.2 percent on June 7, 2006 to over 70% in the most recent poll, driven by economic anxieties and the growing conviction that civil society has been shut out of the negotiations process.

Promising development while ignoring democratic failure works against U.S. interests in South Korea. Should the FTA become law after an undemocratic process and in spite of mass popular opposition, the FTA will drive the perception in South Korea that America's democratic rhetoric is merely a cover for profit-seeking behavior. The U.S. does not need an FTA that further incites anti-Americanism; annual trade between South Korea and the U.S. already tops $74 billion, and this will continue whether or not the FTA becomes law.

We must work together to call on Congress, who has just an up or down vote, to vote against the Korus FTA. We must work together to call on Congress to end the Trade Promotion Authority to President Bush that doesn't allow for any voice from Congress or the people. We must call on Congress to start a fresh dialogue for a U.S. trade policy that respects international norms that uphold the human right to food, housing, health, education, and dignity. Without these goals as a centerpiece of our trade and development agenda, we will not secure more peace and security in the world.

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the Proposed Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

2007-04-03T10:36:00.000-04:00

April 2, 2007

Working people in the United States and South Korea join today in vigorously opposing the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), and we will send a powerful message to the U.S. Congress and the Korean Parliament that any trade agreement between our countries must protect the fundamental rights of workers and contribute to the creation of good jobs in both countries.

The agreement, which is the largest since the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will not benefit the working people of the United States or South Korea. The AFL-CIO along with our Korean union counterparts, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) strongly oppose any agreement that will hurt working families, farmers, and domestic producers in both countries. This flawed deal contains no enforceable protections for core workers’ rights, and it will undermine both governments’ ability to provide affordable and high-quality public and social services, and to protect food safety, the environment, and public health.

Our governments rushed through negotiations and announced the deal late last night, after a 48-hour extension of the negotiating deadline. Issues important to working families in both countries clearly have been railroaded over. It’s inexplicable that the Bush Administration would put forth a trade agreement with no enforceable protections for workers’ rights at a time when there is broad acknowledgement in the U.S. Congress that trade agreements must uphold core workers’ rights.

This agreement is likely to exacerbate and accelerate the loss of good jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector, especially in autos, apparel, and electronics. We already have a $14 billion trade deficit with South Korea – almost $12 billion of that in autos and auto parts. This deal will likely jeopardize tens of thousands of U.S. auto jobs – opening the U.S. auto market further, while failing to address the array of formal and informal barriers to the sale of U.S. automobiles in South Korea. Unfortunately, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) rejected the very sensible proposal put forward by a bipartisan group of members of Congress to tie any opening of the U.S. auto market to concrete benchmarks in U.S. auto sales in Korea. We have little confidence that our negotiators have successfully addressed the enormous imbalance in auto trade with traditional tariff-lowering proposals.

While details of the agreement have not yet been made public, we are deeply concerned at press reports that the FTA includes market access benefits for products made in the industrial zone in the North Korean border city of Kaesong. Workers in Kaesong have no ability whatsoever to exercise their basic human rights to freedom of association, to organize, and to bargain collectively. They are essentially indentured servants of the North Korean government – not allowed to collect wages directly from their South Korean employers, but paid only by the North Korean government after arbitrary and excessive deductions. It is completely unacceptable for products made under these repressive conditions to receive preferential access to the U.S. market.

Finally, this deal does not incorporate enforceable protections for the ILO core labor standards, but includes instead only a weak provision that the countries must each enforce their own labor laws. Countries may weaken their labor laws at any time without penalty.

The KORUS FTA does not reflect the proposals on workers’ rights, environmental protections, investment, procurement, and prescription drugs put forward by House Democrats recently. Those proposals reflect widely shared concerns, and members of Congress should reject any agreement that does not fully incorporate them.

San Diego Union-Tribune, April 3, 2007: Democracy Loses in Korea Trade Pact

2007-04-03T10:28:00.000-04:00

Declaration and Pledge to Oppose the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement

2007-03-22T10:23:00.000-04:00

http://www.gopetition.com/online/11558.html
Go to the link above to sign the on-line petition.

Join Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN)* and the Korean Alliance Against the Korus FTA (KoA) In Waging a Global Hunger Strike Against the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KorUS FTA) and the Bush Free Trade Agenda.

The United States and South Korean governments are frantically working around the clock to sign the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KorUS FTA) by April 2, when it must be submitted to Congress for a vote by July 1. If signed, the KorUS FTA will be the second largest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In South Korea, tens of thousands of farmers, workers, and students are organizing for a massive demonstration on March 25, 2007. Since Monday, March 19, over 100 people have been waging a hunger strike in Seoul and other cities across the country. On Monday March 26th, then number of hunger strikers will grow to 1000.

We ask for your solidarity in stopping the KorUS FTA and all Bush FTAs.

The March 25 massive demonstration is organized by the Korean Alliance against Korea-US FTA (KoA), a coalition of over 300 organizations representing millions of trade unionists, peasants, students, environmental and public health advocates. March 25 is the day of international action to stop the KorUS FTA, all Bush FTAs, and the spread of corporate-led globalization. The U.S. is now negotiating free trade deals with several countries, including Peru, Colombia, Panama, South Korea, and Thailand.

In solidarity allies in the United States and around the world will wage a 36 hour global hunger strike to oppose the KorUS FTA and the free trade regime that is destroying our livelihoods, our communities, our human rights and our environment. The hunger strike will be timed with South Korea’s 3 pm, March 25 (the start of the mass mobilization) through 3 am, March 27 (just after the end of first day of the 1000 person hunger strike.) For the reference of those in the U.S., this is 2 am, March 25 through 2 pm March 26 Eastern Standard Time and 11 pm, March 24 through 11 am March 26 Pacific Daylight Time.

March is the critical month in the fight to stop all pending U.S. FTAs from conclusion. Unfettered free trade has been directly responsible for the massive loss of jobs and erosion of hard-won benefits and rights for workers, farmers, and laws protecting our public health and environment. Wholly undemocratic, the only voices heard behind closed negotiation doors are that of corporate interests.

Join us for this 36-hour global hunger strike! We will send Korea the solidarity list by Saturday, March 24 for KoA to read at the March 25 mass demonstration. For more information, call: 718.335.0419 or email: yul-san@nodutdol.org.

*Founded in April 2006, KAWAN is a national coalition of progressive U.S.-based Korean organizations endorsed by hundreds of immigrant, people of color, LGBT, farmers’, workers’, women’s, national liberation, anti-war and anti-globalization groups. For each of the eight rounds of negotiations between the U.S. and Korea, we have waged protests and resistance with our Korean allies. We have held forums, held direct action and civil disobedience and engaged in lobbying and advocacy efforts.

Seattle Post Intelligencer, March 2, 2007: Free Trade Agreement Between US and South Korea is a Lie

2007-03-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

THUR 3/8: KAWAN-BAY AREA REPORTBACK FROM WASHINGTON DC

2007-03-01T06:06:00.000-05:00

!!!DOWN WITH KOR-US FTA!!!
KAWAN-BAY AREA REPORT BACK FROM DC

WHAT: Reportback from KAWAN-Bay Area members who participated in the week of protests, actions, and solidarity events opposing the 7th round KOREA-USA Free Trade Agreement.

Featuring:
- Screening of film shorts from 16 Takes on Korean Society (2006)
- Slide show presentations
- First hand accounts, updates, upcoming actions, and more!

WHEN: THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2007 @ 7-9PM

WHERE: 522 Valencia (@ 16th St)
San Francisco, CA
[1 block from 16th/Mission BART]

Sponsored by Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN)
FOR MORE INFO, CONTACT: Christine Chai, chaichristine@gmail.com

Party for Socialism and Liberation, February 22, 2007: Protests against Korea-U.S. FTA greet 7th round of negotiations

2007-02-23T07:16:00.000-05:00

One World, February 16, 2007: U.S.-Korea Trade Negotiations Get Nowhere

2007-02-19T20:07:00.000-05:00

Images from the Seventh Round FTA Struggle in DC

2007-02-16T12:04:00.000-05:00

Opening Press Conference (2/11/07) in front of the negotiation site (Washington Court Hotel near the Capitol).

Opening March through the streets of Washington, DC -- from Malcolm X Park to Adams Morgan community area to Lafayette Park near the White House. Many supporters and allies joined the march.

Marching towards the White House.

"Changing of the guards ceremony" of all-night vigil teams. Despite the frigid cold, the protesters maintained a 24-hour vigil.

American workers from the AFL-CIO and Change to Win joined in a joint rally (2/12/07) in front of the negotiation site.

The Korean delegation asks for the delivery of open letter to the negotiators...

but was blocked entry into the hotel by the police...

... with rough handling of protesters by the police.

Congressional Briefing ("US and Korean Civil Society Voice Deep Concerns Over Potential US Korea FTA," 2/13/07) co-sponsored by AFL-CIO, Korean Americans for Fair Trade (KAFT) and Korean Alliance against KorUS FTA, drew many Congressional staffers and the media. Representatives from Korea and KAFT visited Congressional offices to discuss concerns regarding the Korea-US FTA.

Freezing snow came down upon the protesters during the late night, but the group maintained high spirit through singing and creative chanting. Supporters and allies brought hot coffee, soup and blankets and gave encouraging solidarity messages.

Press Conference/Rally (2/14/07) in front of the Korean Embassy in protest of Amb. Lee Tae-shik's statement: "If Korean Americans can eat American beef, why can't Koreans?"

Down, Down, US beef!

Group photo at the Closing Rally -- a stong gust of cold wind did not deter the determination of this hardy group. See you in Seoul...

NYC Community Forum on Free Trade and Our Countries: Saturday, February 17

2007-02-15T17:19:00.000-05:00

A COMMUNITY FORUM ON
FREE TRADE AND OUR COUNTRIES-
what does this mean for all of us?

What is Free Trade doing to our home countries, our people? How does this affect immigrants and immigration? What is Congress doing - and what can we do about it?

Speakers from Latin America, Korea, labor and political representatives and more!
With: organizing strategies for social economic justice here and abroad. Be part of the struggle: see how you can help!

Speakers:
Consuelo Ahumada – Prof. Javeriana University
Ana María Archila – Dir. Latin America Integration Center
Carlos Bernales – Journalist
Sukyung Chang – E.D., Korean Alliance Against the Korea-US FTA (KoA)
David Edeli – Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch

Moderators: Mario Murillo and Deepa Fernanades of WBAI Pacifica

Saturday, February 17th
12:30 - 3 PM
Renaissance Charter School
35-59 81st Street
Jackson Heights NY
(Take #7 train to 82nd St or F, G, R, V to 74 St. and change to #7 . Walk one block to 37th Ave. )
Refreshments served.

For more information, contact:
Spanish (347) 546-3170
English (917) 685-1044
Korean (646) 283-3696.

Sponsored by:
Hon. H. Monserrate Dist. 21, Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, Committee for Social Justice in Columbia, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement-NYC, Latino Initiative for Better Resources & Empowerment, Movement for Peace in Colombia., New Immigrants for Community Empowerment, NY People's Referendum on Free Trade, Korean- Americans for Fair Trade, Korean-Americans Against War And Neo-liberalism, Polo Democratico Alternativo NY-NJ-CT, SEIU 1199, SEIU 32BJ, Working Families Party

Workday Minnesota, February 13, 2007: U.S., Korean activists protest bad trade deal

2007-02-13T23:50:00.000-05:00

DC 7th Round Day Two

2007-02-13T23:41:00.000-05:00

From a KAWAN delegate who is currently in DC:

We've had a successful action on Monday, the second day of the negotiations- a civil disobedience that was somewhat not so civil. We attempted to enter the Washington Court Hotel, and wound up in a scuffle with the police- (we tried to run in and they physically threw us out, no real fights) Even though some protestors planned to get arrested (for minor charges only) the police did not arrest us. But we did create some visible tension that was picked up by the media. (tho it was mostly Korean) without the hassle of going through arrests. To listen to a sound bite go to: http://dc.indymedia.org

We wound up staying overnight at our hotel in Virginia, splittin' time between two shifts.

Tonight, as I write this in the relative comfort of the hotel room, the rest are out in sleet and snow, protesting in front of the Washington Court Hotel. I have my heat turned off in solidarity, tho I am going under the covers soon.

Will have pictures and links up soon- I need to pass out for now.

Solidarity Action in Burlington, Vermont

2007-02-13T17:56:00.000-05:00

Students and Workers to deliver Valentines message to Vermont's Congressional Delegation:
"Don't Break My Heart with the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement"

Date: Wednesday, February 14th
Time: 9:30am
Place: Senator Leahy's office, 199 Main Street
Contact: Helaine Alon, Students for Peace & Global Justice, 617 513 3536
Jonathan Kissam, Vermont Workers' Center, 802 343 1705

Burlington, VT - On Valentine's day, students from UVM's Students for Peace and Global Justice, the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) and members of the Vermont Workers' Center - Jobs With Justice will deliver hundreds of Valentines to the offices of Vermont's Congressional delegation, urging them to oppose the proposed free trade agreement between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

"The US-Korea Free Trade Agreement would be an extension of the failed NAFTA model that has been disastrous for workers, farmers and the environment," said Jonathan Kissam of the Vermont Workers' Center.

As preconditions to the talks, the Bush administration has demanded that South Korea lower its auto emissions standards and suspend a program which had successfully lowered the cost of prescription drugs. "We need to move forward on climate change and access to affordable medicines, not backwards," notes UVM student Helaine Alon.

Negotiators from the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Republic of Korea are meeting this week in Washington, D.C., for the seventh and possibly final round of negotiations. If signed and approved by Congress, it will be the largest free trade agreement since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Korea is the world's eleventh-largest economy, with a GDP of $787.6 billion in 2005, slightly larger than Mexico's.

More information on the US-Korea free trade agreement is available from the Korea Policy Institute, http://www.kpolicy.org.

AFL-CIO - Washington DC Metro Council: KOREA TRADE PACT BLASTED

2007-02-12T23:11:00.000-05:00

February 11 through March 1: Fair Trade Solidarity Film Screenings Encouraged

2007-02-12T18:50:00.000-05:00

February 11, 2007. Students, workers, farmers including: a South Korean delegation from the Korean Alliance Against the KorUS FTA (KoA), the Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU), Federation of Korea Trade Unions (FKTU) and Korean-Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN) and Korean Americans for Fair Trade (KAFT) will be working tirelessly this week on series of events that will coincide with the 7th round of KoreaUS Free Trade talks being held in Washington, DC.

In order to demonstrate our transnational solidarity for fair trade that supports creativity and cultural diversity, we're asking you to hold a solidarity film screening in your community sometime between now and March 1st. Don't let these administrations fast-track an undemocratic process to free trade. Check out the no KORUS FTA myspace page and let us know where/when you are holding your screening and/or forum: http://www.myspace.com/noftafilmscreenings or email: kawanbaysolidarityscreening@gmail.com.

Feb 12th: Korean Farmers, Labor Activists and U.S. Labor Protest And Hold All Night Vigil at Free Trade Talks Site in DC

2007-02-12T15:12:00.000-05:00

Monday, Feb 12th, 2007 – till Feb 13th
Washington Court Hotel
525 New Jersey Ave.NW (Corner of E St. and New Jersey Ave)

Today, the AFL-CIO, Change to Win and others joined the South Korean delegation from the KOREAN ALLIANCE AGAINST KOREA-US Free Trade Agreement (KoA), and Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN) to protest and rally in front of the negotiation site of the Korea-US Free Trade talks.

At the Washington Court hotel, as hundreds of negotiators attempt to speed up talks on what will be the largest free
trade agreement since NAFTA, over a hundred demonstrators outside the hotel called to end the talks and demanded
“Fair Trade, not Free Trade!”

Protesters attempted to enter the negotiation rooms, but were held back by security.  Determined to tell the
negotiators that millions of Korean workers, farmers – and countless American workers are endangered by the current
agreement, members of KoA and KAWAN have decided to hold an all night vigil in front of the hotel, until they are
allowed to speak with the negotiators.

“The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is attempting to ignore us, as it has ignored the working people both here in the U.S. and in Korea,” says Yul-san Liem of KAWAN. “We refuse to leave the negotiation site until they talk to us and hear how the Kor-US FTA is already destroying people’s livelihoods!”

