Police, anti-globalization protesters clash outside Asia-EU summit
October 20, 2000
Web posted at: 3:05 PM HKT (0705 GMT)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Riot police battled stone-throwing protesters who
wielded wooden sticks and shouted anti-globalization slogans amid
demonstrations Friday during a gathering of Asian and European leaders.
Some 400 protesters fought running street battles with about 1,000 police
armed with yard-long batons who were blocking their march.
At least three protesters were taken to hospital with injuries to the head
and face. One protester was taken away in a police car.
The protesters were among 3,000 labor, environmental and human rights
activists who rallied at a major intersection to oppose the biennial summit
of the Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, which brought together 25 leaders of
Asian and European Union leaders to discuss closer cooperation between their
regions.
Activists expected the Seoul meeting to strengthen economic globalization,
which they claim would restrict workers' rights and widen the gap between
the rich and poor nations.
Anti-globalization protests disrupted the World Trade Organization meeting in
Seattle last year. Violent demonstrations also marred last month's
International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Prague, the Czech
Republic.
Organizers said they planned a larger demonstration later Friday expected to
draw 20,000 people.
Earlier in the day, police stopped a dozen activists from marching to the
convention center.
"Is this a country which has received a Nobel prize?" the protesters
shouted as they were aggressively pushed away by riot police, armed with
helmets, shields and meter-long batons.
South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last
week for his policy of reaching out to North Korea, is the host of the third
biennial summit seeking ways of strengthening political and economic
cooperation.
When stopped by police yards from the convention center, the labor,
religious, environmental and human rights activists unfurled two large
placards which read: "No to Neoliberal Globalization" and "No to
Structural Adjustment Program." "Neoliberal" refers to the free market
economic policies adopted by many of the countries in the region.
"ASEM pursues neoliberal globalization, which is destroying the livelihood
of workers, ecology and human rights," the protesters said in a statement.
Authorities deployed 30,000 riot and plainclothes police in Seoul to
safeguard the summit. Anti-terrorism police squads were seen patrolling
around the convention center and hotels where the summit leaders were
staying.
Police also expected South Korean followers of the Falun Gong spiritual
movement, which has been the target of a heavy crackdown by the Chinese
government, to stage a protest during the summit due to the presence of
Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji.
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