By Oh great the candlelight zombies are trying to make a come back:
Thousands of civic group members held a candlelit rally in downtown Seoul, Saturday for the first time in two months, hinting at a fresh round of rallies going forward.
Unlike past rallies against U.S. beef imports, they were protesting the conservative President Lee Myung-bak administration’s key policies.
Some 3,000 members of online communities and civic groups, including the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, staged the demonstration at Cheonggye Plaza.
The candlelit protests against the resumption of American beef imports, which started in early May, stopped after the 100th rally on Aug. 15.
The groups plan to hold another gathering next Saturday and form a new civic coalition for democracy and public welfare. It is yet to be seen whether the rally will be the start of a second round of candlelit protests.
The participants denounced government policies, which they say oppress democracy and favor only the rich.
Demonstrators claimed the government’s plan to ease rules on property taxes will only benefit the rich, while ordinary people are becoming impoverished amid the economic slump.
They also criticized the law enforcement authorities’ investigation into candlelit demonstration organizers and bloggers who campaigned against conservative newspapers, calling their punishment “anti-democratic oppression.” [Korea Times]
The only ones practicing “anti-democratic oppression” are these candlelight zombies who tried the overthrow the results of a democratic election through an elaborate smear campaign and street violence.
You can read a whole lot more about People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, the group behind this current protest here.
12:24 am on October 21st, 2008 1
And our old buddy Kang Ki-gab, the farmer-legislator, was out there too. They were protesting LMB's policies — but isn't that what they were doing when they were storming the bus barricades in August? Protected by his mantle as a seated National Assemblyman, he is openly attempting to overthrow the duly elected democratic government (by ousting LMB) by anarchy. Ain't democracy swell?
But the article also mentioned some good news. Baek Eun-jong who took refuge at Jogye Temple to avoid arrest for organizing “illegal and violent'' street rallies, was caught while sneaking out of the temple compound to try to participate in the candlelit rally. One more loose end from the anti-US beef protests put to rest.
1:25 am on October 21st, 2008 2
The article is wrong because they also protested last Sat. (the 11th) up and down Insa-dong for about an hour. But there were only 100 people or so and half of them were their media symps. Guess it was promo for the 18th. No one in Insa-dong seemed very impressed, I must say.
The Minju Nodong-dang had a bunch of signed red cards printed up that said "Stop the Supression of the Candlelight Vigils." They looked exactly the same A4-sized red placards often seen over the summer. I wonder how many oppo political parties were involved in printing up those placards during the height of the protests.
Here's what they had written on a huge white banner they had strung up in front of Dong-A along the Ch'onggyech'on: "Someday this road will surely demonstrate the last days of a man who denied ROK's state power which originates from its people, but foolishly believed it comes from America, dirty riches [sic] and crap newspapers."
Without the mad-cow theme or police brutality meme, the crowd was pretty small. Hankyoreh claims 4,000, but it was no more than 2,000 and probably closer to 1,500. I think the rest of society has moved on — until the next big BS thing that can be manufactured for the masses, of course.
Meanwhile, Korea burns while the jokesters diddle.