Under threat of eviction, South Koreans battle state forces seizing land for US base
Korean Protest
2006-05-05
ShanghaiDaily.com
THOUSANDS of police armed with batons stormed an abandoned South Korean school yesterday to evict activists protesting plans to expand a US military base, sparking clashes that left more than 100 injured and detaining more than 300 demonstrators.
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At late afternoon, about a dozen activists chanting anti-American slogans were still atop the two-story building in Pyeongtaek, about 65 kilometers south of Seoul, where they remained surrounded by riot police more than seven hours after the raid began.
"Withdraw American troops!" shouted the activists, refusing to come down.
They were among about 1,000 anti-US protesters and local villagers who occupied the school building overnight to protest the American base expansion plans.
Earlier in the day, police sent a 3,000-strong force armed with shields and batons into the school to evict the protesters. Another 7,000 police were deployed in the area.
Bloody clashes occurred as protesters fought back, and the scuffles caused at least 109 injuries on both sides, said Lee Bo-won, an officer at Pyeongtaek Police Station. He said 305 protesters were detained.
Police were seeking to secure the school and surrounding areas so surveying activities could begin for the expansion of nearby US base Camp Humphreys as part of Washington's plans to move its military command there from its current headquarters in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul.
South Korea and the United States agreed on the base relocation plans in 2004.
Several villages on the outskirts of Pyeongtaek, a city of 360,000 people, must be razed for the base construction.
The government has offered residents financial compensation to move out of their homes, but many residents have nonetheless strongly objected to the plans. About 680 households originally refused to move out, but now only about 70 households continue to protest the plans, the Defense Ministry says.
The protesters had gathered at the school late Wednesday after Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung strongly hinted earlier in the day that the government would use force to evict protesters.
The ministry said local villagers numbered only about 200 and that the others were anti-US protesters from elsewhere.
"We've reached a judgment that we can no longer delay this project, considering that unless this project progresses normally, it would hurt (the country's) diplomatic trust and incur an additional financial burden," Yoon said in a statement yesterday.
