INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-RUSSIA:

PROTEST ASSAULTS ON RUSSIAN AUTOWORKERS:


Workers in Russia have a particularly hard time organizing faced as they are by employers who would be better styled as gangsters and a government apparatus that is, at best, indifferent and incompetent. Here from the Labour Start site is the story of one such struggle and what you can do to help.


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Russia: Stop attacks on auto workers union:


Alexei Etmanov (pictured), the leader of the Ford-Vsevelozhsk trade union and co-chairman of Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA) has been the target of two brutal attacks on November 8 and 13. An anonymous caller following the first assault contacted the union and warned Etmanov to stop his union activities or "we will take away your life," the caller said. No one has been charged for the crimes and an investigation has been suspended. Other members of ITUA have been assaulted, including the leaders of the local trade union organisation of Taganrog automobile plant, Alexei Gramm and Sergei Brizgalov. Those incidents were not investigated either.





The International Metalworkers Federation is carrying out a campaign to protect the leaders of ITUA, demanding that the Russian authorities conduct a complete investigation of all cases of the assaults and to punish the guilty ones - both those that took part and those who ordered the crimes to be committed.
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Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to Russian authorities.

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THE LETTER
I am calling on you to take all possible measures to find the criminals who are guilty of attacking Alexei Etmanov, the leader of the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers, on 8th and 13th of November 2008 in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad region and the activists of this trade union Alexei Gramm on June 24th and Sergei Brizgalov on July 26th of this year in Taganrog, Rostov region.




In the state with rule of law, which the Russian Federation is, an investigation of such outrageous incidents, challenging the foundations of democracy and civil rights, should be a matter of honour of the law enforcement authorities. Your position gives an opportunity to show the Russian and international public, whose attention is attracted to the situation around ITUA, that the supreme rule of law in your country is stronger than the wishes of certain individuals to silence the leaders, whose views they do not like. I am calling on you to use all your powers to confirm the effectiveness of this principle.
Yours sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-JAPAN/SOUTH KOREA:

SEND GREETINGS TO EAST ASIAN ANTI-MILITARISTS:

The following request comes via the Asian Anarchist Network and concerns a forum on anti-militarism soon to be held in Japan. It has been slightly edited for English grammar.

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[AAN-Global] call for your message to the forum on abolition of military South Korea and Japan‏:
Dear international activists,

I was asked to send out this message.

many thanks,

Catbloc

SEND YOUR MESSAGE for the FORUM on ABOLITION of the MILITARY in SOUTH KOREA and JAPAN

"The military can be abolished if South Korea, Japan and USA do it together."

Kang We-suck (South Korean draft dodger)

A Japanese collective PANDA (Peace and No Draft Alliance) is inviting a South Korean draft-dodger Kang We-suck for the forum on "Abolition of the military: Its possibility in Japan and South Korea."

PANDA calls out to anti-war/anti-military activists around the world to send your solidarity messages to support the forum held on 13th December in Tokyo. We would like to share your messages with participants.

In this forum, PANDA aims at stimulating dialogue towards the abolition of the military through grassroots movements and thoughts in two societies (and beyond). We will have two speakers: Kang, fighting for abolition of the military in South Korea, and Sono, a young Japanese activist who is working against the state's attack on the pacifist Constitution and is also taking part in the upsurge of precariate union movements.

Send your message to

LISK07@gmail.com

*No later than 10th December..(Japan Standard Time)

Who is Kang We-suck?

Kang has committed himself to various protests since his high school years when he went on a hunger strike against the compulsory curriculum on religion. Since coming of conscription age, he is currently working on against the draft and the military. Most recently, he disrupted the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of South Korean Army by running into the tank pageant completely naked.

His action stirred up a controversy in the South Korean society:

* What can we do if North Korea attacks us?

* How could we deal with the former-coloniser Japan's militarisation tendency?

* How could we carry out the responsibility of defending our land?

About PANDA

In August 2007, having encountered with South Korean students who opposed the military draft system, PANDA organised the first workshop where a person who had just completed the conscription term told a story of bullying and physical punishment in the military.

