Around 7,000 Workers, students, and activists have started to gather at
Sung-Sil University - From Seattle to Prague, O20 Newsletter #5
The official ASEM 2000 Seoul Day of Action Against Neo-Liberal Globalization
is not until tomorrow, but the ASEM struggle has already started in Korea.
Around 7,000 Workers, students, and activists have started to gather at
Sung-Sil University in Seoul to participate in the all-night
anti-globalization culture festival. Participants will head straight to the
rally sites tomorrow for the O20 actions against neo-liberal globalization.
Tensions are high, as several helicopters have hovered over the university
earlier in the evening, and police forces have started to build up around the
area. At the same time, however, those of us who have been preparing for
this struggle cannot help but be a little excited that tomorrow, the Korean
people, in continuation with the international struggle in Seattle, Bangkok,
Melbourne, and Prague, will speak out and act against the brutality of
neo-liberal globalization.
The action starts early tomorrow morning and will run throughout the day.
There are continuous demonstrations scheduled at various locations for all of
tomorrow, as well as the KCTU(Korean confederation of Trade Unions) rally on
the 21st. The people's, social, and civic movement of Korea will come
together tomorrow to voice their uniform opposition to the free trade order
of modern day capitalism.
The momentum for the O20 struggle has been building for some time now. The
joint organizing committee of KoPA (Korean People's Action Against Investment
Treaties and the WTO) and the People's Rally Committee have organized a
diverse program of actions, discussion forums, publicizing sessions, and
culture festivals. We have already let you know through previous newsletters
about the concert/culture festival on the 8th, the joint discussions on the
Korea-Japan, / Korea-U.S. Bi-lateral investment treaties and neo-libral
restructuring, the struggle of the public sector workers against plans for
privatization.
In recent days, there also have been demonstrations against the anti-trade
union activities of Omron, a Japanese company in Korea; a demonstration by
temporary workers demanding equal labor rights as full-time workers was held
in front of the Korean Employer's Federation building. A demonstration by
oppressed workers at E-land was also held the next day in front of the same
building. The ASEM 2000 People's Forum, where nearly two hundred people's
organizations, social movements, and civil society organization in Korea,
Asia and Europe came together to organize a conference entitled "ASEM 2000
People's Forum" with the theme of "People's Action and Solidarity Challenging
Globalization," was held during the past 2 days at Kun-Kuk university in
Seoul. Guests and speakers uniformly criticized the neo-liberal
globalization process for oppressing the socially weak and destroying
diversity, and called for alternatives such as control of trans-national
capital. Participants will be present for the actions tomorrow.
The Joint Independent Media Project Group for ASEM 2000 has been busy
reporting on the live voices of the people during the preparation process for
the O20 struggle. A 10 minute video has been uploaded onto our homepage,
several more will come in the near future. We are also offering the standard
text news, photos, and radio broadcasts on all that is going on. Our
reporting team is currently on the site at Sung-Sil university and we will be
bringing you all the action of the coming days.
No one can predict what kind of situation will break out tomorrow, but the
government's forceful stand in banning all demonstrations almost guarantees
that clashes will take place. We again ask for your interest and solidarity;
your continued interest, support, and solidarity for our actions is critical,
both for the success of the movement and for the safety of the protestors.
The voice of the people will not be denied! Solidarity!
The Struggle of the People Continues in Seoul!!
An Immediate Stop to Neo-Liberal Globalization!!
More information on the ASEM actions can be seen at:
http://antiwto.jinbo.net
Regular updates on the preparations for the ASEM action can be heard through
the PICIS internet broadcasts at: http://cast.jinbo.net/news/yundai.html
Contact us at: kopa@jinbo.net
19 Oct. 2000
Korean People's Action Against Investment Treaties and the WTO
People's Rally Committee
<** This newsletter is originally from the Policy and Information Center for
International Solidarity (PICIS: http://picis.jinbo.net) Newsletter Team>
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