Koreans say no to FTA

WW photo: Monica Moorehead

Several hundred Koreans and their supporters marched from George Wash ington University to the White House on June 4 to let the Bush admini stration know they oppose the Free Trade Agreement that Washington is foisting on the South Korean government.

The march was led by repre sent atives of farmers, workers, artists, intellectuals and other organized sectors of Korean society, which have come together in the Korean Alliance against the KorUS FTA. The alliance of 282 organizations has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets in demon strations throughout South Korea.

Already, the Seoul authorities have agreed to concessions lowering the standards for automobile exhaust fumes, resuming beef importation from the U.S. and agreeing on a higher quota of U.S. films to be shown in Korea.

Protest at the White House. WW photo: Deirdre Griswold

The protesters fear that the FTA will undermine Korean sovereignty over food production, undermine the people’s right to health, education and public services, and impact on their cultural diversity and environment. They also worry that farmers will be forced off their land if surplus U.S. agricultural products flood their market, forcing mass emigration similar to the exodus of Mexicans since the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect and devastated that agricultural economy.

Before the march, Koreans, Latin Americans, Filipinos and people of color from organizations in the U.S. shared experiences at a solidarity forum against the FTA and the globalization of war and poverty, held at George Washington University.

—Deirdre Griswold