A huge number of police and soldiers attacked Daechuri and Doduri fields on November 8th. The soldiers dug up the edge of the fields with backhoes and set barbed wire all day long, surrounded by the police on guard. On the previous day, the Ministry of National Defense had announced that they were planning to add 2.8 km of barbed wire to the fields in Daechuri and Doduri, in order to block the residents from farming in the fields that hadn't been fenced off in May. They also said that they had invented a special unit of 1,400 soldiers to put on guard in the fields every day.
This most recent barbed wire attack is considered to be another tactic to make people give up their struggle by stopping their farming. The farmers had been farming the fields collectively since May. They had successfully completed this season's rice harvest and were preparing to plant winter crops. The attack has made the situation of struggle worse, especially after the residents' representative, Kim Ji-Tae was given 2 years-prison sentence last week.
While the police and soldiers were working on the barbed wire, several KCPT activists ran into the field crying, "Stop it!", "Don't break the peace!" and "Give up on extending the base!". Soon after, they were surrounded by the police and arrested. The other members of KCPT were having an urgent press conference in front of the police line and protesting, "Stop digging the field and setting the barbed wire, and free Kim Ji-Tae right now!"
However, the number of people who struggled this day was just about 20 while the police and the army moved more than 2 helicopters and 45 infantry companies to carry out the attack. KCPT is planning to give a strong protest at a press conference in front of the Ministry of National Defense building on November 9th.
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