From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] S. Korea Protesters Battle Police http://news.lycos.com/headlines/world/article.asp?docid=APV7001&date=2001031 7 Saturday, March 17, 2001 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Thousands of demonstrators protesting government-backed layoffs threw stones and firebombs at riot police and burned an American flag Saturday. Some 2,000 students, union members and laid-off workers held a march to condemn the government's goal of selling the bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co. to General Motors Corp. The clash left at least two protesters and one policeman bleeding in the face. Several students were detained for questioning, police said. Urged on by government-controlled creditor banks, Daewoo Motor laid off 1,751 workers in February in order to make it a better business prospect for GM. South Korea's third-largest carmaker has been surviving under court receivership - a process under which all debts were frozen and new management was installed - since it filed for bankruptcy in November with estimated debts of at least $10 billion. President Kim Dae-jung has sought foreign investment to help overhaul the economy in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. But South Korean workers fear that takeovers by foreign investors would mean more layoffs. ``Down with Kim Dae-jung! Oppose layoffs!'' the protesters shouted as they occupied part of a boulevard in downtown Seoul. About 600 protesters later moved to a nearby university, where they showered more than 150 firebombs on riot police wearing helmets and carrying shields. Before dawn Friday, unidentified assailants threw several firebombs at GM's Korea headquarters in central Seoul and then fled. No serious damage was reported. Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Get your personalized news here. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> Make good on the promise you made at graduation to keep in touch. Classmates.com has over 14 million registered high school alumni--chances are you'll find your friends! http://us.click.yahoo.com/l3joGB/DMUCAA/4ihDAA/xrOVlB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Knowledge is Power! Elimination of the exploitation of man by man http://www.egroups.com/group/pttp/ POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Change Delivery Options: http://www.egroups.com/mygroups Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
