“Evidence of Wrong Doing” at Camp Humphreys
So what really happened at Camp Humphreys this week?
South Korean authorities under heavy police escort Wednesday took the first steps toward sealing off a large tract of contested farmland that is to eventually become part of an expanded Camp Humphreys.
Some local residents who oppose the expansion scuffled with South Korean riot police and four female protesters were injured and taken to area hospitals, police said.
Police also made arrests but had no immediate word Wednesday night on how many.
The South Korean government has taken control of the land so the U.S. military can triple Camp Humphreys’ size and turn it into its main installation in South Korea by 2008.
Work crews Wednesday began setting up fencing and digging trenches across roads to prevent farmers from working the rice fields, something growers have threatened to begin doing Friday in defiance of the expansion plan.
“We are planning to set up barbed-wire fences,†an official at South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.
In the S&S article the police stopped the protesters, but the Korean media had a different version of the story.
The Defense Ministry and police are not stopping them for fear of violent clashes. Police are, however, stopping any tractors from elsewhere by stationing some 4,400 officers on 11 major access roads and highway tollgates near the area since Wednesday.
“It’s illegal to work fields the Defense Ministry has already taken control of with government permission, but we haven’t used any aggressive measures to stop them because that could provoke residents and activists,†a ministry official said. Instead, the ministry says it will bring them to book for trespassing once it has collected evidence of wrongdoing.
“Collected evidence of wrong doing?” The police saw them breaking the law right in front of their own eyes and didn’t arrest these people! What more evidence do you need?! Expect more Camp Humprheys drama to come.
