Protest against beef imports continues

Friday, July 4, 2008 at 11:07 am

A protest rally was held in Seoul on Thursday (July 3) night against a U.S. beef import deal.
Several thousand South Koreans, including Christians and workers, gathered at the city hall plaza to condemn the Lee Myung-bak government following the arrests of more than 100 people at rallies last weekend.

Tensions are expected to rise this week when meat imports return to stores.

This week, religious groups have joined the protests,saying they wanted to bring back calm to rallies that have mostly been peaceful but recently turned violent with mobs smashing police buses blocking the way to the presidential Blue House.

About 200 catholic priests led the peaceful rallies for three days, followed by a Protestant Church group KNCC (The National Council of churches in Korea) leading Thursday’s candle-lit vigil.

A protester said he has joined the candle-lit rallies almost everyday because the government has not listened to people’s voice.

“Candle-lit vigils have continued for two months. During that period of time, South Korea’s democracy has gone backward because the law-enforcement overused its power,” said 38-year-old Ahn Yoon-soo.

These rallies against the beef deal have caused a crisis for President Lee Myung-bak’s government. Analysts expect that these protests could hinder investors and hamper the long-term performance of Asia’s fourth largest economy.

South Korea and U.S trade officials said about a week ago they had reworked a beef import deal first struck in April that sparked mass street protests, caused Lee’s support rate to plummet and led to a crisis for his four-month-old government.

Last week, South Korea started processing the first batch of U.S. beef to enter the country under new quarantine rules designed to allay Korean fears of mad cow disease by limiting imports to beef from younger cattle and prohibiting risky parts.

Earlier on Thursday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called for an end to street protests against his U.S. beef import deal, saying they no longer have public support and it was time to get to work on the economy.

Lee’s government has warned that daily street rallies that have turned increasingly violent are scaring foreign investors away.

“The government will listen to the people’s voice that comes through peaceful rallies, but the public will not accept illegal and violent rallies,” Lee told a convention of his Grand National Party (GNP).

South Korea has seen street protests on nearly a nightly basis since early May. What began as candle-lit rallies voicing concerns about mad cow disease infection from U.S. beef soon became a lightning rod for criticism of Lee.”It is now time to raise the torch for economic revival,” Lee said.

Veteran lawmaker Park Hee-tae, a strong political ally of Lee, was picked GNP leader at the convention, vowing to solidify the party behind the embattled president and push     parliament out of opposition-led boycott so that it can begin working on Lee’s long-delayed economic reform bills.

U.S. beef, banned for about three years after an outbreak of mad cow disease in the country in late 2003,returned to South Korea last year but was later banned after prohibited material was found. Australian beef has now become the main meat import.

When U.S. beef returns to South Korea for the first time in about nine months, it is expected to sell for about half the cost of similar cuts of Korean beef, even before
discounts.

Quarantine checks that started last week on some 5,300 tonnes of U.S. beef frozen in storage in South Korea since October have been delayed by militant trade union members who blocked trucks leaving warehouses.

(Agencies)

( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)

Protest against beef imports continues

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