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The Korean police have denied accusations by Amnesty International that they used excessive force to crack down on street protests sparked by opposition to imports of U.S. beef. Police said at least one out of the four cases cited by Norma Kang Muico, the AI researcher on Korean affairs, was clearly based on wrong information. Muico in her investigative report said police ¡°used excessive force against peaceful protesters demonstrating against the government¡¯s trade policies."
"Police engaged in arbitrary arrests of protesters and onlookers,¡± she said, citing the example of a 31-year-old comics editor who was allegedly caught by three officers while watching the demonstrations for half an hour from a sidewalk in Anguk-dong in the morning of June 8. He had been on his way to buy a book in Kyobo Book Center but was taken to Seocho Police Station and detained for 41 hours, although he repeated pointed out that his clothes were dry while police had been shooting water cannon at protesters.
But police say the story did not correspond to anything that happened on June 8, when 11 people were detained at police stations that day, nine at the Yeongdeungpo and two at Dobong. Also, the police say they dispersed crowds and detained protesters in Sejongno only, but not in Anguk-dong. The last person to be taken to a police station was detained at 5:48 a.m., meaning that if the man interviewed had watched the rally for 30 minutes, he must have arrived in Gwanghwamun before 5:18 a.m. This is unconvincing, as it would have meant he headed for the bookstore four hours before the opening time of 9:30 a.m., police said.
Nor did police use water cannon on the night of June 7 and the morning of June 8 as alleged. After turning water cannon on protesters on June 1, the police were at the center of intense criticism and therefore refrained from using water cannon during the 72-hour relay street protests between June 6 and 8.
Police also pointed out the fact that the Korean and English versions of the Amnesty press release are different. While the English version says, "There were incidents of violence as riot police sought to control surging crowds,¡± the Korean version reads, "Riot police charged at the crowds." Also, "Amnesty International¡¯s investigation indicated" is rendered in Korean as the ¡°investigation revealed,¡± substituting fact for inference.
Ko Eun-tae, the director of AI¡¯s South Korean Section, said "Riot police charged at the crowds" was a mistranslation which happened while the office tried to help journalists write their stories but does not run counter to the findings.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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