Camp Humphreys’ Expansion Evictions Executed
Where were the hate groups? Are they losing influence in Korea society because I expected a bigger fight?:
South Korean riot police and protesters clashed Monday over contested farmland outside the U.S. Army’s Camp Humphreys, according to South Korean officials.
About 1,100 Korean riot police were on hand early in the morning as about 60 officials served a mandatory eviction notice to people living on land purchased by the South Korean government. The government took control of about 2,000 acres of farmland outside Camp Humphreys in 2005 so the U.S. military eventually can transform the post into its main installation in South Korea. Under an agreement between the United States and South Korea, the camp will triple in size by 2008; its population is projected to grow from more than 11,000 to about 45,000.
About 250 residents gathered at the Daechu-ri elementary school, site of many protest rallies, on Monday morning to protest the planned eviction, according to the Ministry of National Defense. Police officers moved in to forcibly evict the residents after they were warned three times to disperse but refused.
Pyeongtaek police said they had removed about 20 people who were guarding the school’s gate. They also cut the chains off of seven or eight protesters who’d chained themselves together to act as a human shield.
Police officials, contacted late Monday, said the violence was ongoing and they were unable to comment on the number of arrests or injuries among protesters or police.
