LAST WEEK'S STRUGGLE REPORT (Seoul, 9.12)

After last Sunday’s mass rally to celebrate with our comrades the 300th day of sit-in strike – actually the real jubilee was last Thursday, Sept. 9 – the week started a little calmer. But on Wednesday we caught with the reality again: We’d to learn that the disabled activists, in sit-in strike since 82 days in Jongnib Social Center (we already reported about the background here), were attacked by criminal gang members (here we wrote about their criminal activities in another case). On Wednesday, 2:50 in the morning about disguised gang members stormed the 2nd floor in the Social center, where the sit-in struggle is located. Armed with iron-pipes they threaten the disabled activists and tried to attack the 8 social workers, all organized in the trade union. Around 1 1/2 hours the situation was on the brink of escalation before the cops were arriving. While the cops arrived the gang disappeared, but 6 non-unionized social workers occupied the struggle place. At 6:30 am the activists were able to re-occupy their struggle place.

Immediately after that incident the activists organized for 10:00 am one first protest rally in the yard of the social center. Here also about 100 striking subway workers from Daegu, on those days on struggle tour in Seoul, joined the rally. Between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm they provided the activists with protection from possible new attacks. At 4:00 the second protest with more than 130 activists and supporters started. On this rally the representative of Democratic Labor Party referred to the fact that until now only the construction mafia is using criminal gangs, but it seems that slowly everyone who is facing protests begin to use this kind of methods. The rally ended with some clashes between protestors and riot cops, guarding the administration building where we’d to learn the gangsters were hiding.

The same day in the evening MSSC members joined the weekly struggle rally of construction workers union sit-in struggle collective on our common strike area in Myeong-dong.
On Thursday we “celebrated” the real 300th day of sit-in strike with a powerful night rally, followed by a beautiful culture festival. Over 100 students and we enjoyed great performances, Yeong Yeon-seok, “Song Factory”, “Wild Flower”, “Burning Field” and others performed their songs and dances, in an atmosphere of unity and solidarity. THANKS A LOT, COMRADES!
The week ended with another sad event: On Saturday evening in front of the old Seoul Railway Station dozens of homeless people had a commemoration to remember the death of one of their comrades. On July 17 at the same place the 27 years old homeless man was beaten up by several “security” personnel and later died at its injuries. Since the new railway station was opened all poor and homeless people usually used the place to spend the time there, now mainly with force were expelled from there.
So, to remember the tragic death of the young man Park Yoon, Eom Gwang-hyeon (天/地/人) and homeless activists organized a small culture festival in the locality of the crime.

URGENT APPEAL

Join the daily rally in front of Jongno-gu office to save the furure of Cheongjin-dong and the future of the people, living and working there (here we already reported about their struggle). Every day between 2pm and 5pm!!

Here some impressions from Thursday’s rally in Myeong-dong, shot by “Ah-bang”

RELEASE ALL MIGRANT WORKERS FROM DETENTION CENTERS!
FREEDOM FOR ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN S. KOREA!
LET’S FIGHT TOGETHER FOR A WORLD WITHOUT EXPLOITATION AND OPPRESSION!
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE, ONLY IF YOU WANT AND FIGHT FOR IT!