The KoA delegation includes Huh Yeong Gu, (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions), Kyung Shik Moon Korean Peasants League), Jin Pil Kim (Korean Advanced Farmers' Federation), Dae Jin Baik Federation of Korean Trade Unions) and Jung Gwanghoon (delegation leader). Jin Pil Kim represents the farmers group whose member Lee Kyung Hae took his life in protest of the WTO Cancun talks in 2003.

These activities follow a march and rally yesterday, Sunday, and are part of a series of protests against this 7^th and possibly last round of Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (Kor-US FTA) negotiations, taking place in DC. The week will include daily rallies, vigils, marches and more.

WHO:
KoA (The Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA), a South Korean coalition of 280 organizations and KAWAN (Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism), a national coalition of progressive Korean American organizations, with support from over 100 immigrant, people of color, LGBT, farmers, workers, womens, anti-war and anti-globalization groups from throughout the United States.

WHY:
The voices of the people most impacted by the trade agreement - the citizens of US and South Korea - have been ignored by the trade negotiators. The majority of the South Korean public opposes the trade agreement, holding protests with as many as 150,000 people. The Kor-US FTA has received little attention in the US media, although it will be the largest free trade agreement that the US has negotiated since NAFTA.

This week is seen as a potential final battle in this fight for fair trade and worker's rights. The Korean delegation includes labor activist Huh Yeong Gu, who was recently sentenced to a two year jail term for protesting the negotiations but received a stay of imprisonment. While trade negotiators attempt to complete their work before the Bush administration's Fast Track Authority ends in June - the protesters are just as determined to end the talks and to demand that the new Democratic Congress follow through on their election commitments to fair trade over free trade.

(photos from KBS News)

DC 7th Round Day One

2007-02-12T02:04:00.000-05:00

The seventh round of FTA negotiations in Washington DC has officially begun. A delegation of activists from South Korea (ncluding members of the Korean Alliance Against the KorUS FTA, Korea Peasants League, Korean Advanced Farmers Federation, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Korean Cattle Ranchers Association, Korean Metal Workers Union, Korean Women Against US Occupation, and others) and the US (members of KAWAN, Justice Committee, Audre Lorde Project, International Action Center, ANSWER Coalition, Queer People of Color Liberation Project, and others) have arrived in Washington DC in conjunction with the negotiations have arrived and begun this struggle for this 7th and final round of negotiations.

Summary of the day's events:
At 9:30 AM, we held an opening press conference in front of the Washington Court Hotel with Korean and US major media outlets.
At 1 PM, we kicked off the week formally with an opening rally and march beginning at Malcom X Park and ending at Lafayette Park in front of the White House. Speakers and performers at the rally included representatives from an array of grassroots organizations resisting the KorUS FTA from South Korea and around the country. After the rally, the delegation moved to the Washington Court Hotel, the site of the negotiations, to pitch two tents where activists against the FTA will maintain a continuous symbolic and strategic presence throughout the week of negotiations in a show of opposition to the undemocratic nature of the official talks.

Throughout the week, we will be engaging in a mix of advocacy efforts, direct action, and other tactics to demonstrate our resistance to the KorUS FTA. DOWN DOWN FTA!

Tomorrow's agenda (all and sundry are invited to participate):
9 AM: Rally in front of the Washington Court Hotel
!2 PM: Joint rally with Change to Win, AFL-CIO, KAWAN (Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism), KoA (Korean Alliance Against the KorUS FTA), and KCTU (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions)
Afternoon and evening: Creative actions.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week!

Toojeng,
Yumi

February 11, 2007: Early morning rally in front of FTA negotiation site

2007-02-11T10:22:00.000-05:00

News From Korean Alliance Against KorUS FTA

2007-02-10T12:04:00.000-05:00

Protest Delegation Sets off for Washington D.C.

On February 10, a Korean Protest Delegation made up of representatives from workers, farmers, cultural and social movement organizations left Incheon Airport for the United States. at 3:05pm. The group's mission is to protest the Korea-US FTA negotiations, which will go into their 7 ^th round from Feb. 11 to 14 at the Hyatt Regent in Washington, D.C. This is not the first time that such a group has gone to the U.S. Since the 2^nd round of talks were held in D.C. in June of last year, the Korean Alliance against the KorUS FTA, a coalition of over 300 groups in South Korea, has organized protest delegations of this kind to send each time the FTA negotiations are held abroad. Korean delegations have now protested in D.C., Seattle and Montana during the first, third and fifth round of talks. The second, fourth and sixth rounds were held in South Korea.

This 7^th round of talks is especially significant. The negotiators from both countries are racing to reach an agreement in time to submit it to the U.S. Congress before the U.S. president's Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) expires on July 1 ^st. TPA authorizes the president to sign an agreement before Congress sees it and then requires that Congress vote it up or down with out amendment. Because trade legislation must be submitted to Congress at least 90 days in advance of a vote, the Korea-US FTA must be concluded by the end of March to meet the deadline. Although Kim Jong-hoon, chief negotiator for the Korean side as mentioned the possibility of an 8 ^th round, both sides are hoping to make significant progress, if not conclude a deal this week.

Predicting that large concessions will be made in order get an agreement signed, the Korean protest delegation and American-based organizations are changing their tactics to meet the situation. Besides standard rallies, street demonstrations and vigils, they will hold an overnight tent protest for the entire span of the negotiations. Advocacy work on Capitol Hill is also planned in anticipation that the agreement will be concluded. The protest delegates will throw all their energy into raising awareness about the FTA, which they say is 'unfair trade' that will cost jobs and increase social polarization in both countries, from the streets to the briefing rooms.

But the protest delegations have had results other than just strengthening FTA-sentiment. The Koreans have also built a strong solidarity with Korean Americans, in particular the national organization Korean Americans against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN). KoA and KAWAN have now been working together for nine months to carry out the anti-FTA struggle on both sides of the Pacific. In addition, exchanges have occurred and solidarity built with other immigrant, people of color and queer communities and labor organizations in the U.S. who are fighting neoliberalism. "I have a lot of expectations," said Soo-kyung Jang, Executive Director of the Women's Committee of KoA. "Personally I am looking forward to meeting the brothers and sisters I met in Seattle and sharing ideas about solidarity."

Protest will also occur in Seoul, South Korea at the same time as they are going on in D.C. KoA has planned events through the week, including a large rally and prayer protest this Monday, but has been denied permits, even for peaceful demonstrations. In fact, the South Korean government has enforced a ban on all FTA protests since last November, actively seeking to quell anti-FTA sentiment. Organizers, undaunted, say they will go ahead with their plans and call the government's ban a violation of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

TomPaine.com, February 8, 2007: A New Fast Track for Unfair Trade

2007-02-08T14:04:00.000-05:00

Opening rally in DC: February 11

2007-01-31T23:13:00.000-05:00

Join us for a Week of Protest Against
the 7th Round of Korea-US FTA Negotiations

Sunday, Feb. 11 – 14, 2007, Washington, DC

(to coincide with the talks)

Gather for an Opening March and Rally

1 PM, Sunday, February 11

Malcolm X Park, Washington, DC

(at 16th and Euclid Streets, NW)

New York Folks: Ride the Down Down FTA Bus to DC for the Opening March and Rally

Meet on the east side of Union Square
btw. 15th and 16th Streets at
7:30 am, Sun. 02-11-07
Return time: about 10:30 pm
Suggested donation $25
(We won’t turn folks away)
To reserve a seat email
imanihenry@yahoo.com
or call 646.342.9673

PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY.

For more info call (718) 335-0419 or email yul-san@nodutdol.org

The Nation, January 26, 2007: Korea-US Trade Agreement Headed for Trouble

2007-01-27T11:12:00.000-05:00

Free Trade = Injustice: Event in DC on Feb. 3

2007-01-25T16:21:00.000-05:00

Please circulate widely

For more info call (718) 335-0419, email yul-san@nodutdol.org or go to
kawanlist.blogspot.com

DOWN with all Free Trade Deals!

Free Trade = Injustice:
a Film and Forum on the Struggle to Oppose the Colombia and Korea-US FTAs

WHEN: SATURDAY, Feb 3 at 6 PM

WHERE: The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd. NW (Green to Columbia Heights. Exit near intersection of Irving St NW and 14th St NW and go south on 14th St towards Columbia Rd.)

WHAT: Film screening of "Down Down FTA!" (about the anti-KorUS FTA struggle in Seattle) and teach-in on the US' Free Trade agenda with South Korea and Colombia. What will their impact be on the people of all three countries? What are the status' of the negotiations? What are we doing to resist?

With speakers from Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism and Polo Democratico Alternativo (progressive political party of Colombia.)

Also learned about the up-coming week of protest against the KorUS FTA. Feb. 11 -14, and how you can join.

WHY: Free trade policies such as these have had devastating effects on the lives of Americans as well as workers in the partner countries. Politicians and big corporations claim Free Trade Agreements will encourage foreign direct investment, create jobs and jump-start economies, but in fact they only support elite classes and the governments they back. NAFTA sent formerly high paying manufacturing jobs to Mexico, forced Mexican subsistence farmers to the cities, drove wages and working conditions, leading many to risk their lives immigrating to the U.S. South Korean, Colombian and U.S. farmers and workers will suffer the same results it the KorUS and Colombia-US FTAs pass.

Sponsored by Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN), a U.S. coalition of progressive U.S.-based Korean organizations endorsed by over 100 immigrant, people of color, LGBT, farmers', workers', women's, national liberation, anti-war and anti-globalization groups from around the country.

Foreign Policy in Focus, January 24, 2007: Postcard from...Seoul

2007-01-25T10:48:00.000-05:00

KorUS FTA 7th Round

2007-01-23T21:29:00.000-05:00

Down with the Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement
(KorUS FTA)

Down with Fast Track and all Free Trade Deals

Protect Workers, Farmers, the Environment and Peoples’ Right to Sovereignty and Democracy

The 7th and Final Round of KorUS FTA Negotiations is almost upon us!!

JOIN US FOR A WEEK OF PROTEST

When: Sunday, Feb. 11 – 14, 2007 (to coincide with the talks)
Where: Washington, DC and Virginia

PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY. For more info call (718) 335-0419 or email yul-san@nodutdol.org

The U.S. and South Korean governments began FTA negotiations in June, 2006. Now they are in a race to finish at the expense of democratic process and the lives of millions.

Join peasant, labor, and community leaders from South Korea to protest neoliberal globalization.

WHAT: During the 7th and final week of negotiations, delegations of U.S. and Korean protesters will join forces to oppose the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. The week will include rallies, vigils, marches, direct actions and solidarity events. Give us a call NOW to find out how you can get involved and look out for updates with specific times and places in the coming weeks (kawanlist.blogspot.com).

WHO: This week of protest is sponsored by;
The Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA (KoA), a South Korean coalition of 280 organizations
AND
Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN), a U.S. coalition of progressive U.S.-based Korean organizations endorsed by close to 100 immigrant, people of color, LGBT, farmers’, workers’, women’s, national liberation, anti-war and anti-globalization groups from around the country.

WHY: Free trade policies such as this have had devastating effects on the lives of Americans as well as workers in the partner countries. Politicians and big corporations claim Free Trade Agreements will encourage foreign direct investment, create jobs and jump-start economies, but in fact they only support elite classes and the governments they back. NAFTA sent formerly high paying manufacturing jobs to Mexico, forced Mexican subsistence farmers to the cities, drove wages and working conditions, leading many to risk their lives immigrating to the U.S. South Koreans and U.S. farmers and workers will suffer the same results it the KorUS FTA passes.

KoA and KAWAN’s joint protests began during the first round of talks in Washington, DC, June 2006. In July we followed the negotiators to the second round in Seoul, where over a hundred thousand people protested in the streets. The struggle then went to Seattle for the 3rd round, then Jae Ju Island at the southern tip of Korea and then a ski resort in Montana. This week protesters are taking the streets in Seoul to protest the talks for the 6th time. The South Korean and US governments have announced that the 7th will be the final round. It’s time to go all out. So get ready.

Resources
· KoA’s English website
· KAWAN's blog
· Bilateral.org, a progressive website about bilateral trade and investment agreements
· News article on protests in Seattle in September

Pyeongtaek Solidarity Statement: Signed by Noam Chomsky

2007-01-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

Noam Chomsky was the first to sign this recently written statement of solidarity with Pyeongtaek farmers:

We stand in solidarity with Pyeongtaek farmers

We stand in solidarity with the people of Daechuri and Doduri, South Korea who are protecting their homes, land, and livelihood from the U.S. military. We believe that the U.S. military must cease and desist its forced eviction of Pyeongtaek farmers. We demand that the governments of South Korea and the U.S. review and re-negotiate the planned expansion of the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek.
The South Korean government should immediately withdraw all military troops from Daechuri and Doduri, allow the villagers to enter their fields, and retract its plan for the destruction of houses and villages. The government must also make a public apology to the public for committing violence against its people and immediately release all prisoners. In addition, the South Korean government should reverse its agreement to the U.S. military “strategic flexibility” plan, of which the Pyeongtaek base expansion is a result. This shift toward “strategic flexibility” in U.S. military policy will only strengthen U.S. imperial ambitions in East Asia and threaten to unleash a crisis of war in the region.
The forcible displacement of Pyeongtaek farmers violates the housing rights specified in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Culture Rights, and the freedoms of body, of residence and transfer, of expression and of association as specified in the International Covenant on Civil and Politic Rights. The Korean government is party to both of these agreements. Already hundreds of people have been injured by South Korean riot police and hired thugs, simply for protecting themselves and their land from the impending social, cultural, economic, and environmental destruction caused by yet another U.S. military base.

Signed:

Noam Chomsky

Arabic Newspaper As-Safir Covers Christine Ahn's Op-Ed

2007-01-15T10:57:00.000-05:00

VILLAGERS CHALLENGE U.S. MILITARY IN SOUTH KOREA – by Christine Ahn

2007-01-10T13:40:00.000-05:00

Daechuri Village Leader Kim Ji Tae released from prison!

2006-12-28T12:24:00.000-05:00

Washington Post, December 13, 2006: Protests to delay US base move in South Korea

2006-12-27T14:37:00.000-05:00

SEOUL (Reuters) - Violent protests staged against the U.S. military presence in South Korea are likely to delay a major realignment of U.S. bases in the country, including the closure of a base in Seoul, the defense ministry said on Wednesday.

Daechuri residents are named People of the Year 2006 by news magazine Hankyoreh 21. Below is a recent photo that was Hankyoreh's cover photo, it is of the villagers standing on the rubble of the elementary school that was demolished last May.

A.N.S.W.E.R.'s National Staff Coordinator Reports from Big Sky Montana

2006-12-20T10:40:00.000-05:00

Foreign Policy in Focus, December 13, 2006: Postcard from...Pyongtaek

2006-12-14T16:34:00.000-05:00

Article written by an "Eyewitness Program" participant, Christine Ahn.

Photo from Korean Press, December 11, 2006

2006-12-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

Click on the link above to read the article in Korean.

last day of action in MT

2006-12-11T13:52:00.000-05:00

I am thrilled to be writing this update from the warm, cozy confines of my apartment back in Brooklyn, NY. All of our dongjis from Montana made it back home safe and sound, and I hope we are all resting and taking care of ourselves after a week of hard work!

After another long night Thursday, we got up Friday morning ready for our last day of action in Big Sky. Those of us on the 5-7 AM shift happened to see a city bus emblazoned with "Detention Center" on the side pass by our tents before rolling down to the front of the hotel. Clearly, the negotiators were expecting big things from us. One can only hope we did not disappoint.

At 9:30 AM, we held our final morning action -- another press conference, but this time with a special twist: we set up a table with food and drink as offerings and held a kosa, a ritual held to ask the spirits of our ancestors for blessings. Chairman Oh Jung Ryul delivered a statement and led us in bowing before the spirits. He also shared inspiring words with us linking the Korean people's struggle for self-determination and liberation with the struggles of people around the world fighting against U.S. imperialism. He pointed to the tallest mountain that had towered above us all week and reminded us that the land on which we stood was rightfully the land of the Native Americans, and that the arrival of Europeans on this continent had begun centuries of American-led genocide and war -- a tradition that continues today all over the world, including in Korea. I don't mean for this to sound heavy-handed at all: it was a beautiful, moving, heartfelt reminder of why we fight. Plus, check out that heavenly glow! Nice.

Next, we created a banner in preparation for the afternoon's activities that read "NO FTA" in huge letters. With makeshift trays of paint, each of us left a handprint, message, and signature on the banner to commemorate the week and renew our commitment for the following months in this fight against the FTA.

