South Korean police yesterday detained 10 activists protesting against a government ban on rallies at a new US$36 million showpiece plaza in the capital.
Gwanghwamun Plaza, featuring new national monuments, pedestrian-friendly boulevards and fountains, opened on Saturday along Seoul’s main avenue Sejongno and has attracted more than 370,000 visitors since then.
The conservative government, which was rocked by months of street protests last summer, has said it will only allow “orderly cultural events” at the landmark that took 15 months to complete.
Dozens of opposition party legislators and members of left-leaning civic groups gathered at the plaza yesterday, calling the ban a blow to civil liberties.
Police detained 10 of them, saying they were staging an illegal rally rather than a news conference as they claimed.
“They are being investigated for holding an illegal rally at a place where unauthorized demonstrations and gatherings are banned,” a Seoul police spokesman said.
The protesters, quoted by Yonhap news agency, said the plaza had not been properly returned to its rightful owners, the public.
“With the ban on legal demonstrations and rallies, the plaza is nothing but a garden belonging to the Seoul Metropolitan Government,” they said.
Last summer’s mass demonstrations were sparked by a decision to resume US beef imports after a suspension because of fears of mad cow disease. Rallies later took on an anti-government tone and sometimes ended in clashes with hundreds of riot police.
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
RSS