Peoplesg20action.seoul@gmail.com
PHOTO REPORTS FROM DEMOTIX
http://www.demotix.com/g20-summit
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Ahead of the G20 Summit
Civil society not welcomed in G20 Seoul
International civil society organisations, members of Our World is not for Sale, trade unions and the international peasant movement La Via Campesina condemn the deportation by the Korean government of seven activists from the Philippines who had been granted visas. Furthermore, other progressive activists from Asian and African countries were unjustifiably denied visas.
The list of individuals, mostly civil society leaders from developing countries, prohibited from entry, was based not on concrete evidence of actual threat or histories of dangerous acts, but instead on the goal of preventing their participation in civil society events critical of the G20, particularly the International Conference organized by Put People First!-Korean People's G20 Response Action.
Member of Parliament from Malaysia, Charles Santiago, expressed “While activists, critical to the G20 and neoliberal economic policies have encountered an antagonistic reception by the Korean government, 100 global business executives, gathering for the G20 Business Summit, will be welcomed with a red carpet.”
Deported labour representative from the Philippines Josua Mata added “Nothing demonstrates better the true nature of the G20 than the fact that while it is detaining and deporting activists from the global south, it is busy preparing to have an intimate dialogue with the world’s top corporate leaders. This only confirms what we have been saying all along – the G20 is undemocratic and not interested in improving ordinary people’s lives.”
“The G20 which is a non-elected and non-representative body and excludes majority of developing and poor countries has no legitimacy to be deciding on the economic and political directions of the world.” declared Yoon Geum Soon, representative of the international movement of small farmers La Vía Campesina.
Tyotyo James from the Confederation of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU) concluded “Since 2008, the G20 has been nothing but a talk show and has failed to deliver any coordinated response to the economic and financial crisis. The future of global economic governance should be discussed, instead, at the United Nations”.
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Arrest warrant for drawing rat on G20 promotion poster?
The prosecution sought an arrest warrant for a 40-year-old man who drew a picture of a rat on a G20 Seoul Summit promotion poster but the request was rejected by the court...
According to the Namdaemun Police Station, a 40-year-old university instructor identified only as Park and his friend were apprehended Sunday for drawing a black rat on seven of such posters with spray paint near Lotte Department Stores in central Seoul early in the morning.
The added image to the poster gave people the impression that a huge rat was holding the lantern symbolizing the G20 Summit with the words, “The world is watching Korea.”
The image of a rat is often used to mock President Lee Myung-bak by liberals.
Police asked the prosecution to file arrest warrants for the two for violence and damaging public assets.
However, the Seoul Central District Court rejected the request saying that there was no risk of them fleeing...
Park reportedly said, “I thought the government was making too much of a fuss about a trifling matter. Any G20 country can host the Summit and it is not much of a big deal. I drew a rat because in Korean the pronunciation, ‘Jee (rat in Korean)’ is similar to that of the English letter ‘G.’ It was an act of humor.”
His lawyer, Park Ju-min said, “It seems that the police are trying to make an example out of Park.”
“The G20 is a very important event for the country and tarnishing its promotional poster is not acceptable,” Cho Chang-bae, who filed for the warrant, told a local daily. “We felt that he was trying to defame the global event.”
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/11/205_75731.html
http://blog.jinbo.net/CINA/?m=2006-02
main demo against G20 summit on Nov 11th will be held 2pm at Seoul Station
lun, 11/08/2010 - 12:50 — imc
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main demo against G20 summit on Nov 11th will be held 2pm at Seoul Station.
the heads from G20 countries will be attending a lunch party at Yongsan War Memorial.
so we will organize a big demo at Seoul Station and try to march toward Yongsan area,
http://korea.indymedia.org/drupal/?q=fr/content/main-demo-against-g20-summit-nov-11th-will-be-held-2pm-seoul-station
What is the Special Security Law for the G20?
dim, 11/07/2010 - 18:38 — imc
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G20 특별법이란?
What is the Special Security Law for the G20?
한국정부는 강력한 현행집시법이 있음에도 불구하고 G20특별경호법을 만들었다.
이 법의 요지는,
The Korean government has made a special law just for the G20.
To sum up the law,
1 G20의 경호를 위해 군대를 동원할 수 있다. G20을 위해 6만명의 군과 경찰 병력이 동원될 예정이다.
군의 동원은 흡사 계엄령과 같은 상황을 만들어 군인과 시민이 대치하는 상황이 벌어질 수도 있는 것.
1. The security chief can mobilize the millitary. It might lead to the confrontation between soldiers and citizens as if under martial law.
2.G20 기간동안 집회와 시위의 자유를 원천적으로 봉쇄할 수 있다. 경호단장의 자의적 판단으로 특정 장소를 경호안전구역으로 지정하고 모든 행위를 제재하고 모든 집회를 금지할 수 있다.
게다가 어떤 장소가 경호안전구역인지 공지할 의무도 없기 때문에 모든 지역에서 집회와 시유의 자유가 원천 봉쇄되는 것과 마찬가지이다.
2. The freedom of speech and assembly can be thoroughly trampled down. The security chief can designate some area as a security zone and ban any activity or gatherings that they think are dangerous to the G20 summit. Furthermore, no information of the security zone is easily accessable to people, that means, the police can do anything everywhere.
참고로 한국 법이 정한 현행 집시법은 다음과 같다.
The Korean Law of Assembly and Demonstration is as below.