Shout-out to our resident crazy, drunken filmmaker, Kim Jong Gwan! If you can't tell, his statement says, "FTA will be defeated by my camera!"

We used this banner in our afternoon closing rally, which began just before 2 PM with samboilbae, three steps and one bow, a traditional Buddhist prayer march with a long, proud protest history. Given that our right to even set foot outside of Down Down FTA Town and onto the private property of the resort was disputed, our decision to go ahead with the samboilbae on the road leading away from the resort (thus blocking traffic) without arrests (despite numerous threats from our friends in law enforcement) was first, a credit to our amazing police negotiating team, Haeyoung and Joohyun from CAAAV, and second, symbolic of strength we had amassed over the week. The negotiators and their security teams wanted to run us off their property with our tails between our legs. But when we left, it was on OUR terms: dignified, disruptive, and unified, a reminder that we will continue this fight until it is won. As we marched and bowed, our final shouts of "Down Down FTA" literally rang off the walls of the hotel we faced.

Did I mention that in addition to being dignified and strong, it was a bit of a snowy, slushy, taxing affair? I don't know about y'all, but my knees and thighs are still a little tore up two days later.

Following the samboilbae, we snake-danced, drummed, chanted, and sang our way down the hill to the main entrance of Big Sky resort where we held our final rally of the week. Allies from local groups once again joined us and spoke out as we blocked the road, held our ground, reflected upon the week's events, looked forward to the next round of protest, and listened to eloquent statements reminding us yet again why it is so imperative that we defeat the KorUS FTA. We also got to do the Farmer Song dance one last time. You know: clap clap foot foot, clap clap shoulder shoulder, clap clap hip hip, clap clap twirl! Good times!

Big ups to Danny's taenguri leading the way!

And after the rally? We packed up, headed back to our home base, and started our all-night dwipuri party. The details? Let's just say: ten large bottles of soju, song, dance, and other performances, and some sleepy-ass plane rides home. The rest is classified. After all, what happens in Montana STAYS in Montana!!!! To find out more, you'll just have to come to the seventh round of negotiations, location and time TBA.

Soogo + lots of love,
Yumi

Friday, December 8

2006-12-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

It's the morning of our final day in Big Sky!
The sun is rising over our tents. Weather reports say it will be in the forties today! Woo!

Too tired to write much. Instead, here are some pictures:

At the end of our candlelight vigil last night, we made a single line and snaked around the parking lot to the beat of Korean drums. At the end, we passed our candles one by one to Cheehyung, who placed them in the snow in the shape of the letters "NO FTA."

A view of the tents from outside. Told you it was in a parking lot!

A strategizing moment inside the big tent.

Snowpeople against the FTA!

Today: Press conference and rally at 9:30 AM. Surprise action and rally at 2 PM in Big Sky (stay tuned!). And tonight, dwipuri - our final celebration before we scatter back to our homes tomorrow.

Toojeng,
Yumi

Solidarity Anti-FTA Protest in DC

2006-12-07T21:39:00.000-05:00

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!

Koreans Civil Society reps disrupt talks at the KorUS FTA negotiations

2006-12-07T16:36:00.000-05:00

Press release
Contact: Young Choe (347) 885-9226

Korean Protestors Pitch Tent to Protest, Infiltrate Negotiation Site

December 7 (Big Sky, MT) A group of 4 protestors from South Korea and one from the US successfully infiltrated the KorUS FTA negotiation site in Big Sky, dropping banners and blocking doorways before being escorted out by the hotel security. The banner, 24 feet in length, was hung on the third floor window of the Shoshone Hotel where the negotiators are staying. Shoshone Hotel is also adjacent to the site of the negotiations.

The presence of the protestors, who were peacefully and quietly walking about the lobby, nonetheless created tension among the delegates and the security personnel. Besides hotel security, the 5 civil society representatives were flanked by security personnel of the Department of State and the United States Trade Representatives. The visibly upset security personnel approached the protest area.

The protestors included representatives from Korean Peasants League, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, and Federation of Korean Trade Unions. The three groups have over 1.6 million dues-paying members in total.

The protestors were part of a group of 30, including activists from local Montana organizations that pitched a tent Wednesday night in the protest area designated by the hotel. The tent protest started with a candlelight vigil at 10 pm Wednesday night, and is expected to last until the end of the negotiations. 15 protestors stayed up in freezing temperatures in a show of resolve Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

In the press statement, the Korean Alliance against KorUS FTA pointed out that the stalled talks in pharmaceuticals, automobiles and trade remedy was a traditional negotiations tactic, and many concessions were in fact made, including South Korea's concessions to have a current legislation regarding drug prices reflect the agreements in the KorUS FTA. The protestors assess that liberalization of trade will lead to privatization of public services, as well as loss of food self-sufficiency.

The protests come on the heels of massive weekly protests in South Korea. On November 22, over 150,000 people gathered throughout the country to protest the FTA. On successive weeks of November 29 and December 6, the number of protestors topped out at 12,000 and 15,000 respectively, with over 10,000 in Seoul, the nation's capital on December 6.

The protestors plan on continuing to hold candlelight vigils and cultural festivals and brief rallies throughout the day and night Thursday, with a rally to close out the week of protests in Bozeman on Friday afternoon at 2pm.

Wednesday into Thursday, Big Sky, Montana

2006-12-07T12:03:00.000-05:00

The briefest of updates from a cold laptop in a cold van in a cold parking lot in the cold, cold upscale ski resort of Big Sky.

Yesterday, Wednesday, after our snowperson action, our team decided that if we are to stay in our designated protest area, then we will stay in our protest area for the week. We pitched four small tents and a large tarp on the snow-covered parking lot with generous help and support from our allies at the Buffalo Field Campaign and, starting around 7 PM Montana time, began a campout. We are here to show the negotiators that their actions are being watched, that they can't ignore the voices of millions of Korean farmers and workers by hiding out in a fancy hotel. The night was cold but invigorating (you could say). In a group check-in, a representative from the Korea Peasants League, Chun Sung Do, said that the stars here above Big Sky look the same as the stars in Korea and that when he returns, he will look back up at the stars and remember the solidarity and warmth we have generated during this week. This was the sentiment throughout the night as we stayed vigilant until the early morning.

Just before we set up camp, our delegation visited a nearby farm to build solidarity and discuss the situations of small farmers in Korea and in the U.S. Dave and Becky, our hosts, showed us the farm where they raise cattle and sheep and the mill where they produce wool, and invited us into their warm, cozy home to share food and stories. Thanks, Dave and Becky! We even got to work a bit helping them set up the items they sell on their farm to make a living -- a stark contrast to the multinational agricultural corporations that will benefit from the FTA if passed.

A sad occurrence in the late afternoon on Wednesday: somehow, our beautiful snowpeople, our "white allies" as Joohyun called them, were mysteriously knocked over in our absence as we visited Dave and Becky's sheep farm. Of course, it is the true sign of a good ally to keep watch on the front lines as people of color engage in tactical and strategic struggles. Luckily, we were able to rebuild our snow people and snow animals to once again stand with us in solidarity. It appears that even silent, immobile protesters standing in line in a designated protest area cause fear in the hearts of the negotiating teams and their security. But we can't be knocked down that easily!
(We have had numerous other white allies with us this week: in a jeep watching over our tents, in our hotel rooms checking on our equipment, escorting our vans as we travel from place to place even when we didn't ask for it. It's so heartwarming to know so many levels of law enforcement are looking out for our well-being!)

A quick update from this morning: around 8:45 AM, representatives from the Korean Alliance Against the KorUS FTA dropped a colorful banner from the 6th floor of the Yellowstone Convention Center and hotel where the negotiations are happening. It read: NO FTA. The banner stayed up for an estimated thirty minutes while around ten members of our delegation wearing signs, headbands, and other accoutrements staged a silent march and protest in the hotel lobby. They stood in two lines for fifteen minutes as members of the Korean and U.S. negotiating teams entered for the morning's talks with the tension they felt evident on their faces. The rest of our delegation stood in a circle in our designated area, fresh after a cold night's sleep, and listened to a statement from chairman Oh Jung Ryul from Korean Alliance against the KorUS FTA (Koa) before launching into a series of chants loud enough to reverberate into the hotel's entrance 200 yards away. Nice work, everybody!!!

Today's events: at 11, members of Koa will be meeting with the chief Korean negotiator for the FTA in the conference center. We will hold a press briefing at 1 PM with Korean and local media. Finally, throughout today's and tomorrow's actions, we will all be hanging out together in our "Agent Free Zone"/"No FTA Town"/"Designated Protest Area."

Final note: for the New Yorkers out there, tomorrow morning, Friday 12/8 at 7:30 AM, Mario Murillo, recent Eyewitness delegate on a trip to Pyeongtaek, South Korea, will conduct an interview on the morning show Wake Up Call with two members of our delegation, Lee Jang Gun from KCTU (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions), and Yumi Lee from Nodutdol for Korean Community Development in New York City. Listen at 99.5 FM in New York or online at http://www.wbai.org. We will be discussing the protests here in Montana as well as next steps in the fight against the FTA in Korea and in the U.S.

Toojeng!
Yumi
p.s. pictures of everything forthcoming

Solidarity Statement from Grassroots Global Justice

2006-12-07T11:31:00.000-05:00

DOWN WITH THE KOREA-UNITED STATES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (KORUS FTA)

Grassroots Global Justice [GGJ] stands in solidarity with the Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA (KoA), a South Korean coalition of 280 organizations, and Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN), a coalition of progressive U.S.-based Korean organizations to oppose the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement on the occasion of the 5th round of negotiations taking place from December 4 through December 8 in Big Sky, Montana.

Free trade policies such as the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement [KorUS FTA] have had devastating effects on the lives of Americans as well as workers in the partner countries. Politicians and big corporations claim Free Trade Agreements will encourage foreign direct investment, create jobs and jump-start economies, but the reality of NAFTA has proven otherwise. NAFTA sent formerly high paying manufacturing jobs to Mexico, forced Mexican subsistence farmers to migrate to the cities, and drove down wages and working conditions for both US and Latin American workers, leading many to risk their lives immigrating to the U.S. Recently negotiated FTAs between the US and Colombia and the US and Peru are threatening to devastate rural Indigenous communities and their land, agricultural industries and resources. The impact of these agreements is expected to mirror those of NAFTA.

The KorUS FTA is the largest trade deal for the US since NAFTA. It is part of a larger US strategy to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with nations of the global South, to avoid the blocks of opposition among global South nations against trade policies that singularly benefit the US. For the US today, Asia is an important continent of focus in the advancement of neo-liberal globalization after Latin America. This year alone, U.S. pursued FTAs with Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and South Korea, with South Korea as the first, most comprehensive agreement that will set the tone for the others. South Korea has also historically served as a base of operations both economically and militarily for the US in the Asia Pacific region. Workers and communities around the world have a stake in stopping this agreement, as it is an important symbol of US unilateral power and neoliberal corporate expansion at the expense of the people of the world.

Our ally organizations representing peasants, workers, students and community organizations in South Korea have projected that the KorUS FTA will devastate Korea's farming sector (1/2 of farming population would be displaced; national food security down to 5%); deregulate worker protections; privatize healthcare, education, water, communications, electricity, etc.; increase cost of medicine; introduce OTB and casinos to Korea; devastate the film industry, and many other important national industries and aspects of Korean culture.

As a coalition representing grassroots organizations based in oppressed communities within the United States, we understand both the potential impact of such trade agreements and the history of oppression that they are part of. Many of us are in the United States due to US foreign economic and military policy. The same neo-liberal policies and US wars have displaced us from our home countries across the global South in search of alternatives to poverty and violence, and pushed us into exploitative, low-wage work in the United States. As immigrant workers and communities in the US, we are criminalized, excluded and displaced as we join the ranks of the rest of the working people in US who face deteriorating housing, health care, public education, and social services in the name of neo-liberal globalization. Others of us represent Native, Chicano and African American communities who must fight daily to maintain our land, homes, culture and basic human rights and dignity. The Artic drilling project, the militarization of the US-Mexico Border and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina are but a few examples of the living legacy of the US's history of slavery, colonization and displacement within its own borders.

GGJ adds our voice to those of peasant, labor and community leaders from South Korea this week in opposing the trade talks and neoliberal globalization. We commend the work of the grassroots coalitions and supporters around the world who have taken a stand against the FTAs and continue to organize in the name of global justice despite repression. We draw inspiration and energy from you and pledge to continue to organize and build the grassroots movement for global justice in the US!

DOWN WITH THE KOREA-US FTA! UP WITH THE PEOPLE! UP WITH GLOBAL JUSTICE!

Korean Farmers Pitch Tents at Montana Ski Resort

2006-12-06T18:04:00.000-05:00

Press Advisory
Contact: Young Choe 347.885.9226

Negotiators in 3rd day of talks, with determined protesters outside

What: South Korean farmers and workers are pitching a tent outside the Montana site of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KorUS FTA) negotiations. The farmers and workers are here to protest the KorUS FTA, which will be the largest free trade agreement since NAFTA, with potentially devastating job losses and lowered wages for Korean and US workers.
The 10 Korean protesters will be joined by 20 US and Montana fair trade activists and will their tent protest will last throughout the night and day, possibly into Friday. A candlelight cultural festival will open the protests.

Where: Parking lot of Shoshone Hotel at the Big Sky Resort.
Big Sky, Montana .

When: Wednesday, December 6, 2006 at 8pm.

Who: 10 representatives of Korean Alliance against the KorUS FTA representing 280 civil society organizations, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and Korean Peasant League, as well as other NGO's whose membership total over 2 million. They are joined by 20 + fair trade activists from United States representing Korean American and Montanan organizations.

Why: The protesters have traveled several thousand miles - from Korea as well as from various parts of the US to protest this 5th round of KorUS FTA negotiations. In spite of the negotiators’ attempt to avoid protests by meeting in a secluded sky resort (in Seoul today, over 30,000 protesters marched downtown), and to show resolve against the undemocratic nature of the talks, the protesters will be pitching a tent outside the negotiation site. They will protest in a tent in the cold Montana winter, in contrast to the trade negotiators luxuriating in the comfort of a top rated ski resort. Montanans voted for a fair-trade senator, and oppose free trade that reduces government subsidies and leaves small farmers vulnerable to market fluctuation. The KorUS FTA would affect automobile, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, among many others. Large protests have been held in Korea, Seattle and Washington over the past half year as the talks have pushed on.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Big Sky, MT

2006-12-06T14:37:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in updating -- the power in the hotel went out briefly last night, cutting off our wireless access!

Yesterday was a day of negotiating space with the four (count 'em, four) different police forces dealing with us here in Montana (federal, county, and private). The picture above shows our "designated protest zone" in the resort. As you can see, it is in the corner of a parking lot behind the hotel and convention center (visible in the distance). We have been asked to refrain from setting foot anywhere else in the resort. Young Choe, media contact extraordinaire, shows how he feels about this order...

Tuesday morning, Dec. 5, 9:30 AM, Big Sky Resort.
We began the day with another press conference directly in front of the hotel (against the orders of the police). Using our voices, hands, drums, whistles, and noisemakers, we chanted, yelled, and sang songs to once again demonstrate our opposition to the secret FTA negotiations being held up in the conference center within the hotel. After several statements, we began a slow, solemn march to our "designated protest zone."

Tuesday afternoon was a time for meetings between small groups within our delegation with a variety of local forces. First, a small group including Koreans, KAWAN members, and representatives of local progressive organizations met with the staff of Montana Senator Baucus at his office in Bozeman. Senator Baucus is the one who invited the negotiators to Montana to hold their talks here this week; he is a strong proponent of free trade. In the meeting, our delegation discussed with his staff the reasons why we oppose this FTA and asked them to deliver our message to him directly. The second meeting was again held in Bozeman with members of our delegation and a local carpenters union to show and build solidarity between Korean and U.S. labor against free trade.

Tuesday, 9:30 PM, Candlelight Vigil, Big Sky shopping plaza
Our candlelight vigil was scheduled for 9:30 PM to be held simultaneously with massive protests in Korea against the FTA. At the same time that we lit our candles and sang songs for our evening action, tens of thousands in Korea took to the streets: around 10,000 farmers and 20,000 KCTU (Korean Confederation of Trade Union) members came out all over Korea to demonstrate their resistance to the KorUS FTA. Given this situation, it just would not have been right for us to meekly stay in our "protest zone" in the corner of the parking lot! Instead, we converged in the shopping area adjacent to the negotiators' hotel and conference center and sang songs, danced, and chanted as police watched us like hawks. At the end of the vigil, we were once again told in no uncertain terms that beginning Wednesday morning, we would not be allowed to go anywhere in the resort other than our tiny protest area. Mmmm...we'll see about that.