In April 2008, we had another workshop in which two draft dodgers who had ended up in prison due to their evasion and their Korean supporters shared their experiences. We have continued in networking grassroots anti-military movements between Japan and South Korea so as to set the third time workshop in December.

Website

http://panda1panda2.web.fc2.com/

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-INDONESIA:

HELP INDONESIA WORKERS FIRED FOR ORGANIZING AGAINST SEX DISCRIMINATION:

The following appeal is from the Clean Clothes Campaign, an international alliance for the improvement of working conditions in the garment industry.

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Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger Supplier Sacks 19 Workers for Organising Against Sex Discrimination:

Join the Indonesian workers in their struggle to change the garment industry in Indonesia, and give them your support in this case.

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Over a year ago, 26 workers at the PT Mulia Knitting Factory in Jakarta, Indonesia formed a union to fight the factory's violation of their rights. The factory reportedly refused to pay female workers their pregnancy and miscarriage leave and failed to offer transportation for female workers after the night shift. In addition, the factory had failed to pay mandatory health and pension benefits, often did not provide adequate safety equipment and kept workers on precarious, temporary contracts.

As soon as the union leaders announced the formation of the SBGTS union to the factory management, the union president was suspended and three other union officials dismissed. Fifteen other union officials and members were called into the office, and given the choice between renouncing the union or being transferred to another factory, PT Spindo Mills, located 60 kilometers away. Although all workers kept reporting to the factory gates of PT Mulia Knitting Factory in the mornings, they were dismissed for not showing up at PT Spindo Mills. At the same time, the factory filed cases against the union for using the address of the factory in the union's letterhead (a common practice in Indonesia) and tried to make the Labour Ministry revoke the SBGTS official register number.

Since then, the union has been fighting for reinstatement and filed cases with the Labour Ministry and the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to defend the right to freedom of association. On April 7, 2008 the Commission issued its recommendations after having met with both the union and PT MKF management, concluding that the union rights of the 19 workers who were dismissed after joining SBGTS had been violated. But when the union called on the local labour department to follow up on this recommendation, the local authorities, who are notoriously corrupt, disregarded the Commission's ruling and ruled in favour of the company. See also http://www.workersrights.org/ for the detailed Worker Rights Consortium's report of the violations at PT MKF.

Since the negative outcome of the local labour department's mediation, the situation remains in a deadlock. The company refuses to meet with the union and instead has sent its lawyers firm to deal with the severance payment for all the nineteen dismissed workers.

The CCC has contacted the buyers of the factory and requested their joint action in support of the freedom of association. While one of the buyers, Phillips van Heusen, has pushed for reinstatement of the 19 workers, and tried to get the other buyers on board, Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Rauph Lauren have sat idly by while the 19 workers struggle to feed their families. Polo Ralph Lauren has never responded to CCC. Tommy Hilfiger informed the CCC that it had conducted an audit in January 2008, but it refrained from speaking to the workers involved and instead only consulted the management-backed union, SPSI. Tommy Hilfiger refused to take any follow-up action to date.

Unfortunately this case stands not on his own, and time and again, urgent cases of labour violations in Indonesia reveal the abuse of short-term labour contracts and the pervasive infringement on workers' freedom of association, their right to organize and bargain collectively. The Clean Clothes Campaign and Oxfam Australia call on all brands sourcing from Indonesia, and in particular Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren, to implement sector-wide solutions to ensure that workers in Indonesia are guaranteed their rights and are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. See "Sector-Wide Solutions for the Sports Shoe and Apparel Industry in Indonesia."

Join the Indonesian workers in their struggle to change the garment industry in Indonesia, and give them your support in this case by writing to Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren to ensure that their supplier:
***Immediately reinstates the 19 workers at their previous positions (including rights and length of service) with payment of the outstanding wages and social premiums since the date of dismissal/suspension/transfer.
***Respects the right to freedom of association and recognizes SBGTS-GSBI as one of the unions at PT MKF, including respecting the rights of SBGTS-GSBI to organize members within the factory. Intimidation and criminalisation of PT MKF workers who are willing to join the SBGTS-GSBI union should be ceased immediately.
***Proactively adopts and posts a "Freedom of Association Policy" for all their facilities, which includes the statement that management will not use transfers/ demotions/ or promotions as a means to deter a worker from affiliating and/or participating in the union of their choice.
***Meets in person with SBGTS-GSBI to resolve the outstanding labour issues
***Pays wages to the 19 dismissed workers while the legal process runs its course.
Sample letter

