SEOUL: Thousands of people rallied in Seoul on Thursday, 100 days after South Korea’s ferry disaster, to push for an independent inquiry into the tragedy that claimed around 300 lives, most of them students.
The crowd included 600 family members of the victims and their supporters who had walked for two days from Ansan City, south of Seoul, carrying banners with slogans like: “How can you forget?.”
Of the 476 people on board the Sewol passenger ferry when it sank on April 16, 325 were students from Danwon High School in Danwon. Only 75 were rescued.
“We want parliament to pass a special law guaranteeing a thorough investigation into the sinking,” a leader of the families’ group told journalists.
The bill is currently stuck in the national assembly with rival political parties at loggerheads over what legal force any such investigation should have.
The relatives want any panel of inquiry to be endowed with prosecutorial powers.
The rally outside Seoul City Hall included a music concert in memory of the victims.
The Sewol disaster rocked South Korea and triggered a wave of anti-establishment feeling as initial investigations showed that greed, corruption and a lack of proper oversight had contributed to the tragedy.
There was fresh anger after police on Tuesday announced that a body found six weeks ago was that of the fugitive patriarch of the family that owned the Sewol who had been the target of a months-long manhunt
Yoo Byung-Eun, 73, became South Korea’s most wanted man following the ferry capsize and thousands of police and troops had been deployed in a nationwide dragnet.
When it turned out his badly decomposed body had been in a police morgue since June 12, the reaction toward the police was one of outraged ridicule.
Yoo’s family owned the ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine Co., and he was wanted for questioning over lax safety standards and regulatory violations.
More than three months after the Sewol sank, dive teams are still attempting daily searches of the submerged vessel for the bodies of remaining victims still unaccounted for.
Fifteen Sewol crew members are currently on trial, including the captain and three senior officers who are accused of “homicide through wilful negligence” — a charge that can carry the death penalty.
The bulk of the charges arise from the fact that they chose to abandon the ferry while hundreds of people were still trapped inside.
President Park Geun-Hye and her administration have been bitterly criticized for their response to the disaster.
100 days on, thousands mourn S. Korean ferry victims
100 days on, thousands mourn S. Korean ferry victims
UK Police arrest 86 people at prison protest for Palestine Action hunger striker
- Demonstration outside Wormwood Scrubs held in support of Umer Khalid
- Khalid 1 of 5 people charged in connection with break-in at RAF base last year
LONDON: A protest outside a prison in the UK in support of a man detained for supporting the banned group Palestine Action has led to the arrest of 86 people.
London’s Metropolitan Police said a group of demonstrators breached the grounds of Wormwood Scrubs prison in the capital, refused to leave when ordered to do so, and threatened officers. They were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.
The group, several of whom attempted to gain access to the prison itself, were protesting in support of Umer Khalid, who is currently on hunger strike at the facility.
Khalid is one of five people charged in relation to a break-in by Palestine Action members at an RAF base at Brize Norton last year, in which two military aircraft were damaged.
Khalid, who denies the charges, is one of several people who are on or who have taken part in hunger strikes in recent months, all of whom have been held on similar charges for over a year without their cases being brought to trial.
A spokesperson for the UK’s Ministry of Justice said: “The escalation of the protest at HMP Wormwood Scrubs is completely unacceptable. While we support the right to peacefully protest, reports of trespassing and threats being made to staff and police officers are deeply concerning.
“At no point was prison security compromised. However, where individuals’ actions cause risk or actual harm to hardworking staff, this will not be taken lightly and those responsible can expect to face consequences.
“Prisoners are being managed in line with longstanding policy. This includes regular checks by medical professionals, heart monitoring and blood tests, and support to help them eat and drink again. If deemed appropriate by healthcare teams, prisoners will be taken to hospital.”