Wednesday morning 9:30 AM, Snowperson action.
As we drove up to the resort this morning to kick off the day with another peaceful, nonconfrontational, legal protest, the county sheriffs decided to escalate their anti-demonstration repression, sandwiching our three vehicles right at the only entrance to the resort, turning on their sirens, and barring us from entering. We were told that the only way we could enter the resort would be with a sheriff escorting us to the designated area. I might add that we had done absolutely nothing wrong or suspicious, and had a sort of fun and playful action planned for the morning. After an impromptu press statement delivered by Chun Sung Do from KPL at the side of the road with the sheriffs breathing down our necks, we were escorted to the parking lot/designated area bound off by yellow caution tape. As we gathered in our generously given protest zone, we thought to ourselves: what would help? What would lift our spirits and increase our power? More numbers!!!

More pictures of our snowperson action are forthcoming. Suffice it to say that even snowpeople and snowcreatures recognize the destruction that the FTA will bring for the South Korean people.

Anti-FTA Protests in Seoul, December 6, 2006

2006-12-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

In downtown Seoul on Wednesday, December 6th, thousands of workers, farmers, and other progressives take the streets despite a police ban against anti-FTA protests.

Workers World, December 5, 2006: The Beef With US Beef Imports

2006-12-06T10:47:00.000-05:00

South Korean Farmers to Meet and Work with Montana Farmers as Protests Against Free Trade Talks Continue

2006-12-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

Media Advisory
Contact: Young Choe (406) 993-5259, (347) 885-9226

What: South Korean farmers and activists, here to protest the Korea-US Free Trade talks, will work on a Montana farm and meet with Montana farmers in Belgrade, MT. Sharing work and experiences as small farmers, the two groups will also discuss the impact of agricultural and trade policies on their lives.
The South Korean delegation is here to the protest the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KorUS FTA) talks which are in the fifth round of negotiations at the secluded ski resort of Big Sky, Montana. Protesters from Montana, LA and NY have joined the effort, and have been holding rallies and vigils in Big Sky and in Bozeman, MT.

Where: Thirteen Mile Lamb and Wool Company. 13000 Springhill Road. Belgrade, Montana. http://www.lambandwool.com

When: 4pm Wednesday December 6, 2006

Who: Representatives of the Korean Alliance against KorUS FTA (KoA), a coalition of 300 civil society organizations including the Korean Peasants League and the Korean Advanced Farmers' Federation. The delegation includes Jun Sung Do, the Executive Director of the Korean Peasants League, and will be joined by US-based fair trade activists. They will be hosted by Becky Weed and Dave Tyler, family farmers who raise sheep and run a wool mill, and other family farmers from the neighboring area.

Why: The South Korean delegation is here to protest the KorUS FTA negotiations in Big Sky, Montana which covers 86 billion dollars in goods and services and is the biggest free trade agreement since the North American Free Trade Agreement. (NAFTA) Bilateral and multi-lateral free trade agreements, especially ones based on the NAFTA model, have had devastating effects on local economies, including agriculture. Though free trade is touted as beneficial for agriculture as it opens more markets, fluctuating market prices and gradual reduction of price supports leave small farmers vulnerable against competition from big agricultural corporations. In addition to protesting against the KorUS FTA, Koreans want to know firsthand the experience of Montana 's small farmers by working on their farms and sharing experiences.

Monday, December 4 in Big Sky and Bozeman, Montana

2006-12-05T01:41:00.000-05:00

Today was a full, productive, energizing (and cold!) day of action here in central Montana. Here's the rundown from early in the morning to obscenely late at night in this first day of struggle:

Opening press conference, 9:30 AM, Yellowstone Convention Center, Big Sky resort.
After an early start from our HQ outside of Big Sky, we headed up to the resort to meet the press -- right on time at 9:30 AM, complete with a sheriff escort on the way up and a welcoming police squad upon arrival telling us where and where not to park our vans. The USTR and other government agents providing security for the negotiators had graciously informed members of our delegation the night before that our actions at the resort would be relegated to a pitiful corner of the hotel parking lot 200 yards from the hotel entrance, 200 yards away from the negotiators' field of vision and demarcated by a couple of straggling orange traffic cones and a little string of yellow "caution" tape. Did that stop us? Pssshhh. We held the majority of the press conference, covered by every major Korean media outlet, directly in front of the conference site/hotel at Yellowstone Convention Center. Following a statement by Oh Jung Ryul, co-chair of Korean Alliance against the KorUS FTA, our delegation marched in a slow, single file procession to the "protest zone," chanting and displaying our banners and placards. We heard from several other members of our delegation and Bozeman allies before we dispersed to prepare for our afternoon action.

Rally and March, 2 PM, Bozeman, MT
We drove down from Big Sky to the Labor Temple in downtown Bozeman, around the corner from Bozeman City Hall, where we began our opening rally for the week at 2 PM. We were joined by members of various social justice groups from Bozeman and surrounding areas -- Bozeman Peaceseekers, Montana Human Rights Network, the Buffalo Field Campaign, Via Campesina, and others -- to march through the streets of Bozeman in a show of solidarity between the South Korean people, Korean American activists, and US-based farmers, workers, and activists. Our numbers were small, but we more than made up for it in fierce, focused, and LOUD declarations and exhibitions of our joint struggle against the neoliberal policies that devastate sustainable local economies of food and labor. The rally, which ended up at the Bozeman Courthouse on Main Street, was brilliantly co-emceed by Joo-Hyun Kang from CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities in New York City, and Chun Sung Do, chojangnim of the Korea Peasants League. I think all the members of our delegation as well as the Bozeman groups joining us in solidarity left the rally feeling energized and heartened by the power we felt out on the streets together. One particularly beautiful moment: Danny Park, representing the LA-based organization KIWA, Korean Immigrant Workers Alliance, led our marching contingent in an impromptu "rest" to regain our energy in the frigid temperatures by lying down in unison on the sidewalk and chanting, screaming, and raising our fists against the secret resort FTA negotiations in the mountains, an hour's drive away.

Between the rally and our next event, the first of our nightly candlelight vigils to be held throughout the week, we were lucky enough to participate in a medic training facilitated by Josh Osher, EMT from the Buffalo Field Campaign, a local Montana group struggling every day to protect the environment against encroaching agro-business powers. He instructed us on how to take care of our bodies in the extreme temperatures and perilously high altitudes of the Montana mountains where the KorUS FTA negotiations are being held; he showed us just how tough our Montana allies are day in, day out. If the Korean and US negotiators truly believed that coming to Montana would allow them to hide out in a remote location free from protesters and progressive forces, the Buffalo Field Campaign and other local groups have defied their expectations a hundred times over. Thanks, BFC!!!

Candlelight Vigil, 5:30 PM, Bozeman City Hall
We finished our day's official events with a candlelight vigil in front of Bozeman City Hall. Again, our Bozeman allies came out in a powerful show against the FTA, witnessing the statements delivered by our dongjis from around the world. The vigil ended with several group songs before we dispersed until the next action, scheduled for Tuesday morning at Big Sky resort.

We ended the evening with a catered dinner provided from the one Korean restaurant in Bozeman and a group evaluation of the day's events. Officially. Unofficially, the day's events are still going strong, with the soju flowing and group songs led in rounds, twenty people crowded into a hotel room celebrating, feeling the love, building relationships across organizations and borders, excited and preparing for our next days in this struggle.

--

Schedule for the Montana struggle, Tuesday, December 5:
9:30 AM - Press Conference at Big Sky resort
1:00 PM - Meeting between anti-FTA delegates and staff of Montana Senator Max Baucus
2:00 PM - Leafletting and outreach in local communities
4:30 PM - Meeting between anti-FTA delegates and local Montana carpenters union
9:30 PM - Candlelight vigil at Big Sky resort in solidarity with day of mass mobilization in South Korea

--

and...it's the birthday of Mr. Chun Sung Do, Cheojangnim from Korea Peasants League, Loyda Colon from the Justice Committee in New York, and Choong-Min Lee (turning 3!) of Seattle KAWAN, and in celebration we will struggle even harder tomorrow and throughout this week of action!!!

Toojeng,
Yumi

Houston Chronicle, December 2, 2006: S.Koreans to Protest Free-Trade Talks

2006-12-04T11:04:00.000-05:00

Day 0ne in Montana

2006-12-04T02:04:00.000-05:00

I am updating from a roomful of Korean, Korean American, and allied activists creating signs, banners, and pickets in a late-night blast of creativity against the KorUS FTA. What this means? The delegation of protesters for the 5th round of FTA negotiations in Big Sky, Montana has arrived! We made it to Bozeman safe and sound and ready for action, converging from South Korea, LA, New York City, and Seattle. Temperatures in Montana are frigid, but our spirits are high. Our already numerous encounters with the U.S. and Korean negotiating teams in these first few hours have only heightened our resolve and commitment to continuously voicing our opposition to the FTA. This blog will be updated from Montana throughout the week with information, stories, and photos.

Before I sign off -- an important note! The time and location of the press conference tomorrow morning have CHANGED. The press conference will be held at 9:30 AM tomorrow, December 4, outside the FTA negotiation site at the Yellowstone Convention Center, Big Sky ski resort. Join us to hear statements against the FTA from South Korean, Korean American, and local Montana organizations working in solidarity to resist these undemocratic KorUS FTA negotiations. We will move to Bozeman in the afternoon for the week's official kickoff and opening rally. See you there!

Tomorrow's actions in sum:
9:30 AM Press Conference at Yellowstone Convention Center, Big Sky
2:00 PM Opening Rally at Bozeman City Hall, Rousse and Main Street
6:00 PM Candelight Vigil at Bozeman City Hall

Press Conference: Monday, December 4, 2006 at 10 a.m.

2006-12-02T13:03:00.000-05:00

Join us at a press conference to kick off the week of protests against the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement negotiations being held in Big Sky, Montana from Dec.4-8.

Date and Time: Monday, December 4, 2006 at 10 a.m.
Location: Gallatin Labor Temple: 422 East Mendenhall Street: Bozeman, MT

Eye Witness Special Report: Friday, December 1, 2006 7 a.m. WBAI 99.5

2006-11-30T11:40:00.000-05:00

Special Report:
The Vieques of the Pacific: Pyeongtaek, the US Military and Popular Resistance of the Korean People

A Report Back from the International Delegation to South Korea

Tune in to the Friday edition of WBAI's Wake-up Call (99.5 FM in New York, on-line at http://www.wbai.org) for Mario Murillo's special 1-hour report on the Korean people's struggle against the Korea-U.S. FTA and the U.S. military base expansion in Pyeongtaek.

Working as an embedded reporter for WBAI, Mario accompanied an 18-member solidarity delegation sponsored by KAWAN, Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism, that recently traveled to Korea to visit with the struggling farmers in Pyeongtaek, who are resisting the plan of the US military to expand the Camp Humphreys base, thereby displacing them from their land. They also participated in the national general strike against the Free Trade negotiations currently underway between the Korean government and the Bush Administration.

The report on Friday will focus primarily on the military expansion issue, but will tie in the FTA discussions as well. Hear the voices of some of the participants in the delegation, but more importantly, the voices of Korean activists who are fighting against militarism on the Korean peninsula. At a time when most of the U.S. media points to North Korea as the destabilizing force in the region, it may come as a surprise that many people in the South also view the United States as a force for instability and tensions.

Wake Up Call airs Monday through Friday from 6:00 to 9:00am. The report on Korea will air on Friday, December 1st in the second hour of the program, from 7-8:00am.

For those outside of New York City, you can also listen on the internet at -www.wbai.org. Programs are archived online for 30 days.

Anti-Korea US Free Trade Agreement Protests Dec 4-8

2006-11-29T07:48:00.000-05:00

DOWN WITH THE KOREA-UNITED STATES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (KORUS FTA)

DEC. 4 – 8, 2006
Join Us for a Week of Protest in Big Sky Resort, Montana

Beginning Mon., Dec. 4 and 2 PM @ Bozeman City Hall
On the Corner of Rousse and Main St.

PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY
For more information call (718) 335-0419 or email yul-san@nodutdol.org

The U.S. and South Korean governments began FTA negotiations in June, 2006. Now they are in a race to finish at the expense of democratic process and the lives of millions.

JOIN PEASANT, LABOR AND COMMUNITY LEADERS FROM SOUTH KOREA TO PROTEST THE TRADE TALKS AND NEOLIBERAL GLOBALIZATION.

WHAT: From December 4 to 8 delegations of U.S. and Korean protesters will join forces to oppose the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement negotiations, to be held at Big Sky Resort in Montana. Rallies, vigils, marches, direct actions and solidarity events will take place in Big Sky and the near by city of Bozeman. Give us a call NOW to find out how you can get involved and look out for updates with specific times and places in the coming weeks.

WHO: This week of protest is sponsored by; The Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA (KoA), a South Korean coalition of 280 organizations AND Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN), a U.S. coalition of progressive U.S.-based Korean organizations endorsed by close to 100 immigrant, people of color, LGBT, farmers’, workers’, women’s, national liberation, anti-war and anti-globalization groups from around the country.

WHY: The Big Sky negotiations are the fifth round of FTA talks between South Korea and the U.S. KoA and KAWAN’s joint protests began during the first round of talks in Washington, DC in June. In July we followed the negotiators to the second round in Seoul, where over a hundred thousand people protested in the streets. The struggle then went to Seattle for the 3rd round and then Jae Ju Island at the southern tip of Korea. In the past months we have applied constant pressure and asserted our opposition. By now negotiators are bemoaning their poor progress and have had to admit publicly that the KorUS will not be concluded in December as they had originally hoped. They are grumpy and tired of protesters, so they are trying stay out of our reach by holding the talks behind closed doors in an upscale ski resort in Montana. MT’s Senator Max Baucus has had the audacity to invite the negotiators to spend their week in luxury, hidden away on a mountain in “his state.” Progressive people in both South Korea and the U.S are outraged at this deliberate attempt to silence the voices of those who will be most negatively impacted by the KorUS FTA. Free trade policies such as this have had devastating effects on the lives of Americans as well as workers in the partner countries. Politicians and big corporations claim Free Trade Agreements will encourage foreign direct investment, create jobs and jump-start economies, but in fact they only support elite classes and the governments they back. NAFTA sent formerly high paying manufacturing jobs to
Mexico, forced Mexican subsistence farmers to the cities, drove wages and working conditions, leading many to risk their lives immigrating to the U.S. South Koreans and U.S. farmers and workers will suffer the same results it the KorUS FTA passes.

The two coalitions, KoA and KAWAN, formed this year in response to the KorUS-FTA, but the main actors; farmers, workers, students and activists, have a shared history of struggle against neoliberialism starting with the anti-WTO protests in Seattle (1999), Cancun (2003) and more recently, Hong Kong (2005).

THE STRUGGLE AGAINTS THE KORUS FTA IS A KEY STRUGGLE IN THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE AGAINST NEOLIBERALISM. JOIN US!!!
What You Can Do to Support
1. Speak to your organization about the struggle and add your name to a list
of endorsing Montana groups that will be released at an opening press
conference and sent to South Korea as a show of solidarity. If your
organization would like to endorse, please email yul-san@nodutdol.org.
2. Come out to protests through out the week, particularly to opening and
closing actions in Bozeman on the 4th and 8th. And bring your friends.
(Specific times and locations will be released shortly.)
3. Pass the information around to organizations and allies you know.
4. Make a financial contribution to KAWAN. These weeks of protest to really
expensive and we’re in this for the long haul. Checks should be made out to
“Nodutdol” with “KAWAN donation” in the memo and sent to 53-22
Roosevelt Ave. 2nd Floor, Woodside, NY 11377.

Stars and Stripes, November 23, 2006: Cindy Sheehan joins protest at Yongsan Garrison gate

2006-11-28T12:41:00.000-05:00

ZNet, November 27, 2006: Siege and Seizure in Korea by Cindy Sheehan

2006-11-27T16:07:00.000-05:00

Cindy Sheehan's account of her experience in the village of Daechuri in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

TIME Asia Magazine, November 26, 2006: Q & A: Cindy Sheehan

2006-11-27T07:53:00.000-05:00

Sound clip from one of the US delegates during the General Strike, November 22, 2006 in Seoul

2006-11-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

Korean workers protest free trade agreement, government repression.
Click on "download" to listen to the clip.