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to the corporate executives named below...
Polo Ralph Lauren

David Uricoli , Senior Director of Global Compliance

E-mail: duricoli@poloralphlauren.com
Tommy Hilfiger

Anouk von Meyenfeldt , VP/General Counsel

Email: compliance@tommy.com
Dear
I want to express my deep concern about the dismissal of 19 union members at your supplier PT Mulia Knitting Factory in May 2007. The Clean Clothes Campaign has informed me that those workers were suspended, transferred and dismissed immediately after they announced the formation of their union. This infringement of their right to Freedom of Association is not only a clear violation of the Indonesian labour law, but also of your company's code of conduct and ILO labour standards.I therefore urge you to immediately call upon your supplier, and ensure:
***the immediate reinstatement of the 19 union members with payment of the outstanding wages since the date of dismissal, suspension and or transfer ;
***full compliance with the workers' right to freedom of association and recognition of the union SBGTS, including a public statement that PT MKF will not use transfers/ demotions/ or promotions as a means to deter a worker from affiliating and/or participating in the union of their choice.
***a meeting in person with SBGTS to resolve outstanding labour issues. payment of wages to the 19 dismissed workers while the legal process runs its course.

Sincerely yours,

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-INDIA:

THE STRUGGLE AT SINGUR CONTINUES:

The farmers in Sighur India whose lands were expropriated for the development of a plant to produce the Nana motor car have won a partial victory. The developers, Tata Motors, have pulled out of the project to set up a plant elsewhere. Yet the Marxist led local state government of West Bengal continues to deny the farmers return of their land. The people involved are appealing to the federal Indian government for redress. here is the story and appeal for solidarity from the website of the IUF.

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Tata Pulls out of Singur but Struggle Continues for Rural Poor:

Share this article.

Sustained protests by agricultural workers, sharecroppers and small farmers have forced Tata Motors to abandon planned production of its low-cost Nano automobile on prime farmland seized by the state government over 2 years ago in Singur, West Bengal, near Kolkota (click here for background). With the still unfinished Singur site under seige and over a dozen states competing for the project, Tata Motors on October 7 signed an agreement with the state government of Gujarat to locate production on land near Ahmedabad.

To read the press reports (Indian and international), the mass protests were hastily organized by the Trinamool Congress Party, opportunistically riding a wave of primitive anti-industrialism as the plant neared completion. But since May 2006, agricultural workers, sharecroppers and small farmers have resisted the state "Left Front" government's project to evict some 6,000 poor families from 420 hectares of farmland to make way for the ultra-cheap "people's car". The government, for its part, has not hesitated to label the grassroots leaders - including the IUF-affiliated agricultural workers' union PBKMS - as agents of US imperialism, becoming more strident in its calumnies as the movement showed its staying power and capacity for mobilization in the face of massive repression.

Tata has finally abandoned Nano production in West Bengal, but it hasn't abandoned Singur. The struggle continues, and it is important to set the record straight.

Neither PBKMS nor its trade union allies, nor the broad based (and rigorously non-party) Save Farmlands Committee which grouped the mass resistance are opposed to industry. All recognize the vital need for industrialization and job creation in manufacturing. The issues at the heart of the struggle have rather concerned democracy, transparency and the defense of agriculture and rural livelihoods. Once Tata Motors definitively declared that it was pulling out of Singur, the abundance of offers it received from rival state governments proved what the citizens of Singur have maintained from the outset: that it was easily possible to find a site for motor production which would not destroy productive agricultural land and the livelihoods of tens of thousands. Tata demanded and received 420 hectares, though only a tenth of that was required for the factory. The factory would have employed 2,000 workers, while many thousands of Singur residents still stand to lose their land and livelihood, including agricultural labourers, marginal peasants, sharecroppers, cottage industry and other rural workers.

