80,000 protest new US beef import accord
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - June 10, 2008 President Lee Myung-bak's office did not say whether he would
accept the resignations, an attempt to defuse the beef crisis that
has paralyzed his government less than four months after the former
Hyundai CEO took office following a landslide election victory.
The government agreed in April to lift almost all restrictions
that had been imposed on imports of U.S. beef over fears of mad cow
disease. Protesters have been demanding for weeks that the
government scrap or renegotiate the beef deal amid perceptions it
did not do enough to protect citizens.
The demonstrations began after a popular current affairs TV
program questioned the safety of U.S. beef and claimed Koreans are
more susceptible than Americans and Europeans to the human variant
due to genetics.
Michael Breen, a longtime British observer of the local scene
and author of the book "The Koreans," blamed the current
situation on disinformation spread on the Internet.
"Nothing the government says will be trusted because it is
dealing with hysteria," he said.
In the largest protest so far, 80,000 demonstrators waving
candles gathered Tuesday evening in central Seoul, according to
police, who blocked roads with shipping containers to prevent the
crowd from marching to the nearby presidential Blue House.
Some 21,000 riot police were deployed to keep order, the Seoul
Metropolitan Police Agency said.
"President Lee hasn't listened to the voices of his people. We
still don't have a genuine democracy in our country," said Jang
Dae-hyun, a spokesman for a civic group that has organized
protests.
The rally coincided with the anniversary of pro-democracy
protests in 1987, which intensified when a student activist died
after being struck by a tear gas canister fired by riot police. The
protests eventually led the country's military-backed regime to
introduce direct presidential elections.
"I came to the rally again because Lee has turned the clock
back to 21 years ago," said Hyun Jong-chul, 45, an office worker
at the demonstration.
Rallies against the beef deal turned violent over the weekend
and the government said it will take tougher steps against
protesters if the violence continues.
Earlier, thousands of conservative activists supporting the deal
protested near the site of the anti-U.S. beef rally.
"It's time to put out the candles," said Suh Jung-kap, a
conservative activist. The protesters "are only interested in
overthrowing the Lee Myung-bak government, not the safety of public
health," he said.
Lee's government said it has asked the U.S. not to export beef
from older cattle - considered at greater risk of mad cow disease -
but rejected calls for a complete renegotiation of the accord,
citing possible diplomatic and trade disputes with the U.S.
Lee dispatched several official delegations to Washington on
Monday to seek assurances the U.S. will not ship beef from cattle
older than 30 months, even though that is allowed under the
agreement.
Both Seoul and Washington insist U.S. beef is safe, citing the
Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.
Scientists say mad cow disease spreads when farmers feed cattle
recycled meat and bones from infected animals. The U.S. banned
recycled feeds in 1997. In humans, eating meat products
contaminated with the illness is linked to variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal malady.