Some photos from November 22, 2006: General Strike

2006-11-22T08:25:00.000-05:00

Hundreds of thousands of workers, farmers, students, activists and other progressives hit the streets on November 22, 2006 in major cities across south Korea to protest the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. The November delegation participated in the marches and rallies in Seoul.

Washington Post, November 21, 2006: South Korea braces for major strike on Wednesday

2006-11-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

US Delegation Protests Korea US Free Trade Agreement

2006-11-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Christine Ahn, 011-82-10-5846- 8020
Young Choe, 347-885-9226
Sonny Le, 510-919-0790

Americans Protest U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement in Seoul

Seoul, Korea (Nov. 22, 2006)--An American delegation of peace, labor and social justice activists led by Cindy Sheehan is in Seoul to join the nationwide mobilization against the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated. The delegation is joining the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) who has called for a General Strike from all sectors of South Korean society to demand that the Roh government seriously address the needs of workers and peasants.

The delegation of 18 includes trade unionists, students, journalists, and peace activists from the Working Families Party; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union; International Longshore and Warehouse Union; Via Campesina; Gold Star Families for Peace; Code Pink; and Veterans for Peace.

"The neoliberal policies of the Roh administration are a direct attack on the rights of South Korean workers," said Jose Schiffino of the 1.2 million-member AFSCME Union. "The struggle for these rights is the shared responsibility of all trade unionists."

The key concerns of the KCTU are to stop repression against trade union activities, to implement the ILO recommendations, to guarantee basic labor rights for irregular workers, and to repeal the current "Industrial Relations Roadmap Agreement" and replace it with laws that meet international standards.

In South Korea, approximately 60 percent of laborers are irregular workers without basic labor protections, such as the right to assemble and the right to organize. The Roh administration's "Roadmap Agreement" intends to eradicate public services, such as healthcare and education. The U.S.-Korea FTA would further strip the rights of workers and citizens to advance the interests of transnational corporations. As pre-conditions for trade negotiations, the Roh administration has already lowered emission standards on automobiles, eliminated price controls on pharmaceuticals, reduced Korean film screen quotas, and lifted the ban that was instituted on imported U.S. beef due to mad cow disease.

"Like the war in Iraq, the U.S. mid-term elections was also a referendum on free trade agreements," said Christine Ahn of the Korea Policy Institute. "Democratic candidates, especially from states that lost manufacturing jobs, won by campaigning against new free trade agreements modeled after the failed NAFTA."

"Free Trade Agreements impose more hunger, misery and exclusion," said German Bedoya, a peasant farmer from Bogota, Colombia also joining the American delegation. Bedoya, a member of Via Campesina, an international farmers' union, said, "The Colombia-U.S. FTA has impoverished our people and has stolen our national sovereignty for the benefit of enriching transnational corporations. I came to Korea to demonstrate that worker and farmer solidarity doesn't have barriers of distance or language."

Korean Americans against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN), a coalition of U.S. based Korean organizations working to stop the passage of the FTA and the expansion of the U.S. military base in Pyongtaek, is the sponsor and organizer of the Korea trip.

OhMyNews, November 21, 2006: Cindy Sheehan: Symbol of Anti-War Movement

2006-11-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

Statement from Press Conference November 21, 2006

2006-11-21T11:44:00.000-05:00

Statement of Peace and Solidarity by U.S. Delegation

We are a U.S. delegation of 18 people including students, journalists, and peace activists and members of Working Families Party, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, Global Exchange and Gold Star Families for Peace. We came here to Korea to investigate the impact of the U.S. military base expansion on the villagers of Daechuri and Doduri.

On Monday, November 20, we traveled by bus to the village of Daechuri, a farming town adjacent to Camp Humphreys, the U.S. military base in Pyongtaek City. For over three years, the villagers have been resisting the U.S. plans to expand the base by taking over the villagers’ lands. In defending their land, their homes, and school, they have been the victims of brutal police violence and repression. Our delegation was met by over 200 police in riot gear at the checkpoint established since the forced withdrawal of villagers from their homes. Residents can only enter and exit their villages through these military checkpoints by showing their IDs. Visitors are often prohibited from entering the village because the South Korean government wants to prevent information about what is happening from spreading throughout the country and world.

The National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea recently declared the military checkpoints to be illegal and in violation of the human rights of the villagers of Doduri and Daechuri. We call on the people of Korea and the international community to demand the South Korean government respect the recommendations put forth by the Commission and lift the military checkpoints.

We call on the international community to provide ongoing support to the villagers in Daechuri and Doduri through financial, moral and spiritual support. We ask allies of peace and justice to visit Pyongtaek.

Most importantly, we call for an end to the expansion of the U.S. military base Camp Humphreys. The Pyongtaek farmers have been living on these lands for three generations and deserve to stay there. The expansion of the base will in no way enhance the security of the people of the United States or South Korea. On the contrary, at a time when there needs to be a de-escalation in tensions with North Korea, expanding this base is a provocation that will only further fuel the militarization in the region.

We call on the new U.S. Congress to hold investigations into the U.S. military realignment in Korea as outlined in the 2003 Global Posture Review. This realignment, including the authorization of $11 billion for military expansion in South Korea, moves the U.S. military from a defensive to an offensive position and poses a dangerous escalation of tensions. The new Congress should halt the military expansion and reposition U.S. policy to promote peaceful relations with our Asian Pacific neighbors.

Stars and Stripes, November 22, 2006: Sheehan visits locals in protest of Camp Humphreys expansion

2006-11-21T11:18:00.000-05:00

Day in Daechuri - Update from Delegation November 21st

2006-11-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

We are writing to you all from Pyongtaek prison where Kim Ji-Tae, the leader who organized the village people to organize and protest against the U.S. military expansion in Pyongtaek. Cindy Sheehan, Mario Murrillo, and Jamie Kim are in there with him right now as only 3 people were allowed to visit. As they are in there, we ran to a PC Bang (internet cafe) to send you these words of what has happened so far on our trip.

Last night, we took a 2-hour bus ride from Seoul to the village of Daechuri. For over three years now, the villagers of Daechuri and Doduri have been resisting the eviction of their homes, farmland and school for the expansion of the US military base in Pyongtaek City, Camp Humphreys. For the past year, starting on May 4, the South Korean government has sent in over 20,0000 troops to demolish homes, destroy the elementary school, and with physical violence against the elderly farmer villagers. I met a reporter from Stars and Stripes last night who told me that he was there at the crack of dawn and what he witnessed was "like medieval warfare."

Since the farmers struggle, over 1000 people have been injured and over 800 people arrested.

We arrived by bus in the evening. We were greeted by over 200 police in riot gear lining the check point. There were many press there to also greet us. It appeared that they werent going to let us through as they have been denying entry into the village for outsiders. Only residents of Daechuri are allowed access in and out of the checkpoint.

After some delay, after Cindy stepped out and had a discussion with Reverend Moon in front of the press did the police finally let us in. They probably didnt want a huge spectacle, so we were allowed access. We then crossed the second check point and made our way into the village. We got off the bus and were immediately ushered into a huge barn that had turned into the site where the candlelight vigil was held.

The farmers and elders have been holding candlelight vigils in there for over 820 days.

When I walked in to the room, I was incredibly moved to tears. It seemed my tears couldnt stop flowing. Here these people were who I saw on the internet, in videos, and in images circulated by people who had visited Pyongtaek. None of those images could capture what I felt and saw. Here these people were, the most humble people, mostly farmers and elders, sitting there peacefully. I could see the hardship they had endured but also the resolve to keep the land. It was heartbreaking to see and hear what they had endured, but incredible to witness their determination to fight for what is good right.

Press Conference in south Korea

2006-11-20T11:51:00.000-05:00

Photos of the November Delegation at a press conference in south Korea with residents of the farming village in Pyeongtaek.

U.S. DELEGATION DENIED MEETING WITH U.S. COMMANDER IN KOREA:

2006-11-20T11:13:00.000-05:00

Seoul, Korea (Nov. 21, 2006)American peace activists Cindy Sheehan and Medea Benjamin are holding a press conference at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, November 21 at Gate No. 5 at the Yongsan U.S. Military Base in Seoul, Korea. Their request to meet with the U.S. Commander in Chief of the U.S. Forces in Korea to discuss the U.S. military expansion in Pyongtaek, Korea was rejected.

The delegation of 18, who is in Korea from November 20 to November 24, includes students, journalists, and peace activists and members of Working Families Party, Veterans for Peace, CodePink, Global Exchange, and Gold Star Families for Peace. They are here to protest the U.S. expansion of its military base in Pyongtaek and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

On Monday, November 20, the delegation traveled by bus to the village of Daechuri, a farming town adjacent to Camp Humphreys, the U.S. military base in Pyongtaek city. The villagers have been resisting relocation for over three years, withstanding brutal violence, repression and property damage by the South Korean government. The delegation was met by over 200 police in riot gear at the checkpoint established since the forced withdrawal of villagers from their homes. Only Daechuri residents with IDs are allowed in and out of the village. Due to the high profile American delegation and visible media presence, the U.S. delegation--after some delay--was allowed to pass through the heavily armed checkpoint.

The U.S. delegation joined over 100 Daechuri villagers, most elderly Korean farmers, for their 820th consecutive candlelight vigil. Since the U.S. base expansion was announced four years ago, many villagers of Daechuri and Doduri of Pyongtaek city have refused to hand over their farmlands and homes to the South Korean government. For over two years, villagers exhausted every legal channel and resisted relocation. The South Korean government sent in over 22,000 troops to erect razor wire fences around the farmland and demolished the majority of schools and homes.

According to Kim Suk Kyung, father of Kim Ji-Tae, the village leader who has been imprisoned for his vocal opposition, "No one has been compensated. If we were asked by the South Korean government to move for the cause of the Korean people, we would have done so, but not for the sake of the U.S. military."

"The U.S. military is out of control," said Cindy Sheehan. "It led to the death of my son in Iraq and it's destroying the lives of these villagers in Pyongtaek. We have to rein in our military, whose role should be to defend American people, not oppress other nations."

Medea Benjamin, founder of Code Pink, a U.S. women's peace organization, after the vigil said, "It's heartbreaking to see how the villagers have suffered because of plans to expand Camp Humphreys Base. If Americans had a chance to see how the expansion of this military base has devastated the lives of so many humble villagers, they would be outraged."

The Korea trip is organized and sponsored by Korean Americans against War and Neoliberalism, (KAWAN), a coalition of US based Korean organizations working to stop the passage of the FTA and the expansion of the U.S. military base.

November Delegation to South Korea

2006-11-17T13:56:00.000-05:00

Cindy Sheehan and Medea Benjamin Leading Delegation to South Korea; U.S. Activists Join South Koreans to Protest U.S. Military Base Expansion and U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement

NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- American peace activists Cindy Sheehan and Medea Benjamin are leading a delegation of U.S. peace and social justice activists to South Korea to oppose the expansion of Camp Humphrey, the US military base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea and to protest the proposed Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

The delegation of 18, who will be in Korea from November 20 to November 24, includes members of Working Families Party, Veterans for Peace, Service Employees International Union, CodePink, Global Exchange, and Gold Star Families for Peace. This will be the first trip to Korea for Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq, and Benjamin, founder of Global Exchange and CodePink.

They will meet with elderly Korean farmers of Pyongtaek, whose farmland and homes were violently seized by the Korean military to accommodate the expansion of the U.S. military base. For over two years, Korean farmers have exhausted every legal channel and resisted relocation, holding candlelight vigils for 800 nights.

"The U.S. government spends $9 billion dollars a month on overseas military operations," said Cindy Sheehan, "We are traveling to Korea to witness first-hand how U.S. tax dollars are being spent to destroy Korean farm lands, homes, schools and lives."

According to Kisuk Yom, head of the Korean-American coalition leading the U.S. delegation, "There is no democracy for elderly villagers whose farmlands were stolen. The South Korean public, too, has been silenced, yet they are the ones who will suffer the consequences of a future military conflict."

On Nov. 22, the delegation will join the nationwide mobilization against the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. One million Koreans are expected to take to the streets in Seoul. "The proposed FTA will dramatically expand the failed model of NAFTA," says Christine Ahn, policy analyst with the Korea Policy Institute. "We will let the Korean people know what NAFTA has meant for working Americans: factories shutting down and farms falling into foreclosure."

Korean Americans against War and Neoliberalism, (KAWAN), a coalition of U.S.-based Korean organizations working to stop the passage of the FTA and the expansion of the U.S. military base, is the sponsor and organizer of the trip. "We hope this delegation will return to the U.S. to tell the American people about the true human cost of the U.S. military expansion in Korea," said Hyukkyo Suh, Executive Director of National Association of Korean Americans. "Korea is a democratic and sovereign nation, and the Korean people want -- as they deserve -- to make decisions that will affect their lives for years to come."

- - - -

CONTACTS: Young Choe, 347-885-9226

Sonny Le, 510-919-0790

Christine Ahn, 310-482-9333 or 011-82-10-5846-8020 (in Korea, Nov 20-24)

Washington Post, September 9: Tough US-Korea Trade Talks End in Disappointment

2006-09-10T22:46:00.000-04:00

Civil Disobedience, Saturday morning

2006-09-09T22:17:00.000-04:00

Photos of the civil disobedience this morning in front of the Washington Convention and Trade Center where the negotiations are taking place. KoA, KAWAN and Seattle activists participated, 15 people were arrested. All the South Koreans were released without bail. Three US based activists remain in jail, but will be released tonight.
Photos from ohmynews.com

South Koreans hold a candlelight vigil while...

2006-09-09T00:17:00.000-04:00

KoA, KAWAN and Seattle residents take the streets and do sam-bo-il bae - three steps and one bow.

Seattle's KOMO TV coverage of Thursday, September 7, 2006

2006-09-08T17:06:00.000-04:00

Seattl'es KOMO TV coverage of Thursday, September 7, 2006

2006-09-08T17:03:00.000-04:00

The beautiful protests flags of South Korea

2006-09-08T12:27:00.001-04:00

2006-09-08T12:27:00.000-04:00

Seattle Times news coverage of the protests, front page of the Business section.

Local WA news coverage of Sept. 6th protests

2006-09-07T11:50:00.000-04:00

Photos from the First Day of Protests in Seattle: September 6, 2006

2006-09-07T11:30:00.000-04:00

photos from ohmynews.com

Click to read a Brief on the "Real Understanding of the KorUS FTA"

2006-09-05T22:33:00.000-04:00

Written by the Korean Alliance Against the KorUS FTA (KOA).

Seattle Times editorial Sunday, September 3, 2006

2006-09-04T11:41:00.000-04:00

Editorial: The Seattle Round of Korea trade talks

The editorial ends with:

Organized labor plans a protest at Westlake Center at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. We recall the AFL-CIO's anti-WTO march of 1999, which was peaceful and law-abiding, and expect the same.

Though labor should be heard, we believe it is generally mistaken about these agreements. Freer trade begets efficiency — and efficiency benefits most of labor most of the time.

Article from Real Change News.org

2006-09-04T11:26:00.000-04:00

Click on the link above to read the article:

A Fair Shake: South Korean activists seek “mini-WTO protest” at trade talks

2006-09-04T00:54:00.000-04:00

[미주]박석운대표 지역노동운동 참가해 국제연대도 강조한인노동상담소와 국제항만노조 아씨마케트 분규관계 공동기자회견
[로스앤젤레스=이용식 편집위원]노동절을 하루 앞둔 3일 오후 3시 한미자유무역협정 저지 시위를 위하여 시애틀 원정길에 로스앤젤레스를 방문중인 FTA 저지 범국민 운동본부 박석운 집행위원장은 한인노동상담소, 국제항만노조와 함께 로스앤젤레스 한인사회의 아씨수퍼와 국제항만노조의 불루다아몬드 노사분규에 관련 국제연대를 다짐하는 기자회견을 아씨수퍼 앞에서 가졌다.