Tata still holds the land, which was leased for a pittance, a fraction of what Tata is paying in Gujarat. The West Bengal government is insisting that the land must be used for industry, justifying their plans by the fact that a number of farmers have received financial compensation.

Singur's rural poor therefore continue their struggle for justice.

Farmers owning some 40% of the land seized for Tata have continued to reject conversion to industry and are refusing compensation. The proposed compensation schemes for sharecroppers and landless agricultural workers, the majority of whom are women, are ridiculously inadequate. And land on which industrial construction has already taken place must be restored for agricultural production. Safeguarding farmland from industrial pollution is also an urgent priority.

The Singur struggle offers a unique opportunity for democratic negotiation to determine the conditions under which farmland is utilized - as a public good, in defense of rights (including the right to food), or in defense of profit for the few. Historically, small producers and the landless have been ruthlessly eliminated, enclosed and expropriated using violence, physical and economic, to make way for industry and agribusiness. Singur now offers the possibility of a democratic alternative.

On October 14-15, a delegation from Singur including PBKMS will be meeting with the President and Prime Minister of India to present the case for government support for that alternative. PBKMS and the Save Farmlands Committee are demanding:
*the return to farmers who have rejected compensation of all land and its restoration to fertile condition
*decent compensation for the loss of land and livelihood to sharecroppers and landless rural workers
*safeguards to protect fertile agricultural land in Singur and its surrounding areas

You can support their struggle - now and in the days to follow - by clicking here to send a message of support to the federal government of India. Copies will automatically be sent to the government of West Bengal and to Tata Motors.

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This campaign is STILL active. Go to the link above to send a letter of support for the farmers of Singur to the Indian government.

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AMERICAN LABOUR:

SUPPORT FREMANTLE WORKERS:

The following appeal is from the Jobs With Justice Coalition, and it concerns solidarity with the writers, drivers and other employees working for the Popular American Idol TV show produced by FremantleMedia. have a look.

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Take Action In Support of Fremantle Workers!‏
The Writer's Guild of America West, and the Writer's Guild of America East and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters recently launched the American Idol Truth Tour! As American Idol travels around the country holding auditions for the upcoming season, the Truth Tour has been raising awareness about the substandard working conditions faced by writers, drivers and other employees working for FremantleMedia, the producer of American Idol and other hit television programs. Many Fremantle workers, including writers and drivers, do not receive benefits that are standard in the entertainment industry including minimum compensation, health insurance or retirement benefits.

To watch video of the Truth Tour, read stories about the Fremantle's treatment of its workers, and get more information go to

http://www.truthaboutfremantle.com/

Please take action! Send a letter to CEO, Cecile Frot-Coutaz,and demand respect for FremantleMedia workers by going to www.unionvoice.org/campaign/fremantle

About FremantleMedia

FremantleMedia is a major American production company that produces the highest-rated program on television, American Idol,as well as other network prime time programs including Million Dollar Password for CBS, Farmer Wants a Wife for the CW and America's Got Talent for NBC.

While Fremantle profits from Idol and other shows it produces, the writers, drivers, and other workers who make these shows successful, do not. Workers on Fremantle shows have reported serious workplace issues such as the withholding of overtime pay, and failure to provide meal or rest breaks. Many Fremantle workers do not receive benefits that are standard in the entertainment industry including minimum compensation, health insurance or retirement benefits. Fremantle has also chosen to use non-union drivers who work excessive overtime without proper rest periods or drug and alcohol testing.

About the American Idol Truth Tour

The Truth Tour kicked off with a press conference July 16th at the headquarters of the Writers Guild of America West. Teamsters Local 399 President Tony Cousimano was joined by former American Idol worker, Justin Buckles, WGAW Vice President David N. Weiss,WGAW and others to announce the beginning of the tour. Then over 50 WGAW, SAG, and Teamster members and supporters boarded a bus and traveled to the first stop outside the American Idol auditions at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California.

The Truth Tour has also made stops in Phoenix, Arizona, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Jacksonville, FL!

On Tuesday, August 19, at 12 pm in New York City, the Truth Tour will hold its grand finale: A mass rally sponsored by the Writers Guild of America East, Writers Guild of America West,and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Union members and supporters will hold an informational picket at the New York offices of FremantleMedia at 28 East 28th Street in Manhattan.For more information about this event please contact WGAW Organizer Jayson Pope at jpope@wga.org .

