S. Korean police attack students
Students chanted, "U.S. troops go home!" and "Washington
apologize" as police fired hundreds of volleys of tear gas on
5,000 demonstrators May 26 in the South Korean capital, Seoul. The
students marched on the U.S. Embassy demanding the withdrawal of
Washington's troops from South Korea. Some 37,000 U.S. soldiers
are stationed in South Korea. The students faced 1,200 cops in
riot gear by linking arms and laying down on the street. Many
students fought the cops with metal pipes. They accused Washington
of supporting the deployment of South Korean paratroopers and
tanks to crush an uprising in the southern city of Kwangju in
1980. Hundreds died and thousands were injured in the assault.
Elsewhere in Seoul, 40,000 people protested the governing party of South Korea, in a demonstration organized by two opposition parties.
Strike cripples Philippine ports
Thousands of port workers crippled Manila's major seaports on
May 27. Members of the National Union of Portworkers in the
Philippines said the strike paralyzed at least nine major domestic
ports. Business at seven of Manila North Harbor's 11 ports stopped
as workers blocked entrances with forklifts, preventing cargo
trucks from entering the harbors. The strike was called to protest
a government move to open cargo handling business to more
companies. Union spokesman Alexander Aguilar said the workers are
concerned that the move would lead to the displacement of workers
and reduction of their benefits.
Clinton pushes Iran oil sanctions
The Clinton administration is pushing to impose sanctions on
oil investment and trade in Iran and Libya. The Senate passed a
bill 99-0 that would impose penalties on U.S. and other companies
that invest in oilfields in the two countries. A version of the
bill that would also penalize banks financing foreign investments
is currently held up in the House. Governments from Europe,
Canada, and Japan have voiced opposition to the bill, saying it
forces U.S. policy on the citizens of those countries and is in
violation of the principles of free trade.
Last year the French oil company Total snapped up a $600 million deal in Iran after U.S.-based Conoco was forced to drop its bid because of Washington's ban against oil development agreements in Iran. Germany is Iran's largest trading partner and has supported about $10 billion in sales and investment of German companies in Libya. Bonn granted Tehran $102 million in credit guarantees last year. "We have been disappointed by the lack of support from our friends and allies for our efforts to increase the economic pressure on Iran and Libya," declared C. David Welch, a state department official testifying on the bill before a committee in Congress.
Tel Aviv blockades Palestinians
Under the pretext of protecting elections set for May 29, the
Israeli government announced it was tightening its military and
economic blockade of the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip beginning May 26. Tel Aviv sealed off the areas in
February, stopping the shipment of goods in and out of the West
Bank and Gaza and barring tens of thousands of Palestinian workers
from their jobs in Israel. The blockade had recently been eased to
allow older workers to enter Israel, but will now be applied to
everyone except for senior Palestinian officials and medical
emergencies.
Chechnya cease-fire signed
Chechen leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev and Russian prime
minister Viktor Chernomyrdin signed a treaty May 27 to halt the
18- month war in Chechnya. The agreement, signed in Moscow, said
hostilities will end May 31, all hostages will be released, and
negotiations will continue on all matters in dispute. The question
of independence for the southern republic and a timetable for the
withdrawal of tens of thousands of Russian troops have not been
resolved. As part of his campaign for re-election, Russian
president Boris Yeltsin has been promising to end the unpopular
war, which has killed more than 30,000 people since he sent
Russian troops to crush the Chechen independence struggle in
December 1994.
After Yeltsin said he would give direct orders to stop the fighting, Yanderbiyev asked whether the agreement would be fulfilled. During a previous unilateral cease-fire declared by the Russian president there was no let-up in the Russian military offensive. Russian forces continued to fight on the eve of the negotiations.
Infectious diseases kill 52 million
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced May 20 that
there is an impending "global crisis" in infectious diseases. In
WHO's annual report, the organization estimates more than 17
million people died of infectious diseases in 1995, including 9
million babies and young children. The report said that "old
diseases" such as tuberculosis, malaria and cholera are emerging
again in many parts of the world. Although many of these diseases
are preventable or treatable, the report found that treatment is
becoming more difficult. According to Hiroshi Nakajima, the
director of WHO, there are at least 30 new infections recorded in
the last 20 decades, and no cure has yet been developed for many
of them.
The report cited overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in many Third World countries as one reason for the increase. Nakajima stated, "Complacency is now costing millions of lives -
lives that we have the knowledge and means to save, yet that we are allowing to trickle through our fingers."
Peruvian workers protest
Striking construction workers were attacked by the police in
the Peruvian capital, Lima, May 22. The cops teargassed the
demonstrators, who were part of a 24-hour national strike over
salaries and labor conditions. One worker was shot. Strikers
included retired workers, teachers and construction workers.
Protests by municipal workers and others continued the next day.
Police attack striking teachers
As striking teachers demonstrated in Mexico City May 23,
police in riot gear attacked with truncheons. The teachers, from
Guerrero state, have been demanding a 100 percent pay raise to
compensate for Mexico's high inflation.
Meanwhile, Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo traveled to the southern state of Chiapas, where he said he wanted to come to peace with the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Zapatista leaders say negotiations cannot proceed as long as Javier Elorriaga and Sebastián Entzín remain imprisoned on charges of "terrorism."
Anti-immigrant patrol halted
A San Diego county judge extended a temporary ban on the
activities of the anti-immigrant Citizen's Patrol May 24. For
nearly a month the group roamed the airport in search of
undocumented immigrants, including demanding that ticket agents
check passengers' identification. Latino groups filed a complaint,
saying the Citizens Patrol had asked travelers for identification
and had violated civil rights through intimidation. The complaint
also noted that the design of the group's T-shirts aped U.S.
border patrol uniforms. "There is no room for vigilantism," said
Claudia Smith, an attorney with the California Rural Legal
Assistance, which provides assistance to migrant workers.
FBI tightens siege in Montana
In a potential escalation of its two-month siege of a ranch
near Jordan, Montana, FBI agents prepared to shut off electricity
to a group called the Freemen. The standoff began March 25 when
two leaders of the rightist, white supremacist group were arrested
for alleged check fraud and other charges. About 20 Freemen are
holed up at the ranch, surrounded by 100 federal cops.
- MEGAN ARNEY
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