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Today, Thursday, May 4th, 2006 at 5:00am, the Korean Ministry of National Defense (MND) again came to overrun the villages of Daechuri and Doduri. This time, they came with 7,000 riot police, 1,500 plain-clothes hired 'workers', who are notorious, right wing ex-military strike breakers, and 2,000 Korean army engineers. Today their goal was to erect barbed wire around the fields and to establish a permanent troop presence at the Daechuri primary school which has been the organizing center for the resisting farmers. With troops stationed at Daechuri, the MND will be able to legally designate the area a "protected military zone". (See http://saveptfarmers.org/blog-mt/mt-tb.fcgi/14 for further information regarding this legal designation.)
The Attack: By 11pm the night before the attack began, 700 workers, union members and activists had gathered with the 200 farmers of Daechuri and Doduri at the primary school, and were preparing for the MND's assult. Thousands of South Korean riot police had begun blocking roads and access to the villages.
Early on the morning of the 4th, approximately 100 activists attempted to block the advance of the riot police through the gate of Camp Humphreys which is adjacent to the Daechuri primary school. The riot police commanders yelled abuses into a megaphone and then shouted for the troops to "move forward, take the area". The police then attacked the activists using their shields as weapons and some drew their batons from their belts. Many activists were injured and bleeding during the riot police's assult on their attempted blockade. (The side of one woman's face was bloody and swolen and appeared to be crushed. She had yet to be able to reach a hospital.)
The police were entering the village from all sides and the activists were forced onto the primary school grounds.
At that time, several thousdand riot police surrounded the school. In doing so, the riot police have trampled the garlic and onion crops. All 1,000 activists, workers and farmers had moved to guard the primary school. The police were threatening to break the blockade with water cannons and had flown their helicopters just above the protesters' heads, frigntening and deafening them. The police commanders were doing all they could to break the will of the protesters and scatter the activist blockade.
Simultaneously, thousands of other riot police were guarding the Korean military engineers, who were constructing barbed wire around the fields. The fence is reported to be some 25 kilometers long and 1.8 meters high. It is also reported that ordinary wire cutters will not be able to neutralize the fence.
The Korean Ministry of National Defense had announced repeatedly that they intended to take the primary school today which has been the organizing center for the farmers and solidarity activists.20 people had taeken up places on the roof of the two-story primary school, preventing helicopters from landing. However, the playground was wide open save for 5 tractors.
At 9:35 am, thousands of riot police flooded the Daechuri primary school, breaking all lines of resistance. Even workers weilding metal pipes were unable to slow the tide of police. As of 9:46am, the MND holds the primary school. |
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| No |
Subject |
Name |
Date |
Hit |
| |
| |
| 50 |
|
savePTfarmers |
06-05-09 |
940 |
|
| 49 |
|
savePTfarmers |
06-05-09 |
625 |
|
| 48 |
|
nobasept |
06-05-09 |
662 |
|
| 47 |
|
Sera |
06-05-09 |
713 |
|
| 46 |
|
Sera |
06-05-09 |
706 |
|
| 45 |
|
Sera |
06-05-09 |
755 |
|
| 44 |
|
savePTfarmers |
06-05-08 |
603 |
|
| 43 |
|
Sera |
06-05-05 |
682 |
|
| 42 |
|
savePTfarmers |
06-05-04 |
686 |
|
| 41 |
|
savePTfarmers |
06-05-04 |
669 |
|
 |
|
savePTfarmers |
06-05-04 |
721 |
|
| 39 |
|
Nobasept |
06-05-04 |
623 |
|
|
|
