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Police dealt violently with student protestors who tried to march on the U.S. embassy
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SEOUL,
October 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. special envoy
James Kelly was greeted by a boisterous anti-American demonstration
Wednesday, October 2, as he arrived in South Korea for consultations
on his landmark trip to Stalinist North Korea.
More
than 2,000 students trampled on a giant U.S. flag, shouting slogans
dubbing U.S. President George W. Bush a "war-monger," at a
rally in central Seoul, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
Scuffles
broke out as baton-wielding riot police blocked the protestors' march
towards the U.S. embassy several blocks away.
The
students with South Korean national flags wrapped around their heads
carried placards opposing U.S. plans for an attack on Iraq. "No
to U.S. war on Iraq," one placard read.
Police
with riot shields formed a human barricade as the demonstrators began
a march on the embassy and lashed out with their batons as some
students tried to break through their lines, AFP said.
The
students from Hanchongryon, an association of leftwing students,
called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea and blasted
President George W. Bush for heightening tensions on the Korean
peninsula.
Police
formed a massive security cordon around the U.S. embassy just across
the road from the foreign ministry where Kelly was holding
consultations with South Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sung-Hong.
Thousands
of riot police were deployed on roads leading to the embassy, which
has issued a warning notice for Americans in South Korea, one of
Washington's key allies.
The
association, banned by the Seoul government for leftist activities,
has spearheaded a wave of anti-U.S. protests since an American armored
vehicle crushed two South Korean girls to death in June 2002.
Two
American soldiers were accused of murder, but the U.S. military has
refused to hand them over for trial by South Korean authorities,
instead ordering their court martial.
Ten
college activists broke into the U.S. embassy compound Tuesday,
October 1, to demand an apology from the U.S. President for the girls'
deaths.
"Bush
apologize to South Koreans," Hanchongryon said in a statement
through its website.
It
denounced Bush's hardline policy towards North Korea and called for
the immediate withdrawal of 37,000 U.S. troops stationed in South
Korea under a mutual defense pact dating back to the 1950-53 Korean
War.
"We
cannot live with U.S. troops who are raising tensions on the Korean
peninsula," the association said.
Following
the arrest of the 10 students, the U.S. embassy urged U.S. citizens to
avoid confrontation with South Korean protestors.
"U.S.
citizens are reminded that political, labor and student demonstrations
and marches in Korea can become confrontational or violent," the
embassy notice said.
Anti-U.S.
sentiment has been growing since a watershed inter-Korean summit in
2000 accelerated a reconciliation between the North and South, which
are still technically at war.
But
President Kim Dae-Jung – at a cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday –
urged the students to stop anti-U.S. demonstrations, calling the
United States "our very important ally."
"The
alliance between South Korea and the United States is essential for
our security," he added.
