아래는 국제노점상연합 등 다른 나라 노점상, 비공식노동자 단체, 노총, 활동가들에게 보낸 한국 소식입니다.
1. 추석이후 전국적으로 자행되고 있는 노점단속에 대해 간략하게 요약하였습니다. 또한 재래시장 활성화라는 이름을 걸고 정작 대형유통업체와 주상복합아파트를 세우면서 주민과 노점상을 내쫓는 내용 또한 담았습니다.
2. 이주노동자를 테러리스트로 매도하고 탄압하는 것에 대한 내용을 담았습니다.
3. 지난 6월 13일에 있었던 '백만노점 6.13대회'와 '아시아 사회민중운동 회의' 참가후기를 담았습니다.
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Dear comrades
South Korean government went crazy!
1. Reprssions on street vendors
2. "Migrants Workers are suspected terrorists"?
3. Report of NFSVK's national congress and Asia Social & Peoples Movements Summit
1. After Korean national holiday 'Chuseok'(just like 'Thanksgiving Day'), almost all municipalities started crackdown on street vendors.
Under the cloak of improving urban environment and creating 'streets without cars'/'special districts of culture' without thinking of the rights of street vendors.
As you know, municipalities and policy makers should consider environment, culture, citizens, and the people living in the street altogether, but they are just thinking of 'money' and 'construction' in the name of 'environment' and 'culture'. To support large 'Mart's, they are enforcing 'Improving Project of Tradtional Market' and 'Building a Composite Building of Housing and Marketing', through which almost all the residents lose their housing and street vendors and market vendors lose their working places.
2. As you know, South Korean government enforced dispatching troops to Iraq to support USA government. And after that, some mazagines pressed that 'Al Caeda' targeted South Korea.
But South Korean government would not reflect their bad conducts. (subscribing to War just for money and military capitals.) Instead, the government is strengthening repressions on peoples.
Especially, please see the example of repression on migrant workers. Early this month, Korean government and major magazines said that:
: Chosun Ilbo: "Anti-Korea Acitivities by Illegal Migrants Increased"
“Gov't Security Measures to Target Illegal Aliens: Lawmaker
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- The government has compiled comprehensive measures to deal with the increasing number of illegal foreign residents involving in anti-South Korean activities, a lawmaker said Sunday.
The Justice Ministry established measures in April on anti-government activities by illegal immigrants, specifying the scope of anti-government activities and the legal grounds for and levels of punishment to be applied to those engaged in such activities, Rep. Kim Jae-gyeong of the main opposition Grand National Party said.”
As you know, Korean migrant workers are having Sit-in Struggles against crackdown on migrant workers demanding 'legazling all undocumented migrant workers' and 'abolishing EPS(Employment Permit System)' & 'guaranting working visa and WPS(Working Permit System)'. But on 1 October, Korean government enforced starting EPS which do not permit rights to move working places and 3 labour rights in fact. They think migrant workers as 'animals' not 'human-beings'.
And at last, South Korean government started to spotting Korean migrant workers - especially, those from Muslim countries- as 'suspected terrorists'. Oh, my god! You can say that South Korean government and president Roh went crazy.
: Press Conference: We are not terrorists! Stop repression and crackdown!
Yours Heechul of NFSVK
(National Federation of Street Vendors of Korea)
p.s Below is the Report of NFSVK's national congress held last 13 June.
Report of the 2004 National Congress of NFSVK
by Shin Hee-chul, international director of NFSVK
On the 13th June, the NFSVK held Annual National Congress of Korean Street Vendors. This was the 17th Congress since 1988. In 1988, Korean street vendors fought against the regime's suppression under the cloak of 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Through these struggles, we confirmed our solidarity with the national democratic movements of Korea and at last organized the national organization, NFSVK on October 1988. So every year around 13th June, the NFSVK has held the National Congress.
This year's Congress was held at the Dongdae-mun Stadium. More than 6000 street vendors convened at this Congress and said: We said: "No Neo- liberalism!", "Solve Poverty Problems!", "No War! Don't Dispatch Troops to Iraq!", "Stop Crackdown on Street Vendors!"
The Korean Social Solidarity for Soliving Poverty, the Korean People's Solidarity, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Korean Peasants League, the homeless and activists from Japan(delegates for the Asia Social & Peoples Movements Summit held on 14-15 June) and Korean Migrant Workers fighting against crackdown at Myeongdong Cathedral. Comrades from NEST, the Nepali Street Vendors Union, and those from SEWA were not able to be with us because Korean Embassies opposed to issue the visas with no understandable reason.
After the Congress, we marched to the Silla Hotel where the World Economic Forum(WEF) East Asia Summit was being held from 13th to 15th June to discuss the ways of Neo-liberal Globalization and to give more freedom to transnational capital, while increasing poverty and deteriorating the rights of Asian workers and peoples, and to implement military strategies for expansion of military control over the Asian region.
For this, we concentrated our powers to the struggles against the WEF and for the rights of the poor and the people. During the march and the struggles, we asian activists and peoples, -regular workers/irregular workers, formal workers/informal workers, peasants/small farmers, women/man, the disabled/abled, and poors/students- united and acted as one.
After the Congress, we participated in the Asia Social @ Peoples Movements Summit. We persuaded other participants to organize informal workers and informed them of the StreetNet's Asian Workshop and the International Conference on Combining Our Efforts for Organizing Workers in the Informal Economy. Especially, we participated in the thematic Workshops on 'Poors and Homeless', 'Irregular/Informal Workers and Labour Rights' and on 'Migrant Workers's Labor Rights and the task of Migrant Workers movement in Asia'. And we participated in the Pleanary Session discussing 'How to Strengthen Asia People's and Social Movement Solidarity' and 'Adoption of Declaration'. And finally, Kim Heung-hyun, the Co-president of NFSVK read the declaration named "Asia People and Social Movements Call to Action". It ends:
"We are in solidarity with the resistance of the Iraqis and Palestinian peoples, the struggles of migrant workers and irregular and informal workers, trade unions, peasants, small farmers, urban poor and women. We are committed to coordinate our actions, broaden and strengthen our struggles in Asia. Globalize the Hope!", "Globalize the Struggle!"
