which over students were revolted against the dictatorship of General Park Chung Hee.
Since early March, well over 100,000 people have taken mass demonstrations in provincial clues across South Korea. The focus of these protests, which have ended in pitched battles with riot police on several occasions this ycal, has been une deland for direct presidential elections.
Slogans such as 'down with the military dictatorship' and 'down with the government' have echoed in the streets of Pusan, wangju, Taegu, Taejon, Chongju, and other cities. In addition, tens of of students throughout South. Korea have aemonstrated.
Under the constitution imposea Dy soul norea s current president, Chun power in a 1980 military coup, a new head of state is be chosen in 1988 by a 5000 member electoral college. Opponents of Chun's indirect election will lead peaceful demonstration in Seoul last Saturday in the bloodiest confrontation of recent months. The protest was part of a week of campus action in commemoration of the May 1980 Kwangju massacre, in killed when they to the selection of Chun's handpicked successor. They nave been organising: mass rallies to sunport colection of 10 signatures on petition demanding direct presidential elections 987. South Korea's population is 40 million.
The Chun responded to the announcement of the petition campaign in February with a wave of arrests and police raids. Hundreds of activists were placed under house arrest.
But the repression was unable to break the movement, as seen in the succession of mass demonstrations throughout South Korea in March and April.
The reflect the continued inability of Washington and its local allies to establish stable forms of political rule in South Korea. Since the US-imposed of Korea in South Korea has been ruled by a succession of US-backed civilian and military dictatorships, each of which has been driven punel by lilass protests or ousted by a military coup.
Svngman Rhee was the first of these in the aftermath of the Korean War. He had himself. elected president for life by the National Assembly.
In April 1960 giant student demonstrations protesting Rhee's claim have won 90 per cent of the elections vote previous month brought South Korea to the brink of open civil war and forc ed. Rhee to tee to exie 1l Hawaii, where he died in 1965.
During a brief nineSouth Korea had a parliamentary government. but a multar, junta took DOWe Ull dissolving the National Assembly banning dissident political activity. South Korea was placed under martial law ana rulea by a supreme Council for National neconstruchon, neaaca by Major General Park Chung Hee.
Under General Park, South Korea adopted its present economic orientation. With the advantages of huge, low-interest lectionandful competionhandful COLl glomerates based Japanese know-how absmal wages of South Korean workers, dominate Despite pervasive repression, South has periodically exploded cumulate. Such an explosion lea to the overthrow of the Park Chung Hee dictatorship in 1980. This was the result of actions taken by students starting with massive mobilisation .E. Pussan in October 1979. In clashes with police, DUDE VI police posts were destroyed. In the month in Masan, students, joined by factory workers, Stoned police The protests then spread es. government offices. Kwangju, Ulsan, laccu The growing protests triggered a palace coup, in which Park and five of his bodyguards were killed. The new military regime attempted … Io quell the unrest by promising to move toward civilian rule and ease up on repression. Throughout early 1980, South Korea was swept by sit-down strikes, slowdowns, other labour actions.
After weeks of mounting protests and strikes in the all universities, banned all gatherings strikes, imposed press censorship, and extended martial country.
But in Kwangju. with a population of 800,000 the people rose up and seized control of the city in the most massive uprising since the end of the Korean War.
Protests Kwangju began on 18 May 1980 the day martial law was announced. Daily demonstrations grew in size and were viciously attacked police and army troops.
Twenty-one police stations government buildings were destroyed severely damaged. Thousands of people including miners armed with explosives - flocked into the city from surrounding areas. As the uprising spread to over dozen towns, by 22 May the port of Mokpo and the towns of Hwasun Polkyo were seized by the rebels.
The regime struck back on 27 May. South Korean paratroopers infantrymen, using tanks, helicopters, machine guns, • Assaul weapons, recaptured Kwangju's c cereal ouncine are fierce three-hour gun battle.
With this experience of struggle, it's not surprising that kwangiu has been the site of some of the largest rallies in the present round for direct presidential elec- mass demonstrations tions. On 30 March, more than :50,000 the city gathered in the come to blahan as known 'Democracy Square' The answer of Chun has been to step up the violence against the wave ot opposition which con tinues to mount. But much has happened since 1980. Today Chun Doo Hwan can hardly avoid reflecting on the fate of his Park. And both Chun and predecessors, Rhee alle the Korean opposition forces are drawing their own lessons from the overthrow of the Marcos tyranPhilippines. the nearby control and the pass laws.
spokespersons, explaining the decision. to work with Somoza's henchmen.
by Union and Cuba. • Eden Pastora, the Nicaraguan contras most famous leader, has surrendered to the Costa Rican authorities with his supporters. He is seeking political asylum. 'We are not going to continue giving Nicaraguan blood for the United States game of war,' said Carol Prado, one of his Earlier this month Pastora's organisation was , badly damaged when the CIA lured away seven of his chief lieutenants into the United Nicaraguan Opposition (UNO), which is backed by the USA and dominated by ex-members of former dictator Somoza's national guard. Pastora, more popularly known as Commandante Ceri was a former Sandinista who went into opposition but refused He has for a long time been a CIA target because he stands in the way of a pliant and servile contra army. UNO representatives in Madrid have launched a Europe-wide campaign to persuade 'businessmen, trade unions, and governments' that the Sandinistas are 'nothing more than a totalitarian satellite of the Soviet
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ON 1 MAY the largest general strike in South SOUTH KOREAN riot police savagely attacked a