You can take action on this alert via the web at:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/fremantle/wukd7sd91757jk83?

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this

.http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/fremantle/forward/wukd7sd91757jk83?

We encourage you to take action by September 10, 2008

Respect For FremantleMedia Workers

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:

If you have access to a web browser, you can take action on this alert by going to the following URL:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/fremantle/wukd7sd91757jk83?

Your letter will be addressed and sent to:Ms. Cecile Frot-Coutaz

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As a concerned member of the public, I am writing to let you know that I support Fremantle writers and other workers who help make your programs, including American Idol, such a success. I strongly believe Fremantle should properly recognize the contribution of its employees by providing them with industry standard benefits.

As the producer of the most popular show on television, Fremantle has the responsibility and the means to provide industry standard benefits to these workers. FremantleMedia North America is the largest profit contributor to its immediate parent company, FremantleMedia, Ltd., a network of global production companies producing shows in 55 countries. With the success of American Idol and other hit shows, you should be able to provide benefits like portable health insurance and a pension plan.

It is time for Fremantle to do the right thing. Don't be unfair to your workers by withholding overtime pay, failing to provide meal breaks and industry standard benefits.

Thank you.

----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-SOUTH KOREA:

URGENT APPEAL FOR SOLIDARITY WITH THE SOUTH KOREAN MOVEMENT:

The following appeal is from the Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific site. Since early May there have been a growing number of candlelight demonstrations against various policies of the government: allowing the resumption of beef imports from the USA, privatizations and the 'Grand-canal project'. many arrests have followed, including leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). the following tells the story and asks for international solidarity for those detained.

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Urgent appeal for solidarity with the South Korean movement:

On July 24, the Lee Myung-bak (LMB) government issued arrest warrants against the leadership of the KCTU trade union center. This is only one of many attacks against the newly resurrected people’s power in South Korea, sparked by the uproar over the US beef import.The urgent appeal for action we are reproducing below has been published by the Coalition Against Mad Cow Disease, a coalition of more than 1,700 organizations involved in the candle light movement. All responses and inquries should be sent to: defendantimadcow@gmail.com
Urgent Appeal for Action
Greetings of international solidarity!

Starting May 2, 2008, South Korean people took to the streets holding candle lights in protest to various policies (import of US beefs in danger of being infected with mad cow disease, privatizations of public broadcasting, health, and public corporations, and the grand-canal project) put forth by the Lee Myung-bak (LMB) government.

The protesters came from all walks of life including elementary school students to 80 years old seniors, ordinary working people to opposition parties National Assembly representatives. More than a million people just in the greater Seoul area alone gathered on June 10 for a peaceful candle light protest.

However, the LMB government responded with force repressing the peaceful candle light protests. It discharged fire extinguisher and water cannon, wielded shields and batons, and crushed the people with military boots. Police Commissioner Eo Cheong-soo is leading what he proclaimed in the mainstream media “the real 80s military dictator style” violent repression.

The South Korean police arrested an 81-year-old man and a 12-year-old elementary school student. They lashed out shields and batons to parliamentarians, human rights monitor groups, medical volunteers, and journalists. They even discharged fire extinguisher directly at the mothers with babies in strollers and struck an opposition party National Assemblyman with a baton. At one time, a video of policemen violently kicking the head and body of a female college student who was down on the ground was released in the media and met by a public outcry. On June 29, the Lee Myung-bak government completely closed off the assembly venue. The police used hundreds of buses to surround the Seoul City Hall and the plaza, the main gathering point of the candle light protests. This is clearly a serious infringement on the basic democratic rights of assembly and protest. In the last two months, the police arrested more than 1,000 people. They were all ordinary citizens who participated in a peaceful candle light march.

The LMB government is now repressing the coalition against mad cow disease which had been leading the candle light protests. The coalition consists of more than 1,700 civic groups, political parties, trade unions, and social movement organizations. The LMB government is currently detaining 3 members of the coalition: Ahn Jin-geol, Yoon Hui-suk, and Hwang Sun-won. It also issued arrest warrants to the leading members of the coalition (See below for the list of names). They are currently taking refugee at Jogye Temple located in downtown Seoul.

