15,000 Protesters Defy Government in Seoul [View All]

[struggle4progress]

Source: NY Times

By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: June 29, 2008

... More than 15,000 people demonstrated in central Seoul on Saturday evening, despite a warning from President Lee Myung Bak that he would begin to deal sternly with protesters who have disrupting his government for almost two months.

Ms. Rice met with Mr. Lee and Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan here on Saturday, following progress in efforts to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs. North Korea submitted a long-delayed account of its nuclear programs last week and demolished part of its main nuclear complex.

But in Seoul the protests against American beef eclipsed the talks on North Korea’s nuclear status, posing a challenge to officials here and in Washington.

The demonstrations protesting the importation of American beef began in early May and dwindled over the past two weeks. But they appeared to pick up momentum again after the government moved to lift the import ban on Thursday. Many South Koreans fear that American beef is not safe from mad cow disease ...

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/world/asia/29korea.html?_r=1&ref=asia&oref=slogin

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Rice urges Koreans to trust govt over US beef

SEOUL (AFP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged South Koreans Saturday to trust official assurances that US beef is safe, following weeks of sometimes violent protests against the resumption of imports ...

About 15,000 people, according to police estimates, squared off against riot units in central Seoul Saturday night. Police fired water cannons to disperse protesters who hurled eggs at officers and smashed windows of police buses.

Rice got a close-up look at the protests when about 20 people gathered outside the foreign ministry as she arrived for talks with her counterpart, Yu Myung-Hwan.

"We don't need US troops, we don't need US mad cows," read one sign ...

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