ID :
204932
Fri, 09/02/2011 - 16:44
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/204932
The shortlink copeid
Police disperse protesters at Jeju's naval base construction site
(ATTN: UPDATES with police crackdown on protesters in paras 3-4; ADDS comments, background in last four paras)
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military resumed construction of a naval base on this southern island on Friday as riot police dispersed a group of sit-in protesters who have been occupying the site despite an eviction order.
The Seogwipo Police Station mobilized about 600 riot police troops at around 5 a.m. to order nearly 100 residents and anti-base activists to leave the site in Gangjeong Village on the southern coast of the island.
There were violent clashes between police and protesters, but the Navy set up a 2-meter barbed-wire fence around the site to block off protesters and resumed the construction work, which had been stalled since June.
Police have taken custody of 35 protesters who put up a violent resistance against riot troops on charges of obstruction of official duty, officials said.
The police crackdown came as the Jeju District Court on Monday approved an injunction sought by the local government and the Navy against the protesters.
South Korea's military started construction of the naval base near the village on the resort island's southern coast facing the South China Sea in January, saying the facility is necessary to strengthen national security by increasing military mobility in the southern maritime territory.
But construction was suspended in June, when a group of village residents and civic activists occupied the site, claiming that it will eventually be used to accommodate U.S. troops and thus ignite a conflict with China.
Once completed in 2014, the new base will be home to about 20 naval vessels and two 150,000-ton cruisers. According to the defense ministry, about 14 percent of the construction work has been completed.
Opposition parties denounced the police's use of force against the protesters.
"The government chose to use force even if a group of lawmakers are planning to conduct an on-site inspection. The parliament should not be ignored and peaceful solutions should be sought afterward," Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said.
Lee Jung-hee, chairwoman of the progressive Democratic Labor Party, said her party will push for a parliamentary inspection on the naval construction project in cooperation with other opposition parties.
Ruling and opposition party lawmakers last week launched a sub-panel under the Special Committee for Budget and Accounts to review the project's planned budget. They plan to visit Gangjeong Village to conduct an on-site inspection on Tuesday.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military resumed construction of a naval base on this southern island on Friday as riot police dispersed a group of sit-in protesters who have been occupying the site despite an eviction order.
The Seogwipo Police Station mobilized about 600 riot police troops at around 5 a.m. to order nearly 100 residents and anti-base activists to leave the site in Gangjeong Village on the southern coast of the island.
There were violent clashes between police and protesters, but the Navy set up a 2-meter barbed-wire fence around the site to block off protesters and resumed the construction work, which had been stalled since June.
Police have taken custody of 35 protesters who put up a violent resistance against riot troops on charges of obstruction of official duty, officials said.
The police crackdown came as the Jeju District Court on Monday approved an injunction sought by the local government and the Navy against the protesters.
South Korea's military started construction of the naval base near the village on the resort island's southern coast facing the South China Sea in January, saying the facility is necessary to strengthen national security by increasing military mobility in the southern maritime territory.
But construction was suspended in June, when a group of village residents and civic activists occupied the site, claiming that it will eventually be used to accommodate U.S. troops and thus ignite a conflict with China.
Once completed in 2014, the new base will be home to about 20 naval vessels and two 150,000-ton cruisers. According to the defense ministry, about 14 percent of the construction work has been completed.
Opposition parties denounced the police's use of force against the protesters.
"The government chose to use force even if a group of lawmakers are planning to conduct an on-site inspection. The parliament should not be ignored and peaceful solutions should be sought afterward," Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said.
Lee Jung-hee, chairwoman of the progressive Democratic Labor Party, said her party will push for a parliamentary inspection on the naval construction project in cooperation with other opposition parties.
Ruling and opposition party lawmakers last week launched a sub-panel under the Special Committee for Budget and Accounts to review the project's planned budget. They plan to visit Gangjeong Village to conduct an on-site inspection on Tuesday.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
