Sewol Update: June 2015

Sewol Families Appeal to the UN for Excessive Police Crackdown

The “April 16 Solidarity,” that consists of the bereaved families of the Sewol Ferry disaster and the relevant civic organizations, submitted an urgent appeal to the Special Rapporteur of the UN because the protesters’ human rights were infringed upon by the police’s excessive crackdown.

During protests calling for a thorough and independent investigation of the Sewol ferry tragedy and the raising of the ferry, a number of human rights defenders including victims’ family members were arrested, detained and severely injured. The police used water cannons with harmful tear liquid on human rights defenders and used a bus barricade to block all the roads near the protest sites.

On April 16, 2015, 10 human rights defenders were arrested. On April 18, 2015, 100 human rights defenders were arrested including lawyers, journalists and religious leaders. On May 1, 2015, 42 people were arrested.

On April 18, 2015, tens of thousands of people marched to the Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul where a group memorial altar was created to offer flowers. However, they were stopped by a bus barricade of police. The police sealed off the Gyeongbok Palace, the Gwanghawmun Square, and the Sejong-ro Intersection with security cordons by dispensing approximately 470 police buses including 18 specially designed trucks, and security fences. In addition, a large police force of about 13,700 personnel from 172 units was mobilized for the crackdown.

251 Overseas Scholars React to New Government Actions On Sewol

On May 12, overseas scholars demanded that the Korean government abandon its Draft Enforcement Decree (DED) of the Sewol Special Act and adopt the Special Investigation Committee’s.

1. The Park administration must immediately abandon its Draft Enforcement Decree of the Sewol Special Act because:  a: Its DED violates the Sewol Special Act, the higher law it is designed to implement, by restricting the scope of the Special Investigative Committee’s investigative power; and b: Its draft decree violates Constitutional principles that guarantee the independence and autonomy of the Special Committee created by the National Assembly, by delegating the committee’s investigative power to administration officials who are potential targets of the investigation.
2. The administration must immediately adopt the decree proposed by the Special Investigative Committee because the committee’s draft guarantees the special investigative committee’s independence that will ensure its thorough investigative activities.
3. The administration must expedite the recovery of the sunken vessel without damage so that the nine missing bodies may be retrieved and the causes of the tragedy revealed.
4. The administration must immediately stop its use of violence against the Sewol victims’ families, and guarantee the rights to assembly and demonstration.

Sewol Families Invited to 35th Anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising

The April 16 Solidarity’s meeting to pledge to seek out the truth of the Sewol Ferry disaster was held under the slogan of “Seeking Out the Truth of April 16, 2014 through the May Spirit” at the old Mangwoldong National Cemetery on May 17, 2015 to mark the 35th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

May 18-related organizations in Gwangju said after the sinking of the Sewol Ferry that there is a striking similarity between the May 18 Democratic Uprising and the Sewol Ferry disaster because Gwangju citizens in May 1980 were mass-murdered by the paratroopers and the victims of the Sewol Ferry disaster were killed by incompetent bureaucrats and Cheongwadae (the Blue House). They have provided support for the bereaved families saying that the May 18 Democratic Uprising would help to salvage the truth of the Sewol Ferry disaster.

The “Gwangju Citizens’ Sangju (Chief Mourners) Group” Sells Wristlet to Remember Sewol Victims

The Gwangju Citizens’ Sangju Group, is selling wristlets to commemorate Sewol victims. Profits will be used to support continued awareness of the Sewol tragedy and bereaved families. Each wristlet, either in white or in black, costs 5,000 won. For more information on purchasing a wristlet(s), please send email to ilovegimchi@gmail.com.