기자회견에 참석한 성원들

이날 기자회견에는 박영준 상담소 소장을 비롯 항만노조의 어스틴 라미레즈, 전 불루다이아몬드 노동자 레리 유썸, 전 아씨수퍼 노동자 하씬도 로페즈, 박석운 위원장을 비롯 십여명이 참석한 가운데 박영준 소장의 사회로 열렸다. 기자 회견 후에는 아씨수퍼 전직 직원들의 집단소송에 대한 합의이행을 촉구하는 편지를 아씨수퍼에 전달하는 시간도 가졌다.박영준 소장은 이날의 기자회견은 모든 단체나 노동자들이 인종, 국경, 투쟁의 크고 작음 등을 초월 연대하는 것이 얼마나 중요한 것인가를 과시하는 기자회견이라고 소개했다. 아씨수퍼에서 노동자로 일하던 하씬도 로페즈씨는 몇 년전 아씨에서 일 할 때 차별을 받았던 것을 예기하면서 “이런 차별이 이 곳에만 있는 것은 아니다, 여러 곳에서 일어나고 있는 차별을 극복하기 위해 끝까지 싸울 것이다” 고 말했다.

연대사를 낭독하는 박석운 위원장

캘리포니아, 오래곤, 워싱턴주, 카나다 등에 6만여 명의 조합원을 가지고 있고 2년 전 파업을 통하여 정치성과, 투쟁성을 과시한 국제항만노조의 어스틴씨는 “노동자를 위하지 않고 무시하는 사용자들에게 경고를 한다.”고 말하며 노동자들은 인간적인 취급을 받아야 한다고 강조했다. 불루다이아몬드의 노동자로 20년 동안 일하다가 노조결성 과정에서 해고를 당한 레리씨는 “노조를 결성하려 할 때 그들은 모든 수단을 동원하여 방해를 했으며, 심지어 생화학테러가 있을 것을 빙자하여 작업장에 노동자들의 행동을 감시하는 감시카메라를 설치하여 노조결성 노동자들의 일상 활동을 감사하기 까지 하였다.”고 전했다.

항만노조의 어스틴 라미레즈

범국민 운동본부 박석운 집해위원장은 민주노총의 연대성명을 낭독(아래 전문 참조)하고 FTA의 문제점을 지적하였다. 위원장은 “FTA는 대기업과 부자들에게는 기회이지만 한국과 미국 노동자, 농민들에게는 빈곤과 차별의 확대라고 강조하였다. 또한 FTA는 한국의 경제 자주권뿐 아니라, 사회 공명성, 문화의 다양성, 환경의 파괴를 가져오며 미국 패권을 다른 측면에서 확대시키는 것이기에 FTA를 반대하는 것이다. 힘차게 연대 투쟁하여 승리를 쟁취하자.”고 말했다.이날 기자회견에 참가한 항만노조는 씨애틀에서 벌어지는 FTA저지 시위에 약 천오백명의 노조원들이 참여할 예정이며. 한국에서 참여하는 원정시위대, 미국 내에서 참여하는 한인 원정대와 연대하여 한미자유무역협정 저지에 나설 것이다.오는 6일부터 나흘 동안 미국 시애틀 현지에서 한미FTA(자유무역협정) 3차 협상을 눈앞에 두고 있는 가운데 이를 저지하기 위한 민중진영의 원정투쟁도 기대를 모으고 있다. 한미FTA저지범국민운동본부는 4일 "6일부터 미국 시애틀에서 진행될 한미FTA 3차 협상에 맞춰 지난 6월에 이어 2차 원정시위를 진행할 예정"이라고 밝히고, "한미FTA 반대 흐름에 농민, 노동자, 정당, 여성, 환경 등 미국의 단체이 적극 동참할 수 있도록 할 것이며 특히 이번 원정시위를 통해 연대 활동을 모색해 나갈 것"이라고 말했다. 한편 국내 인터넷 언론 '민중의 소리' 4일자 보도에 의하면 지난 6월 워싱턴 전역을 누비며 한미FTA 반대를 외쳤던 2차 원정투쟁단은 평화적이고 다양한 방식으로 한미FTA의 부당함을 알려내 크게 국내외적으로 주목을 받은 바 있다. 범국본측은 이번 3차 투쟁 역시 "미국의 주요언론을 통해 미국사회에서 한미FTA 이슈가 쟁점화 될 수 있도록 해 나갈 것"이라고 강조하면서 이번 3차 원정투쟁에 오르는 인원수는 민주노총 9명, 한국노총 7명, 전농 7명, 한농연 5명, 한우협회 2명, 축협중앙회노조 1명, 전여농 7명, 반미여성회 2명, 학생 1명, 민주노동당 3명 등 총 51명. 2차 원정투쟁 당시 (27명) 보다 2배 가량 늘어난 숫자다. 때문에 현지에서 결합하는 동포들까지 합치면 100여명을 넘을 것이라고 한다. 이들 국내투쟁 원정단과 재미동포투쟁 지원단은 오는 9월5일부터 현지 노동 단체들의 행사에 참석하는 등 활발한 활동을 벌일 예정이며, 협상시작일인 6일 오전 투쟁선포 기자회견을 시작으로 양국 노동자 공동 개막집회, 한미FTA저지 촛불집회, 국제포럼, 한미FTA 장례식 등 마지막 날인 9일까지 쉬지않고 다양한 행동을 벌일 계획으로 일정이 잡혀 있다. ...................................................................................

지역노동자권리 운동과 국제연대 운동의 결합 기자회견
전국민주노동조합총연맹 연대성명.전국민주노동조합총연맹은 로스앤젤레스에서 불루다이아몬드 사와 아씨플라자의 노동자 탄압을 규탄하며 국제연대를 다지는 기자회견에 직접 참여하지 못함을 안타깝게 생각하며 국경을 넘어 노동동지들간의 견결한 연대의 마음을 글로보냅니다. 로스앤젤레스 한인타운내의 대형 수퍼마켓인 아씨플라자의 노동자들이 자신의 노동조건을 향상시키기위하여 노조를 결성하는 과정에서 56명의 노동자들이 보복 해고당하여 이를 항의하는 불매운동을 지역사회의 후원자들과 함께 지난 4년동안 끈질기게 진행해오고 있습니다. 아씨플라자 사건은 한인경영진과 라틴노동자간의 인종갈등으로까지 비화할 위험에도 직면한 적이 있었습니다. 한인사회는 92년 흑인들과 충돌을 빚은 뒤 인종간의 화합을 위해 많은 노력을 기울여 왔지만, 아씨마켓의 노동자 탄압은 그동안의 노력을 무색하게 만들고 있습니다. 아씨플라자는 노동자들의 임금체불과 인종차별에 대한 집단 소송에 합의를 해놓고서도 이행하고 있지 않고 있습니다. 아씨플라자는 북미주 최대의 동양식품 수입업체 가운데 하나인 리브라더스의 자회사격이며 한국에도 자회사인 승원이라는 회사가 있습니다. 불매운동에 앞장서있는 한인노동상담소는 인종을 초월하여 한국이주노동자들 뿐만아니라 남미이주노동자들을 동시에 조직하고 지원하는 단체로서 미국 현지에서 한미FTA저지투쟁에 중요한 역할을 하고있습니다. 켈리포니아 주 세크라멘토에 본사를 두고있는 불루다이아몬드는 세계에서 가장 큰 알몬드 제조 회사로 총 생산의 약 70 퍼센트를 외국으로 수출합니다. 한국이 세계에서 6번째로 큰 수입국가하고 합니다. 불루다이몬드는 올해 3월 미무역대표단에게 미국산 알몬드에 대한 전면 면세를 한미 FTA에 포함해줄 것을 요청하기도 했습니다. 2년 전부터 불루다이아몬든의 노동자들은 항만노조-ILWU에 가입하기 위하여 조직활동을 해왔으나 회사는 강력하게 노동자들의 노력을 탄압해오는 과정에 이미 회사가 20여개의 노동법을 위반했다는 판결을 받고있습니다. ILWU-항만노조는 인종차별체제를 반대하여 남아공에서 온 배의 하역을 거부했었습니다. 1975년 미국의 항만노조는 칠레 피노체트 군사독재정권을 위한 폭탄 하역을 거부했습니다. 1997년 항만노조는 민영화와 노동자 임시고용화를 반대해서 해고된 500명의 리버풀 항만노동자들과 연대하고 영국에서 온 배의 하역을 거부했습니다. 올해에는 양국 노동자들에게 한미FTA 1, 2차 회담 저지 투쟁에 적극 동참하고있는 항만노조는 국제연대에 앞장서온 모범적인 노동조합입니다. 자신의 삶과 세상을 변혁해 나가는 노동자의 투쟁에는 작고 큰것의 차이가 있을 수 없으며 또 국경과 인종의 차이가 있을 수 없습니다. 민주노총은 아씨플라자와 불루다이아몬드 노동자들에게 연대의 인사를 드리며 미국 노동자들의 구호인 "한 노동자에 대한 공격은 모든 노동자들에 대한 공격이다" 을 되세기며 앞으로 3개의 투쟁에 연대해 나갈것입니다. 항만노조-ILWU, 노동상담소-KIWA 여러분을 한미FTA 3차회담이 열리는 시에틀의 투쟁현장에서 만남을 기다립니다. 조 준호전국민주노동조합총연맹 위원장2006년 9월 1일

2006-09-03T23:37:00.000-04:00

[미주]윤금순 범대위 대표, 이민자대행진 시위집회서 연설
범대위 미국원정 투쟁 선발대표단 2명. 도착부터 강행군으로 활동
[로스엔젤레스=김영희 민족통신편집위원]한미 FTA저지를 위한 범국본 국원정 선발투쟁단의 첫날은 노동절을 맞은 로스엔젤레스의 9.2 이민자대행진시위장에서 뜨거운 우정의 연대행진과 연대연설로 시작되었다. 범국본의 박석운집행위원장과 전국여성농민회총연합(전농여) 윤금순회장은 전쟁과 신자유자유반대 재미위원회회원들, 한인노동상담소 스탭들과 동행하여 2일 아침 다운타운의 브로도웨이와 올림픽가의 행사장에 행진이 시작되기 한시간전쯤 미리 도착, “사우스 센츄럴 농장”, “버스승객조합” 등 미국진보단체 회원들과 인사를 나누고 필리핀계 뉴스 미디아 “아시안 코뮤니케이션’, 전국 방송망을 가진 라틴계 TV방송 “유니비젼” (채널 34)과 인터뷰를 하면서 한미 FTA저지를 위한 미국 원정투쟁을 알리기도 했다.

여성들로만 이루어진 선두대열. 전여농 윤금순회장이(중앙 오른쪽 노랑색 상의) 단일기를 들고 연대행진을 하고 있다.

8천여명에 참가한 가운데 정오부터 시작된 이 날 이민자 대행진에서 주최측의 배려로 윤금순회장은 푸른 한반도지도가 그려진 소형 단일기들 들고12명의 여성으로만 이루어진 선두대열의 중앙쪽에 섰다. 지난 3월 25일 백만 이민자대행진을 성사 시킨 3.25 연합이 주관한 이날 시위는 이민노동자 권익보장, 조건 없는 대사면을 주요 슬로건으로 하면서 서류미비 이민자 추방정지, 이민자가족의 조기 상봉. 여성 이민자 권익보장 등을 당국에 요구하고 있다. 이 날 시위는 또 국토안보국으로 부터 추방명령을 받고 현재 시카고에 소재한 아달베르토 연합감리교회에 피신하고 있는 31살의 멕시칸계 이민자인 엘비라 아렐라노씨와 특별히 연대하는 시위였다. 9년전 미국에 온 서류미비자이며, 이민자 권익단체인 “라티노가족 상봉회”의 회장인 엘비라씨는 올해 7살의 시민권자 이며 질환을 앓고 있는 아들아이를 두고 있다. 엘비라씨의 사연은 전국적으로 널리 알려져 미 이민사회에서 큰 이슈가 되고 있다.

라틴계 TV 채널 34와 인터뷰를 하는 범국본 원정투쟁단. 맨 오른쪽은 통역을 맡은 노동상담소의 최광선생.

현재 미국에 살고 있는 서류미비자여성 60여만명이 당국으로부터 추방명령을 받고 있으며, 3백2십만명의 미국 시민권자 아동들이 서류미비자의 자녀들로 추산되고 있어 추방령이 본격적으로 강행될 경우 수많은 이산가족이 생기게 된다. 9.2 이민자대행진은 엘비라씨로 상징되는 이민자여성들의 고통에 동참하고 권익을 위해 함께 투쟁하자는 의미에서 선두 행진자들과 집회연사들을 모두 여성으로 선정했다. 라틴계 이민자 권익단체 “Hernandad Mexicano”와 “캘리포니아 간호원 노조”의 여성대표 중간에 서서 선두행진을 한 윤회장은 한국말로 “여성해방” 등 힘 찬 구호를 선창했다. 함께 행진을 하며 통역을 맡은 재미위원회의 리즈 선우씨가 윤회장을 잠시 소개하면서 “여성해방”이 영어로“Women’s Liberation”이라고 알리자 시위대에서는 윤회장의 선창에 따라 “여성해방”, “여성단결” 등 한국말 구호가 터져 나오기도 했다. 박집행위는 재미위원회, 한인노동상담소, 서류미비자 인권위원회, 버스승객조합의 한인들로 구성된 동포 행진단과 함께 대행진에 참가 했다. 이 날 동포행진단은 동조합의 라틴계 회원들과 "정의를 위한 필리핀 연합"과 함께 행진단을 구성하여 이민자이슈뿐 아니라 미국의 군사주의를 반대하는 반전평화, 제3세계민중의 단결을 촉구하는 다양한 구호들을 함께 외쳤다.

"태양은 모두를 위한 것이다"라는 메세지가 적힌 대형 시위작품

한인노동상담소 선두배너.

시청앞에 도착한 행진대는 곧 집회로 들어 갔다. 세번째 연사로 나온 윤금순회장은 “안녕하십니까? 저는 한국에서 온 윤금순입니다…. 한국에서 FTA로 가장 큰 피해를 보는 사람들은 여성노동자와 여성농민입니다. 여성노동자들은 70%가 비정규직으로 열악한 노동조건에서 남성들의 절반 정도의 임금을 받고 일하고 있으며 여성농민은 수입개방으로 남성들보다 더 많은 농사일을 하면서도 농사뿐만 아니라 2~3개의 일을 해야 아이들을 교육 시킬 수 있습니다…신자유주의는 1994년 멕시코가 NAFTA를 체결하도록했고 이후 일자리를 잃은 많은 사람들은 가족과 헤어져 이곳의 저임금 이민노동자로서 열악한 노동의 자리에서 일하도록 강요당하고있습니다. 그래서 여러분과 우리는 함께 단결해야만 합니다…”라고 뜨겁게 연대연설을 했다.(별문 참조)금년 여름 조국체험 프로그램 킾(KEEP)을 통해 한국을 다녀 온 일본계 미국인 마리 리요노씨가 윤회장의 옆에서 영어와 스페니쉬로 통역했다.

시청앞에 운집한 이민자 행진시위대

연대연설을 하는 윤회장. 오른쪽 옆이 통역을 맡은 마리씨.
연설의 마지막을 한국어, 영어, 스페니쉬인 “투쟁” “Struggle” “La Loucha” 구호를 외치면서 끝낸 윤회장의 연설은 시위관중들의 뜨거운 호응을 받았다. 시위관중들은 한국어 연설중에 칸쿤, 비아 캄파시나, 나프타, 에프 티 에이, 이라크, 레바논 등 영어와 스페니쉬 단어가 나올 때 마다 환성을 울리며 연대를 표시했다.이날 집회연설에는 이민자권익계, 노동계, 여성계, 청년학생계, 정치계, 반세계화/반제국주의 운동계 등 다양한 부문의 단체에서 여성대표들이 나와 연설을 했다. 사회는 지난 워싱턴 디 시 원정투쟁에 이어 이번 시애틀 원정투쟁에도 참가하는 남아시아 네트워크의 슈밍 치어 변호사가 맡았다. 연설을 끝낸 윤회장은 “ 여성들이 앞장을 서서 열심히 구호를 위치고 여성들이 연설을 하는 모습이 몹시 인상적이었다. 한국말로 연설할 때 환호와 환성이 터져 나온 것은 우리가 칸쿤 WTO투쟁에서 준 강렬한 인상때문이었던 것 같다.”고 이 날 연대행사에 참가한 소감을 전했다. 박집행위 역시 “ 행진에서도 연설에서도 여성들이 앞장을 서 매우 신선한 느낌을 받았다. 남녀의 균형을 잡기 위해 여성만을 내세운 것은 의미있는 시도였다.”고 말하는 한편, “다양한 인종이 함께 모여 행진을 하니 다채로와서 보기 좋았다, 또 일사불란한 형식보다는 각 단체들의 개성을 살려 행진하는 모습도 보기 좋았다.”고 소감을 전했다. 이 날 박집행위, 윤회장, 재미위원회 회원들은 동포언론 신문, 방송, 미국 TV방송 FOX 체널 11, 시티 뉴스 서비스, 지역진보언론 로스엔젤레스 인디 미디아 등 10여개 미주언론과 인터뷰를 해서 한미FTA이슈와 시애틀 원정투쟁에 대해서 알렸다.

