I am writing to you to express FIDH’s concerns over the ongoing restrictions on the fundamental right to peaceful assembly imposed to villagers and environmental activists protesting against the construction of a 765kV transmission tower in Miryang, a city located south-eastern part of the Republic of Korea. These protests, which started after Korea Electronic Power Corporation (KEPCO) announced it would resume the construction of the tower on October 1 after a 126-day long suspension of the project, take place in the context of continued opposition to the government’s plan to build sixty-nine transmission towers in Miryang, to send high-voltage current to be generated from the newly-built Singori Nuclear power plant’s units, to a substation situated northwest of Busan.
While taking note of the government’s legitimate intent to find ways to secure electricity availability in the country, FIDH considers that its response to the on-going protests, which can be qualified as peaceful according to international standards, has so far been largely disproportionate. In particular, the deployment of hundreds of police forces to control or block protests seem exaggerate, in light of the following incidents:
- The arrest of 11 protesters, which seems arbitrary in several ways. While we understand that 7 protesters were arrested for entering, on October 3, an heliport in a way which was deemed as illegal by the police, it is important to take into account that these form of protest remained peaceful, and that some charges, including the accusation of voluntary destruction of a fence under the Punishment of Violence, etc, Act, led to contradictory accounts between police and protesters, who denied intentionally damaging any facility. We take note of the subsequent release of 7 of them, the continued detention of Mr. Sang-hong LEE, from Gyeongju Korean Federation For Environmental Movement, and charges against three protestors (Ms. Ji-hye HONG, Mr. Jae-sik LEE, Mr. Jin CHOI).
- The decision by the police filtering the entry gate to the protest site, to restrict or deprive protestors - many of whom are in their seventies or eighties - already sitting inside the site, from basic necessities including food, water, shelter, clothing, other sleeping and heating equipment as well as proper medical treatment.
- The initiative by some police officers - some covering their face with masks or wearing plain costume – of taking photos of peaceful protesters. According to a Republic of Korea’s Supreme Court’s decision in 1999, taking photos of protestors without warrant can be allowed only on an “exceptional” basis such as when a crime is being committed. Protesters complained on the spot about this indiscriminate photo-taking but the police continued to do so, which unnecessarily intensified tensions and eventually lead to the arrest of two protesters.
- Disproportionate violence against catholic nuns who visited the protest site on 3 October 2013, to bring food and stand in solidarity with villagers. City council officers and police officers reportedly untangled their hood and punched their chest.
In addition, FIDH strongly believes that the government should give priority to genuine consultation and effective participation regarding the design and implementation of large-scale projects affecting local communities’ livelihoods and environment in different parts of the Republic of Korea. In the case of Singori Nuclear power plant, communities have clearly expressed dissatisfaction with the way the consultation has been organized; such a lack of consultation and effective participation is clearly one of the main sources of their grievance. The fact that KEPCO suspended the same project 11 times in the past, and that the government recently appointed an expert group to consult communities and issue recommendations, are signs that indeed all stakeholders have been seeking a mutual agreement and understanding on the terms of the project. However, continued protests show that renewed efforts are urgently needed.
FIDH therefore recommends the Government of the Republic of Korea to:
- Immediately release Mr. Sang-hong LEE, drop all charges against four protestors (Mr. Sang-hong LEE, Ms. Ji-hye HONG, Mr. Jae-sik LEE, Mr. Jin CHOI) and respect the right to peaceful assembly and association of villagers and environmental activists.
- Allow unrestricted access to food, water, shelter, sleeping and heating equipment as well as proper health care to the protestors.
- Launch a genuine consultation process.
I would like to highlight that the concerns and recommendations expressed in this letter echo concerns issued by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders at the end of her visit to the Republic of Korea from 29 May to 7 June, 2013. [1]
I sincerely hope to receive a reply from you, including a renewed commitment to respect the aforementioned rights, and to initiate a renewed dialogue with affected communities and environmental activists engaged by their side.
Respectfully,
Karim Lahidji, FIDH president