Filipino activists were denied entry to the ROK: Shame, Lee Myung Bak government and G20! 필리핀 활동가들 입국 거부됨! 이명박 정부와 G20 은 수치를 느껴야!

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* Related site

Put People First (Korean's joint response action against G20)

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* Related blogs

Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Photos Fwd: [Benjamin Hiller] G20 Protest Seoul, Nov. 7 to 8
젊은 독일 사진가 벤자민 힐러의 G20 리포트, 11월 7일~8일

[In Update] Put People First!: Launch of the “People’s Response Action against the G-20”
G20대응민중행동’
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* Image & caption source: Inquiry, Nov. 6, 2010

'Joseph Purugganan (L) and Josua Mata (2L), two of six activists deported from Seoul,
talks during a press briefing in Manila. AFP'

Citing the Inquiry, a Philippine media, and AFP, a progressive Korean article, NewsCham (Jung Eun-Hee, Nov. 9, 2010) reports that the Philippine society is strongly criticizing against the Lee Myung Bak government, South Korea, for its unjust sending back of five Filipino activists who had gotten the visa but were denied their entry at the Incheon International airport. For more detail on the content, see HERE. It is known that another seventh Filipino activist became to be also denied entry to South Korea, according to an Inquiry article on Nov. 9. They were to join an alternative anti-G20 civilian forum sponsored by People’s Collective Action, in Seoul on Nov. 8.

According to the AFB on Nov. 8, 2010:

"We condemn this unwarranted hostile act of the South Korean government towards Filipino activists," said Judy Pasimio of the Manila-based Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center.

One of those deported, Maria Lorena Macabuag of the group Migrant Forum Asia, said they were only attending a peaceful parallel forum and had not broken any law.

"We were just informed that we were blacklisted by the South Korean government and that we are not allowed to enter Korea," she said in a statement.

Put People First, a people’s collective action has released some statements on the incident and you can see them HERE and HERE.

Not only that, it is told that 184 foreigners who has intended to enter South Korea to joint people’s action were denied their visa.

The NewsCham delivers the degree of rage of Philippine society, including that of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Philippine. Here are some videos from the site.

* Image & caption source: NewsCham (original source: ntdtv, Nov. 8, 2010)

▲ 필리핀 활동가들이 마닐라에 위치한 한국대사관 앞에서 시위중이다. [출처: http://english.ntdtv.com]
▲ Filipino activists are protesting in front of the South Korean embassy, Manila, Philippine. [ source: http://english.ntdtv.com]

-8일 필리핀 활동가들의 한국대사관 앞 시위를 보도한 NTD 방송-
- NTD TV reports on the Filipino activists protesting in front of South Korean embassy, Manila, Philippine-

(* Video source: NewsCham, Nov. 9, 2010/ Original source: NTD TV, Nov. 8, 2010)

The Lee Myung Bak government has also recently attempted to block some Korean activists’ participation in the peaceful international events in another countries. In one case, some of them were even searched of their bodies in the related country’ airport and eventually were sent back to Korea

The tyrannical, racist attitude of the Lee Myung Bak government is noticeable. The no-basis denial of the Filipino activists’ entry to South Korea shows how the Lee government is reactionary and the G20 is the party only for the riches, excluding the real voice of people in the world.

* Image source: Put People First

Here are some excerpts from the Press Release by Put People First on Nov. 8, 2010:

Member of Parliament from Malaysia, Charles Santiago, expressed “While activists, critical to the G20 and neoliberal economic policies have encountered an antagonistic reception by the Korean government, 100 global business executives, gathering for the G20 Business Summit, will be welcomed with a red carpet.”

Deported labour representative from the Philippines Josua Mata added “Nothing demonstrates better the true nature of the G20 than the fact that while it is detaining and deporting activists from the global south, it is busy preparing to have an intimate dialogue with the world’s top corporate leaders. This only confirms what we have been saying all along – the G20 is undemocratic and not interested in improving ordinary people’s lives.”

“The G20 which is a non-elected and non-representative body and excludes majority of developing and poor countries has no legitimacy to be deciding on the economic and political directions of the world.” declared Yoon Geum Soon, representative of the international movement of small farmers La Vía Campesina.

Tyotyo James from the Confederation of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU) concluded “Since 2008, the G20 has been nothing but a talk show and has failed to deliver any coordinated response to the economic and financial crisis. The future of global economic governance should be discussed, instead, at the United Nations”.