**현행집시법
현행 집시법은 집단적인 폭행․협박․손괴․방화 등으로 공공의 안녕질서에 직접적인 위협을 끼칠 것이 명백한 집회 또는 시위를 금지하고(제5조),
모든 옥외집회를 48시간 전에 신고하게 하며(제6조), 옥외집회가 신고된 경우에 공공의 질서유지를 위하여 필요한 경우에는 질서 유지선을 설정할 수 있도록 하고(제13조),
집회의 주최자나 참가자가 타인에게 심각한 피해를 줄 수 있는 소음을 발생시키는 것을 금지하면서 이를 위반할 경우 관할경찰서장이 확성기 사용 중지 등 필요한 조치를 할 수 있도록(제14조)
규정하고 있다.
Article 5 : Gatherings and demonstrations where the government has a clear expectation of violence, threats, property destruction, or arson may be banned from being held.
Article 6 : All outdoor gatherings must be reported forty-eight hours before they take place.
Article 13 : During any outdoor gatherings, the boundaries of the assembly can be designated and enforced by the police.
Article 14 : The police may take action to stop any noise if the organizers or participants of an assembly cause serious harm to non-participants.
http://korea.indymedia.org/drupal/?q=fr/content/what-special-security-law-g20
from http://blog.peoplepower21.org/English/20958
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The Denial of Entry and Repatriation of 6 Filipino Activists is based on Political Bias and a Manifestation of Racism
Activities/Statements : 2010/11/07 17:26
Progressive international activists who had been granted visas denied entry into South Korea and expelled without explanation.
-Participants to the Seoul International People's Conference condemned indiscriminately as a dangerous force; exaggerated blacklist.
-Most individuals denied visas or entry progressive activists from Asian or African developing countries.
After turning Paul L. Quintos, the Policy and Outreach Director for IBON International, away at the border, the Ministry of Justice has moved on to deny entry to 5 more people from the Philippines. These individuals, union officers and civil society activists, had arrived at 5:30pm on November 6 in order to participate in the International People's Conference organized by Put People First! Korean People's G20 Response Action. As soon as they landed, however, they were told their names were on a list of people prohibited from entering South Korea and immediately expelled without being given a chance to plead their case. All 5 individuals had been granted visas from the South Korean Embassy in the Philippines.
The list of the 5 individuals is as follows:
- Joseph Puruganan, Focus on the Global South
- Josua Fred Tolentino Mata, Secretary General, Alliance of Progressive Labor (ALP)
- Rogelio Maliwat Soluta, Secretary General, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)
- Jesus Mannuel Santiago, progressive Filipino singer
- Tatcee Macabuang, Migrant Forum on Asia (MFA)
When looking into the reason Director Paul Quintos was refused entry, the Korean People's G20 Response Action discovered that the list of individuals prohibited from entry was based, not on concrete evidence of actual threat or histories of dangerous acts, but instead on the goal of preventing participation in civil society events critical of the G20, and that most names were of civil society leaders from developing countries. Without knowing about or even considering the work these people have done in the past, the South Korean government is denouncing them all as impure elements or dangerous individuals. The government is using the need to protect foreign heads of state and national security as an excuse, but in fact, it is misusing the blacklist for the political purposes of preventing activists from developing countries from participating in the Seoul International People's Conference. This is nothing more than an act of violence--state violence--far more severe than the 'state of mass protest' the government has been worrying about.
We want particularly to point out that the individuals turned away at the border had all received South Korean government-issued visas. All had submitted the various documents required, including invitation letters from institutions in South Korea and proof of identification, and gone through the tedious process of applying for and receiving visas. There are many cases where individuals from countries that have agreements of visa exception with South Korea and therefore do not go through such a process are turned way. Putting the names of individuals who have gone through the process to secure visas on a blacklist with out any basis or room for discussion, however, goes against all reason and common sense.
The government's actions demonstrated a racist bias worthy of severe criticism from the international community. Most of those denied visas or turned away at the border have been civil society leaders from developing countries in Asia or Africa. Of the 5 G20 Summits, the one to take place in Seoul on November 11-12 is the first to be chaired by a country in an Asian, rather than European or North American, country. Yet civil society leaders from Asian countries are being discriminated against and excluded the most during the Seoul Summit. The South Korean government has been claiming that, as the first developing country to host the G20, South Korea will represent the interests of other developing countries, and yet it is refusing to listen to the voices of the peoples of developing counties and ignoring the criticisms of the neoliberal order being put forth by the peoples of the Global South. Even worse, the government is nakedly and shamelessly excluding and repressing these voices.
We cannot hide our deep disgust and anger at the backward attitude and actions of the South Korean government. While the government has been telling the Korean people to be proud of hosting the G20, it has in fact conjured in us a deep shame. The base and irrational actions of the Lee Myung-bak government are greatly tarnishing the image of the Korean in Asia and in the entire international community. To be boasting of South Korea's position as an international leader and at the same time trampling on the human rights of people from developing countries is self-contradictory and completely deceitful. The fact that the South Korean government has absolutely no right to call itself the chair of the G20 and the representative of developing nations has become clear throughout the world.
The 6 international activists from the Philippines were forced onto a plane and expelled from this so-called "Global Korea" at 9:30pm on the same evening they arrived. The fact that they were deported will not have a noticeable impact on the progress of the G20 Summit. From now on, however, the focus of international society, and especially international civil society, will be on, not the content of the G20 Summit, but the despicable anti-human rights nature of this act. The South Korean government will be denied entry into international society for its racist attitude. It will expelled from the hearts of the South Korean people, whose pride and honor have been greatly damaged by its disgraceful acts.
Put People First! Korean People's G20 Response Action
http://www.putpeoplefirst.kr, peoplesg20action.Seoul@gmail.com
http://korea.indymedia.org/drupal/?q=fr/content/denial-entry-and-repatriation-6-filipino-activists
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