이민자 대행진시위
....................................................................................다음은 윤회장이 한 연대연설의 전문이다. 안녕하십니까? 저는 한국에서 온 윤금순입니다. 한국의 경북 에서 농사를 짓는 여성농민이며 한미FTA저지 여성대책위원회 공동대표, 전국여성농민회총연합 회장입니다. 오늘 이자리에서 한국 여성의 대표로써 여러분들 앞에서 연대사를 하게된 것을 기쁘게 생각합니다. 한국에서 FTA로 가장 큰 피해를 보는 사람들은 여성노동자와 여성농민입니다. 여성노동자들은 70%가 비정규직으로 열악한 노동조건에서 남성들의 절반 정도의 임금을 받고 일하고 있으며 여성농민은 수입개방으로 남성들보다 더 많은 농사일을 하면서도 농사뿐만 아니라 2~3개의 일을 해야 아이들을 교육 시킬 수 있습니다. 한미FTA가 체결된다면 여성들은 열악한 비 정규직의 일자리마저 잃을 것입니다. 신자유주의는 1994년 멕시코가 NAFTA를 체결하도록했고 이후 일자리를 잃은 많은 사람들은 가족과 헤어져 이곳의 저임금 이민노동자로서 열악한 노동의 자리에서 일하도록 강요당하고있습니다. 그래서 여러분과 우리는 함께 단결해야만합니다 신자유주의세계는 전세계를 양극화하고 여성의 빈곤화를 가속화 시키고 있습니다. 지금 미국의 군사패권주의는 세계를 전쟁터로 만들고 있습니다. 미군과 이스라엘의 폭격으로 페허가 된 이라크와 레바논에서 여성들이 아이들의 시체를 끌어 안고 통곡하고 있습니다. 한국에서는 주한미군이 동북아 신속기동군으로 성격을 바꾸면서 전쟁의 위협이 더욱 높아지고 있습니다. 민족, 나라, 종교, 이념, 인종은 다르지만 세계 민중은 특히 여성들은 신자유주의 반대! 전쟁반대! 평화 실현! 이라는 공동의 목표를 갖게 되었습니다. 저는 한국여성농민 대표로서 세계농민조직인 비아캼파시나 동남동아시아 대표로써 세계 곳곳을 다니며 신자유주의로 인한 참상과 함께 세계민중의 희망도 보았습니다.그것은 바로 세계 민중들의 단결과 연대입니다. 오늘 이자리에서 다시 희망을 봅니다. 미국의 신자유주의, 군사패권주의 세력이 아무리 강해도 미래를 향한 희망의 발걸음을 멈추지 않고 연대하는 우리들이 있는 한 우리는 승리할 것입니다. 여러분! 투쟁합시다! 칸쿤과 홍콩에서처럼 한국의 민중들은 여러분들과 함께 투쟁 할 것입니다 여러분 투쟁합시다. 연대합시다. 승리합시다. 감사합니다.

FTA저지방미대표-미주동포단체 대표들과 간담회

2006-09-03T01:33:00.000-04:00

[미주]방미대표 2명, 미주동포단체 대표들과 간담회1일 범국본 박석운 집행위원장, 윤금순 전여농 회장 엔젤레스공항에 도착 환영꽃다발 받아
[로스엔젤레스=민족통신 종합]한미FTA 저지투쟁을 위해 미국을 방문한 국내 대표 2명(박석운 전국민중연대 집행위원장과 윤금순 전국여성농민회 총연합 회장)이 1일 오후3시 로스엔젤레스 도착한 이후 오후6시30분 재미동포들과 간담회를 필두로 2일 노동절기념 이민자대회에서 연설하는 등 바쁜 일정을 보내고 있다. 이들은 특히 오는 9월6일부터 9일까지 시애틀에서 열리는 제3차 한.미FTA 저지투쟁에 다른 60여명의 국내원정단과 25명의 미주동포 투쟁단, 그리고 미국내 노조단체들, 반전평화운동단체 등과 함께 저지투쟁을 계획하고 있어 이들의 향후 투쟁에 내외 관심에 쏠리고 있다. 국내 대표 2명의 공항도착 환영소식과 함께 첫날 동포단체들 대표들과 가진 간담회 소식을 싣는다. [2신:미서부지역 단체들 대표들과 간담회 갖고한미FTA가 반드시 저지되어야 하는 이유들 설명

한.미FTA 저지 원정투쟁단 대표 2명이 1일 밤 로스엔젤레스에서 간담회를 갖고 있는 모습
1일 오후6시30분 남가주한인노동상담소에서 열린 동포단체 대표들과의 간담회는 김현정 나성포럼 회장의 사회로 국내 대표 2명을 소개하는 순서, 참석자들의 소개에 이어 준비된 식사를 나누며 국내 대표들의 간단한 설명, 그리고 질의응답시간으로 진행되었다.

윤금순 회장
윤금순 회장은 "한.미FTA가 갑자기 거론될 줄 몰랐다."고 지적하며 이 협정을 진단해 보면 한국경제가 미국에 통합되어 마치도 한국이 미국의 한 주로 영구적으로 종속되는 심각한 상황이라는 사실을 알게되었다."고 지적했다. 그는 이에 대한 14개 분야별 대책위들이 구성되어 여기에 420개 단체들이 참여하고 있는데 이중 42개 단체들이 농축산 관계 단체들이라고 밝혔다. 2차회의 이후 50% 가량 한미FTA를 반대하는 여론이 일었으나 정부당국이 "미국시장 얻기 위해 한미FTA 해야한다."는 식으로 왜곡 광고를 대량으로 전개하는 바람에 지금 그 여론은 46% 가량 떨어져 있는 상태라고 전했다. 그러나 9월 5일 시군 집중투쟁을 비롯하여 1200만명 서명운동 발대식, 11월 전국 백만명 총궐기대회 등의 계획들이 준비되어 있어 한.미FTA 저지투쟁은 날이 갈 수록 거세질 전망이다. 이날 간담회에서 박석운 한미 FTA저지 범대위 집행위원장은 "한미관계는 지금 미국측으로 볼때 한 축은 동북아 패권을 유지하기 위해 정치, 군사적으로는 전략적 유연성으로 한국을 지배하려는 움직임이고, 경제적 패권을 유지하기 위한 수단으로서는 한.미FTA를 통해 지배하려는 움직임을 보이고 있다고 진단했다. 박 집행위원장은 "한.미FTA는 사실상 부자는 더 부자가 되고 가난한 서민은 더 가난해 지는 협정이다. 이것은 미국의 경우도 우리와 마찬가지이다. 가령 삼성과 같은 회사는 은행을 먹어야 하는데 금산분리 문제 때문에 삼성은 외세를 업고 은행을 먹으려고 한다. 한국경제계에서 모피아(미국서 자라나 공부하고 온 사람들로 이들은 얼굴은 한국사람 같은데 속은 미국 지배계층과 같은 의식구조를 가진 사람들을 지칭하는 말)들이 천지 분간 못하고 구전을 먹으며 한국경제를 미국에 예속시키는 족속들로 론스타 경우가 이런부류에 속한다. 조동중과 같은 족벌언론들도 당장 방송국을 먹고 싶은데 그럴수 없어 외세를 업고 먹으려고 생각한 나머지 한.미FTA를 지지하고 있다. 한.미FTA는 반드시 저지되어야 한다. 이것이 미국 당국이 노리는 대로 간다면 경제주권은 완전히 미국에 넘어가며, 우리 사회의 양극화는 심화될 것이며, 환경 훼손, 문화다양성 훼손, 공공서비스 부문의 초토화 될 것"이라고 심각하게 우려했다. 그는 "이렇게 심각한 문제를 미국과 다루는 정부측 관리들이 기본적인 준비도 안되어 있는 한심한 상태"라고 지적하며 "미국과 협상하는 구성원들이 한.미FTA 협정 문건(TEXT)하나 제대로 읽지 않고 나온 비전문가들이라는 사실에 경악을 금치 못했다. 한국 국회에 특위가 생겼는데 두달이 넘었는데 아직 공개한 내용이 없다. 우리들이 열린우리당과 만나 구체적 내용을 가지고 각론으로 토론하자고 제안했지만 맨손으로 나타나 아무도 준지하지 않았다는 사실에도 놀람을 금치 못했다. 우리 정부는 그저 이 문제를 '묻지마 정책'으로 끌고 가려고 한다."고 폭로했다.

박석운 집행위원장
박 집행위원장은 한편 "다행스러운 것은 미국자동차노조(UAW)를 비롯하여 미국 노동계, 그리고 반전평화운동계, 미국 민주당계 등 상당계층에서 우리의 저지투쟁과 맥을 같이할 수 있다는 사실을 검증하면서 미국원정투쟁에 일정한 기대를 갖고 있다. 이번 시애틀 원정투쟁에서도 각 부분별 연대운동이 진행될 것이다. 특히 노동, 농민, 여성분야 운동에서 좋은 성과가 기대된다. 우리는 국내에서 10월 22일을 기해 민중총궐기대회를 준비하고 있다. 그러나 우리는 '모피아'와 외교통상부를 매국노들이라고 부른다. 이들은 9월14일 한.미정상회담을 전후하여 9월달 이내에 끝장을 보려고 한다. 우리는 온라인상으로 1200만 +1명 서명운동을 전개하며 백만명 전국궐기대회 등 각종 투쟁을 통하여 민중들의 승리를 다짐하고 있다. 여기에 내외 역량을 결집시키기 위하여 오늘 이렇게 미국을 방문하게 되었다."고 소개했다. 국내대표 2명과 재미동포단체들 대표들 20여명은 3시간 가량 간담회를 갖고 그 이후 뒷풀이를 통해 친교를 나누는 시간을 보냈다. [박석운 집행위원장 약력]*1955년 부산출생*서울 법대 졸업*노동인권회관 소장, 참여연대 창립멤버,비정규직 차별법철페와 노동기본권보장을 위한 공대위 운영위원장 , 외국인 이주노동자 공대위 집행위원장,APEC 반대 국민행동 공동집행위원장, 반전평화기독연대 집행위원장 등 역임.-2004년 한겨레 의“한국의 미래 열어 갈 100인”에 선정 됨.-현재 전국민중연대 집행위원장, 한미 FTA저지 범대위 집행위원장,평택범대위 공동집행위원장, 하중근열사 대책위원회 공동집행위원장.“그를 따라 가면 한국 사회운동의 역사가 보인다.”[윤금순회장 약력]*1959년 농가에서 출생*환경공학 전공*결혼 후 경북 성주군 대가면 홍산리로 내려가 농사꾼이 됨.*경북 여성농민회 총무*1995년 여성농민후계자로 선정 됨*전국여성농민회총연합 (전농여성회)사무국장, 부회장 역임*2005년 6.15남측 농민본부 공동대표*2005년 “노벨평화상 1,000여성 후보”로 추천 됨-현재 전농 여성회 회장이며 경북 성주하우스 참외농사를 짓는 주부농사꾼...............................................................[1신:1일 범국본 박석운 집행위원장, 윤금순 전여농 회장 로스엔젤레스공항에 도착 재미동포들로부터 환영꽃다발 받아 [로스엔젤레스=민족통신 종합] 한미FTA저지를 위한 범국본의 원정투쟁 선발대표단인 박석운집행위원장과 전국여성농민회총연합의 윤금순회장이 1일 오후 3시 아시아나 항공편으로 로스엔젤레스에 입성, 미국 원정투쟁의 첫 발을 내디뎠다. 이 날 세관에서 무사히 입국수속을 끝내고 건강하고 밝은 표정으로 출구를 나온 범국본의 두대표는 로스엔젤레스 재미위원회의 박영준대표, 이정희씨, 정미경씨, 리즈 선우씨를 비롯하여 최근 조국프로그램 KEEP(Korean Exposure and Educational Program)을 통해 한국을 다녀온 박지연씨, 양선영씨등 한국계 청년 활동가들의 해바라기 꽃다발과 뜨거운 환영을 받았다.

로스엔젤레스 국제공항에서 환영 나온 재미동포단체 대표들과 함께 기념촬영한 박석운, 윤금순 남측 대표들
이 날 환영대에는 캘리포니아 주립대 사회학과 교수인 케이 팟씨와 중국일본계 미국인으로 올여름 KEEP 멤버들과 한국에 다녀온 마리씨도 나와 우연히도 동북아 아시안들의 국제연대를 다짐하는 자리가 되기도 했다. 두 대표는 1일 저녁 노동상담소에서 열리는 동포간담회에 이어 다음날 2일에는 다음날 2일에는 로스엔젤레스 다운타운에서 열리는 노동절 기념 이민자대행진시위에 참가하여 한미FTA를 이슈로 한 연대연설을 한다. 윤회장은 3일 샌프란시스코로 떠나 이 지역에서 열리는 이민자대행진시위에서도 연대연설을 하며,박집행위원장은 4일 오전에 AFL-CIO에서 주관하는 노동절 퍼레이드에서 연대연설을 하면서 시애틀 원정투쟁이 시작되기 전부터 한미 FTA저지의 중요성을 미국사회에 널리 알린다.

FTA반대시위하러 왔어요

2006-09-03T01:26:00.000-04:00

뉴스홈 > 사회

“FTA 반대시위하러 왔어요”

입력일자:2006-09-02
시애틀에서 열리는 한미 FTA협상 반대 시위를 위해 한국서 온 전국여성농민회 총연합회장이 LA 공항에 도착해 미국의 한인 시위팀과 악수를 나누고 있다.
<서준영 기자>

2006-09-02T06:36:00.000-04:00

[미주]한미 FTA저지 시애틀 원정투쟁 관련 기자회견로스엔젤레스 재미위원회 한국총영사관앞에서 출정식 선포
[로스엔젤레스=민족통신 취재부]오는 9월 6-9일 시애틀에서 열리는 제3차 한미 FTA협상에 즈음하여 미 서부지역에서는 25명의 동포 활동가들과 미국인 활동가들이 한미 FTA중단을 위한 원정투쟁에 나선다. 전쟁과 신자유주의 반대 LA재미위원회(이하 LA재미위원회) 31일 로스엔젤레스 한국총영사관 앞에서 기자회견을 열고 이들 원정단을 한국에서 온 범국본의 선발대표단인 박석운집행위원장과 전농여성회의 윤금순회장과 동행, 로스엔젤레스에서 밴을 타고 샌프란시스코를 경유하여 미 서부지역 순회투쟁을 벌인다고 발표했다.

시애틀 한미FTA 반대투쟁 관련 기자회견이 31일 오전11시 로스엔젤레스 총영사관 앞에서 진행
기자회견에 나온 LA재미위원회의 박영준 대표(한인노동상담소 소장)는 범국본의 대원까지 포함하여 백여명의 원정투쟁단이 5일 시애틀에서 전원 합류하여 오리엔테이션을 시작으로 개막시위, 기자회견, 협상장소인 컨벤션센터 앞에서의 시위, 국제연대 워크샵, 국제문화행사, 노동계, 여성계, 환경계, 미국 진보단체와의 공동성명발표, 삼보일배, 장례행렬, 폐막시위등의 다채로운 시위행사를 닷새간 벌일 것이라고 발표했다. 이주전 시애틀로 현장답사를 다녀 온 박영준대표는 1999년 WTO 각료회담 당시 세계각지에서 5만명의 반 WTO투쟁대를 결집시켜 동회담을 결렬시키고 이후 일어난 반세계화운동에 결정적인 영향을 주었던 시애틀을 소개하며, 이런 전통을 가진 시애틀의 진보운동권은 이번 원정투쟁을 적극 지원하고 있다고 말했다. 시애틀의 미국노조 AFL-CIO는 6일 개막시위에 천여명의 시위대를 동원하겠다고 말했으며 다른 단체에서는 경찰당국에서 시위허가 받기, 행사장 물색 등을 통해 큰 도움을 주고 있다. 이번 원정시위에는 민주노동당의 강기갑의원도 참가하여 지난 워싱턴 원정시위때 처럼 한미간 정치인들의 국제연대를 모색한다.노동계, 반세계화운동계, 환경계, 이민자권익계, 여성계, 종교계, 반전평화운동계 등 시애틀에 있는 20여개의 진보단체가 이번 원정시위에 처음 연대서명 을 헀다.

