10,000 protest in S. Korea
More than 10,000 students and others marched November 4
in Seoul, South Korea, demanding a criminal investigation
of President Kim Young Sam concerning a slush fund scandal.
Thousands more protested in 17 other cities, demanding the
arrest of former president Roh Tae Woo, who in late October
acknowledged having amassed a slush fund of $654 million
while in office. The protesters also demanded the seizure
of Roh's hidden money. Roh was a general in 1980 when the
army killed hundreds during the bloody crackdown of student
protests in Kwangju.
Feeling the heat, the heads of South Korea's largest business conglomerates, many of whom reportedly funneled millions into the bribery fund, publicly apologized for their links to Roh and vowed to stop making secret political donations. Numerous businessmen are expected to be questioned for their role in the corruption case. Among them is Kim Woo-joong, chairman of Daewoo, the nation's fourth largest conglomerate.
Sanctions renewed on Iraq
The United Nations Security Council decided November 8
to renew trade sanctions against Iraq. The sanctions were
imposed as part of Washington's military assault against
Iraq in 1990-91, where an estimated 150,000 people were
slaughtered and millions were left homeless and vulnerable
to disease.
The Iraqi government announced November 9 that shortages of medicine and blood supplies caused by the sanctions have led to a fourfold increase in deaths from cancer, heart disease, and blood-related diseases. The Iraqi News Agency said the deaths soared from fewer than 20,000 in 1989 to more than 80,000 in 1994.
Strike called at Air France
The two main unions representing cabin staff at Air
France called a three-day strike beginning November 9 to
protest layoffs and wage cuts for new hires. The labor
action was the eighth strike by the cabin staff in a year.
The unions rejected threats by company chairman Christian
Blanc to change their contracts and slash their paychecks
if they went on strike.
The cabin crew at Air Inter, France's domestic carrier, planned a strike along with the crew at Air France. The USPNT union, which represents pilots and mechanics at Air Inter, is threatening sympathy action with the cabin staff unions.
Turkish immigrants in Germany form new political party
Turkish immigrants in Germany have organized a new
political party, the Democratic Party of Germany (DPD), to
campaign for changes in the country's citizenship law and
electoral system. "Non-Germans" are legally barred from
voting in local, state, and national elections; citizenship
is granted automatically only if one of the parents is
German. The law also prohibits parties from running
candidates unless 51 percent of its members are German
citizens.
"The current electoral law and the citizenship law is racist," said Sedat Sezgin, a founder of the new party. "We are easy bait for racists." He added, "If the main political parties are not prepared to represent our interests, we will have to do it ourselves."
Washington halts aid to Haiti
The U.S. government is delaying $4.5 million in aid to
Haiti to pressure the government to sell off state-owned
enterprises. "We are encouraging the Haitian government to
fulfill its commitments to the international community to
meet these conditions, to make the necessary reforms,"
Nicholas Burns, a Clinton administration official, told the
New York Times.
In October, Smark Michel resigned as prime minister after many community organizations, trade unions, and political parties expressed opposition to the privatization program. The Haitian parliament is planning to hold a national debate on privatization.
Powell rules out candidacy
Colin Powell announced November 8 that he would not run
for president or vice president of the United States in
1996. The former head of the joint chiefs of staff said he
would continue to "speak out forcefully" as a "member of
the Republican Party" and work to broaden its appeal.
Powell tested the presidential campaign waters for several weeks as he conducted a lucrative promotional tour to sell his autobiography.
Homeless ordered to pay rent
The administration of New York governor George Pataki
has ordered homeless shelters across the state to charge
rent to residents who have sources of income beyond basic
welfare grants. Social workers are given the power to deny
shelter to applicants, as well as evict shelter residents,
who refuse to attend job training or drug treatment
programs.
"If you're paying money to stay here, how can you save enough to move out?" asked Denettia Dunbar, a shelter resident. "In New York you have the right to shelter," said Patrick Markee, a shelter monitor from the Coalition for the Homeless. "This is about whittling away that right without going to court."
Free speech for immigrants
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in
California ruled November 8 that immigrants in the United
States have the same right to free speech as U.S. citizens.
The ruling stemmed from a case involving seven Palestinians
and a Kenyan who were arrested at gunpoint in 1987 and
charged with subversion under the McCarran-Walter Act, a
thought-control law.
The L.A. 8, as they became known, were ordered deported by the Immigration and Naturalization Service which argued that they were members of "an organization that causes to be written, circulated, distributed, published, or displayed, printed or written matter advocating or teaching economic, international and governmental doctrines of world Communism."
"The court's decision means that immigrants can speak and associate freely as citizens and that they need not fear deportation for their political views," said David Cole, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, who argued the case on appeal.
Anti-gay measure defeated
A referendum in Maine that would have blocked cities
from enacting gay rights laws was defeated November 7 in
statewide balloting, 53 to 47 percent.
The campaign for the referendum was spearheaded by a right-wing outfit called Concerned Maine Families. Another organization, Maine Won't Discriminate, led the fight to defeat it. Christian Potholm, from Bowdoin College added, "It shows that if the right wing gets onto a social agenda, if you confront them directly, then you're going to be successful."
- MAURICE WILLIAMS