On July 24 the LMB government issued arrest warrants to the executive leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU): Chairperson Lee Seok-haeng, Vice-Chairperson Jin Yeong-ok, and Executive Director Lee Yong-sik. The police has surrounded the building where the main office of the KCTU is located ready to move in and arrest the leaders.

The repression also extends to the trade unions that struck in support of the candle light protests. The LMB government issued arrest warrants to Chairperson Jeong Gap-deuk and First Vice-Chairperson Nam Teak-gyu of the Metal workers Union, Chairperson Yoon Hae-mo of the Hyundai Auto Workers Branch of the Metal Workers Union, and 6 other trade union officials. It plans to issue more arrest warrants and detain more members of the coalition and trade union activists. It is also issuing arrest warrants to ordinary protesters. President Lee Myung-bak and Police Commissioner Eo Cheong-su are trying to go against democracy and to push back the time to that of the military dictatorship.

The candle light movement of South Korea urgently appeals for international solidarity to defend the democratic rights of assembly, protest, and expression against the violent repression of the LMB government. In addition, we strongly urge everyone to voice their protests in the strongest terms possible against the detaining and issuing arrest warrants to protesters.We thank you in advance for your solidarity.

Coalition against mad cow disease

(www.antimadcow.org)
The list of names with arrest warrants

* Lee Seok-haeng, Chairperson, KCTU

*Jin Yeong-ok, Vice-Chairperson, KCTU

*Lee Yong-sik, Executive Director, KCTU

*Bak Won-seok, Joint Director of the Field Office of the Coalition

*Han Yong-jin, Joint Director of the Field Office of the Coalition

*Kim Dong-gyu, Director of the Organizational Team

*Kim Kwang-il, Director of the March Team, All Together Steer Committee member

*Baek Eun-jong, Vice-Representative,

*Anti-Lee Myung-bak Internet Café

*Baek Seong-gyun, Representative, MadCow.com

*Kwon Hye-jin, Director of Education Movement Headquarters of the Young Korean Academy

Detainees

*Ahn Jin-geol, Director of Organizational Team

*Yoon Hui-suk, Volunteer Staff

*Hwang Sun-won, Volunteer Staff

What you can do:

1. Write protest letters to President Lee Myung-bak and Police Commissioner Eo Cheong-su.Use a sample letter of protest below or write your own and send them to the following addresses:
*President Lee Myung-bak

Office of the President

1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-820, South Korea

Email: foreign@president.go.kr

FAX: +82-2-770-4735
*Police Commissioner Eo Cheong-soo

Korean National Police Agency

Euijoo-ro 91 (Migeun-dong 209)

Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-704, South Korea

Email: cnpa100@police.go.kr

Please send copies to defendantimadcow@gmail.com.

2. Write solidarity messages and send to defendantimadcow@gmail.com.

3. You are welcome to organize your own action or protest in solidarity with the candle light movement in your local areas such as protesting or having a press conference in front of the Korean embassy or consulate office. Please send a report to defendantimadcow@gmail.com.

A sample letter of protest

In the last two months, the Lee Myung-bak government arrested more than 1,000 persons and is threatening the people by violently repressing the demonstrators in the streets. The violent repression against the peaceful candle light protests that are taking place in South Korea is a serious infringement on people’s democratic rights including the rights of assembly and protest, and freedom of speech. We are deeply concerned of the seriousness of the situation.

There is no justification whatsoever in arresting and issuing arrest warrants to the leading members of the coalition against the mad cow disease. We intend to inform the world of the current situation and protest in the strongest terms possible in cooperation with South Korean organizations in defense of the coalition.

We demand the following to the Lee Myung-bak government:

1. The LMB government must immediately stop the violent repression of the peaceful protests.

2. The LMB government must immediately release the detainees and call off the arrest warrants.

3. The LMB government must swiftly compensate any loss or damage incurred by the victims including the wounded.

4. The LMB government must guarantee fully the rights of peaceful assembly and protest.