이정희 간사
"한미 FTA저지를 위한 시애틀 원정투쟁에 즈음하여 재미동포들에게 드리는 담화문"을 낭독한 한인노동상담소의 이정희간사는 “ 한국 자주경제의 미래가 달려 있는 한미FTA에 대한 관심은 우리 가슴 깊은 곳에서 우러나오는 민족애의 자연스러운 발로”이며 미국 등 강대국 중심의 불평등한 21세기 세계화 시대에서 신자유주의 한미FTA에 반대하면서 소수가 아닌 다수, 경쟁이 아닌 협조, 착취가 아닌 호혜, 반환경이 아닌 친환경 등의 정의로운 원칙을 옹호하고 미국내의 다양한 진보단체와 연대하는 것은 인류애를 바탕으로 한 현시대의 부름이며 사명”이라며 민족애와 인류애를 강조했다. 이정희간사는 또 9월 중순에 열리는 한미정상회담과 관련, “ 석유전쟁인 아프가니스탄, 이라크전쟁을 일으켜 국내외에서 지탄을 받고 있는 군사패권주의, 신자유주의의 주창자인 부쉬대통령의 압력을 받아 미,영에 이어 세계에서 가장 많은 군인을 이라크에 파병하여 자주국방을 포기한 한국의 노무현대통령이 이번 정상회담에서 자주경제까지 포기하지 않을 지” 특히 주시해야 한다고 말했다. 이 날 기자회견의 사회를 맡은 민족통신 김영희편집위원은 한미 FTA는 한미 민중에게 모두 피해를 입힌다고 특히 강조했다. 김위원은 NAFTA가 실시된 이후 10년동안 미국내에서 3백만개의 일자리가 사라졌으며, 한미 FTA도 타결된다면 비슷한 결과를 가져와 미주에 사는 한인들에게도 악영향을 끼칠 것이므로 한인언론에서 한미 FTA의 진상을 제대로 다루어 달라고 기자들에게 특별히 당부했다. 이 날 기자회견에는 신문, 라디오, TV 방송국에서 나온 15여명의 동포언론 기자들이 열띈 취재를 하며, 한미 FTA가 미주 한인 이민사회에 주는 영향에 특히 큰 관심을 가졌다. 다음은 "한미 FTA저지를 위한 시애틀 원정투쟁에 즈음하여 재미동포들에게 드리는 담화문"과 이날 기자회견장에서 발부한 "조국을 사랑하는 미주동포들이 한미 FTA를 저지해야 하는 10가지 이유"의 전문이다.....................................................................................한미FTA저지를 위한 시애틀 원정투쟁에 즈음하여 재미동포들에게 드리는 담화문친애하는 동포 여러분!몸은 비록 바다 건너 해외에 살고 있어도 민족의식은 변함이 없어 우리 조국이 잘되기를 바라는 마음은 누구나 한결 같습니다. 한국 자주경제의 미래가 달려 있는 한미FTA에 대한 관심은 우리 가슴 깊은 곳에서 우러나오는 민족애의 자연스러운 발로이기도 합니다. 우리는 세계의 다양한 인종이 모여사는 미국사회에 살면서 민족애와 더불어 인류애의 귀중함도 절실하게 피부로 느끼고 있습니다. 미국 등 강대국 중심의 불평등한 21세기 세계화 시대에서 신자유주의 한미FTA에 반대하면서 소수가 아닌 다수, 경쟁이 아닌 협조, 착취가 아닌 호혜, 반환경이 아닌 친환경 등의 정의로운 원칙을 옹호하고 미국내의 다양한 진보단체와 연대하는 것은 인류애를 바탕으로 한 현시대의 부름이며 사명이기도 합니다 . 동포여러분!이미 알려졌듯, 한미 FTA는 한국의 경제를 미국에 종속시키며 한미 양국의 다수 민중이 아닌 소수 대기업의 이익을 위주로 하여 1년내에 협상을 끝내려는 졸속적이고 반민주적인 무역협정 입니다. 금년 초 한국정부는 국민들의 동의를 전혀 구하지 않고 밀실에서 이 협정을 시작하였지만 “한미 FTA저지 범국민운동본부”(이하 범국본)등 한국 시민단체들을 비롯한 정계, 경제계의 양심적인 인사들의 열성적인 활동과 언론보도로 인해 그 진상이 널리 알려져 현재는 한국국민의 70%가 한미 FTA에 반대하고 있습니다. 이런 여론이 형성된 이면에는 지난 6월 초 제 1차 한미FTA 협상에 즈음했던 워싱턴 디시 원정투쟁이 큰 기폭제가 되었음도 새삼 알려 드립니다. 로스엔젤레스, 뉴욕, 워싱턴 디 시, 보스턴 등 미주에 살고 있는 “군사주의와 신자유주의 반대 재미위원회”(이하 재미위원회)의 회원들은 한국에서 원정 온 범국본 대원들과 합세, 한미간 진보단체들과 정치인들간의 국제연대, 국내외 언론홍보 등에 큰 역할을 맡았습니다. 워싱턴 디 시에서 보여준 일반 한인동포들의지지와 격려 또한 투쟁에 큰 힘이 되었습니다. 지난 7월 서울에서 열린 제2차 한미 FTA협상 때에는 디 시 원정투쟁에 참여했던 미국 노동계의 최대조직인 AFL-CIA, 미국내 대표적인 반전평화운동계의 ANSWER 등에서 대표들이 서울까지 나가 투쟁시위에 직접 참가, 한미 양국 민중의 유대를 더욱 다졌습니다. 오는 9월 6-9일 시애틀에서 열리는 제3차 한미FTA협상때에도 범국본과 재미위원회의 정의로운 원정투쟁은 계속 됩니다. 1999년 WTO 반대투쟁당시 세계에서 5만여명의 활동가들을 운집시켰던 시애틀의 진보운동권은 원정투쟁 소식을 듣고 노동계, 이민계, 반전평화운동계, 여성계, 소수민족계, 종교계 등을 총망라하여 벌써부터 물심양면의 적극적인 지원을 하고 있습니다. 우리는 워싱턴 디 시에 이어 1백여 미국내 진보단체가 연대하는 이번 시애틀 원정투쟁도 성공리에 치루어져 한미 민중간의 역사적 연대의 장이 더욱 곤고해 질 것으로 확신합니다. 한편, 우리는 9월 중순에 열리는 한미정상회담에 대해 우려를 표명하지 않을 수 없습니다. 제3차 한미 FTA협상이 끝난 직 후 열리는 이 정상회담에서는 한미 FTA가 주요 사안 중 하나입니다. 소수 대기업을 위한 석유전쟁인 아프가니스탄, 이라크전쟁을 일으켜 국내외에서 지탄을 받고 있는 군사패권주의, 신자유주의의 주창자인 부쉬대통령의 압력을 받아 미,영에 이어 세계에서 가장 많은 군인을 이라크에 파병하여 자주국방을 포기한 한국의 노무현대통령이 이번 정상회담에서 자주경제까지 포기하지 않을 지, 우리는 특히 주시하지 않을 수 없습니다. 친애하는 동포여러분!끝으로, 떠나온 조국의 민중들과 하나가 되고, 현재 몸 담고 살고 있는 미국의 민중들과 하나가 되고, 신자유주의로 인해 고통받는 전 세계민중과 하나되는 시애틀 원정투쟁에 동포여러분들의 계속적인 지지와 관심을 부탁 드립니다!2006년 8월31일 군사주의와 신자유주의 반대 재미위원회(재미위원회)/ Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism

FTA저지 미국원정투쟁단-이민자대행진 참여

2006-09-02T06:26:00.000-04:00

[미주]국내 FTA저지 미국원정투쟁단 9.2시위 참가해 연대연설9.2 이민자대행진시위 위해 아시안계 합동 기자회견 열려

[로스엔젤레스=김영희 민족통신 편집위원] 오는 9월 2일 로스엔젤레스에서 열리는 이민자 대행진시위에 미국으로 FTA저지투쟁을 오는 한국 범국본의 박석운집행위원장, 전농여성회 윤금순회장 등이 동참, 신자유주의를 뿌리로 하는 한미FTA 이슈를 알리며 연대시위와 연대연설을 한다.29일 로스엔젤레스 필리핀 커뮤니티의 트라이발 카페에서 열린 9.2 이민자 대행진시위를 위한 아시안계 합동 기자회견에서 “전쟁과 신자유주의 반대 재미위원회”(이하 재미위원회)의 김현숙운영위원은 세계화시대에 일자리를 찾아 국경을 넘는 근본적인 원인은 다수민중에 불이익을 주는 불평등한 신자유주의라고 지적하면서 9월 5일부터 시애틀에서 열리는 한미 FTA 저지투쟁에 가는 도중 로스엔젤레스에 들리는 박석운집행위원장, 전농여성회 윤금순회장 등 범국본 대원들이 이민자대행진 시위에 참가할 것이라고 발표했다.

아시안계 합동기자회견에서 재미위원회 김현숙위원이 마이크를 잡고 발표 하고 있다.
로스엔젤레스를 경유하는 일부 범국본 대원들은 시애틀까지 순회투쟁을 한다. 이들은 9.2 이미자 대행진시위에 이어 AFL-CIO이 윌밍턴지역에서 주관하는 9.4 노동절 퍼레이드에 참가한 후 로스엔젤레스의 재미위원회 대원들과 밴을 타고 샌 프란시코에 도착, 미 진보단체들과 연대행사를 가진 후 시애틀로 다시 밴을 타고 떠난다. 29일 열린 기자회견에는 한인 커뮤니티를 비롯하여 중국, 필리핀, 남아시아 커뮤니티의 진보 단체 대표들이 참가하여 9.11 이후 애국법 등을 강행해 온 부쉬정부의 반이민정책과 인종주의정책을 비판하면서 오는 9월 2일 정오부터 다운타운에서 열리는 이민자 대행진시위에 동양인들의 적극적인 참여를 당부했다. 지난 3월 25일 백만 이민자대행진을 성사 시킨 3.25 연합이 주관하는 9.2 대행진시위는 이민노동자 권익보장과 조건 없는 대사면을 주요 슬로건으로 하면서 서류미비 이민자 추방정지, 이민자가족의 조기 상봉. 여성 이민자 권익보장 등을 당국에 요구하고 있다.이날 기자회견에 나온 필리핀 커뮤니티 예술단체 하비 하츠의 테리 세르바스씨는 2003년 미국에서 추방된 필리핀계 이민자는 765명이나 된다면서 오는 2일 아시안계 이민자가 라틴계 이민자들과 단결하여 인종차별적인 이민정책을 바꾸어야 한다고 말했다.

남아시아 네트 워크의 슈밍변호사
중국계를 대표한 캘리포니아 노스리지 주립대학의 케이 팟교수는 다른 아시안계 이민자들, 라틴계 이민자들과 마찬가지로 중국계 이민자들도 인종주의, 성차별, 반이민정책의 대상인만큼 오는 2일 이민자대행진 시위에 나와 함께 할 것을 부탁했다. 남아시아 네트워크를 대표해서 나온 슈밍 치어변호사는 9.11 이후 남아시안계 이민자들도 수천명이 추방을 당했으며, 여성 이민노동자들은 경영주에게 성폭력까지 당하는 일이 발생하고 있다고 밝혔다. 치어변호사는 또 현재 미국내에는 추방명령을 받은 여성 이민자가 60여만명이나 된다고 밝히면서, 인종을 초월하여 이들에게 특별한 관심이 요청된다고 말했다. 9.2 이민자 대행진시위는 시카고에 거주하는 멕시칸계 이민자인 엘비라 아렐라노씨를 지지하는 성격도 띄게 된다. 1997년에 미국에 온 올해 31살의 서류미비자인 엘비라씨는 국토안보부로부터 추방명령을 받은 후 지난 8월 15일 한 교회로 피신, 추방령을 거부하고 있다. 미국에서 태어난 올해 7살의 시민권자 이며 질환을 앓고 있는 아들아이를 둔 미혼모 엘비라의 사연은 전국적으로 알려져 미 이민사회에서 큰 이슈가 되고 있다. 9.2 이민자시위에서는 여성이민자들의 권익을 보장해야 한다는 의미로 이 날 집회의 연설자들을 모두 여성으로만 선정했다. 이 원칙에 의해 이 날 범국본의 대표로는 전농 여성회의 윤금순회장이 대표연설을 하게 된다.이 날 기자회견에는 라틴계 대표들도 나와 이민자들의 단결을 강조하며 9.2 대행진에 많은 아시안계가 나와달라고 당부했다. 노동절을 즈음하여, 로스엔젤레스를 비롯 뉴욕, 워싱턴 디 시에서도 이민자 대시위가 열릴 예정이다. 한편, 지난 8월 18일 미 국토안보부가 발표한 통계에 의하면 미국에 사는 한인 불법체류자는 21만명으로 멕시코(597만 명), 엘살바도르(47만 명), 과테말라(37만 명), 인도(28만 명), 중국(23만 명)에 이어 6번째로 많은 규모다. [출처 : 민족통신 0000-08-30]

서부 선발대 도착

2006-09-02T06:23:00.000-04:00

The Struggle Continues!

2006-08-28T13:32:00.000-04:00

In Seattle, Washington September 6 – September 9, 2006 The 3rd round of FTA talks between South Korea and the U.S. takes place in Seattle. Free trade policies such as the proposed KorUS FTA have had devastating effects on the lives of Americans as well as workers in the partner countries. Though FTAs are widely touted for encouraging foreign direct investment, creating jobs and jump-starting economies, most of these investments are in mergers and acquisitions, resulting in job losses. NAFTA sent formerly high paying manufacturing jobs to Mexico, forced Mexican subsistence farmers to the cities, and drove wages down, leading many to risk their lives immigrating to the U.S. South Koreans fear a similar fate for their farmers, as well as the worsening of working conditions. The upcoming FTA negotiations address some 17 trade categories; the pri-mary issues for Koreans are agriculture (especially rice and beef), automobiles, pharmaceuticals and the media.

Schedule of Events

+9/6 Opening Rally & March [sponsored by Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and AFL-CIO], Westlake Park, 12:30p
+9/6 International Cultural Performance [by Dohee Lee, SKIM, Cuchata, and local hip-hop], Westlake Park, 6:30p
+9/6 Candlelight Vigil, Westlake Park, 8:30p
+9/8 Sam-bo Il-bae* March, Westlake Park, 1:00p
+9/9 Closing Rally & Funeral March, Federal Building, 1:00p
* Sam-bo Il-bae literally means "three steps, one bow." Originally born from the Buddhist tradition, it is a uniquely Korean form of protest with a long history in our resistance movements. Participants will do the entire march by taking three steps, then a full bow on our knees, touching the ground. In the process, we demonstrate and renew our deep commitment to the struggle. Sam-bo Il-bae is silent, slow, physically demanding, and extremely powerful. KoA and KAWAN invite all local allies to join us in Sam-bo Il-bae, as we renew our commitment together.

Organized by Korean Alliance Against Korea-US FTA (KoA) and Korean Americans Against War And Neoliberalism (KAWAN) stopfta@gmail.com

2006-06-12T17:32:00.000-04:00

Thank you to the South Korean contingent who came through NYC!
Toojeng!!

2006-06-11T14:44:00.000-04:00

Photos from June 9, 2006.

2006-06-09T12:09:00.000-04:00

June 8, 2006: Rally in front of a building near Capitol Hill and a mock funeral of multinational agro-giant Cargill in front of the company offices in Washington, DC.

2006-06-08T12:29:00.001-04:00

June 7, 2006: Sam bo Il Bae (three steps and one bow) for 1.5 km in front of the Capitol Building to Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC.

Statements from the Press Conference Challenging the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (June 7, 2006)

2006-06-07T11:30:00.000-04:00

2006-06-06T20:05:00.000-04:00

Building with allies.

2006-06-06T19:56:00.000-04:00

All night vigil in Lafayette Park, June 5, 2006.

KBS News:Video of June 5, 2006

2006-06-06T19:53:00.000-04:00

2006-06-06T17:15:00.000-04:00

Protesting in front of the White House, June 6, 2006

2006-06-06T12:52:00.000-04:00

Protesting while the South Korean delegation enters negotiations, June 6, 2006.