Tuesday, December 13, 2005

MTU appeal

Here's the latest appeal from the Migrant's Trade Union. As covered previously on our blog, the MTU have been staging a sit-in at the offices of the National Human Rights Commission. The MTU are urging supporters to write in and have included instructions below on how to do so. Here is also the link to an online form for such purposes.

****Revised Action Alert***
Demand the Immediate Release of Anwar Hossain, President of Migrant Workers' Union, KCTU!
Stop Crackdown on Migrant Workers! Help MTU have its demands met! Prevent more MTU leaders from being arrested:
On Monday, December 5, 2005, migrant workers from the Migrants' Trade Union began occupying the offices of Korea's National Human Rights Commission in protest of a recent decision to uphold the unlawful detention of MTU's president, Anwar Hossain. MTU members and some of their supporters entered the building about about 10am, demanding to speak with the Chief of the KNHRC. They held a rally in his office for about 12 hours, until the Chief agreed to speak with them. In this meeting, MTU members demanded that the KNHRC change their ruling and recommend that the Korean government grant the full release of Anwar Hossain. This meeting was fruitless and went long into the night. Since there was no agreement, MTU has decided that they will stay in the KNHRC indefinitely.

Read More...


Currently, 10 MTU leaders are occupying the KNHRC offices, and many supporters are there with them. On Tuesday night, they held a small rally in the main office of the KNHRC, with about 50 supporters inside the office with them. The MTU leaders are in an extremely precarious situation. It is possible that without your support, the KNHRC could hand them over to Immigration officials at any time. Please take a moment to send a letter to the chief of Korea's National Human Rights Commission, Cho Young-hwang: cyh@humanrights.go.kr


Dear Mr. Cho,
It has come to my attention that Anwar Hossian, President of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants' Trade Union is still in detention at the Cheonju Detention Center just south of Seoul. While in detention, his health has been steadily deteriorating and he has been denied association with people he can communicate with. This isolation is making his mental health suffer in addition to his physical health, and is a form of torture. Furthermore, you found through your own investigation that his arrest was actually illegal because an arrest warrant was not issued within the legal time frame set forth by Korean immigration law.

Mr. Hossain is not a criminal and it is not just treat him like one. I implore you to release Mr. Hossain immediately, pending the outcome of his lawsuit. To do otherwise is clearly politically motivated and an obvious
ploy meant to thwart the Migrant' Trade Union organizing efforts.
Yours sincerely,
Send a message to the Minister of Justice:
This is a little difficult because the website is in Korean, but please try. Here are instructions. Use this link to access the freeboard on his homepage: http://www.jb21.or.kr/netizen/list.asp?bid=1
Next, click on the green button on the far right hand side. It looks like this:
This will open a new page. At the very bottom of that page, there is a small grey icon
It means 'write'. Click on it.
The first line asks you for a name:
The second line asks you for your email address.
The third line asks for your subject.
Finally, you can enter the text below.
The last thing you have to do is enter a password at the bottom of the form. You can write anything here and it will work.

Dear Mr. Cheon,
It has come to my attention that Anwar Hossian, President of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants' Trade Union is still in detention at the Cheonju Detention Center just south of Seoul. While in detention, his health has been steadily deteriorating and he has been denied association with people he can communicate with. This isolation is making his mental health suffer in addition to his physical health, and is a form of torture. Furthermore, it was found through an investigation conducted by the Korean National Human Rights Comission that his arrest was actually illegal because an arrest warrant was not issued within the legal time frame set forth by Korean immigration law.
Mr. Hossain is not a criminal and it is not just treat him like one. I implore you to release Mr. Hossain immediately, pending the outcome of his lawsuit. To do otherwise is clearly politically motivated and an obvious ploy meant to thwart the Migrant' Trade Union organizing efforts.
Sincerely,
Background Information:
On May 14, 2005, Anwar Hossain, president of the Migrants' Trade Union in Korea, was forcibly arrested by more than 30 Korean immigration officials in the early hours of the morning. Anwar was beaten by immigration police and had to receive treatment for the injuries that were sustained at the time of his arrest. Anwar has been languishing in Cheonju Detention Center, about two hours south of Seoul, since his arrest in May. In the detention center, Anwar was been isolated from detainees who speak Korean or Bangla, and is only allowed association with those he cannot communicate with. He physical health has also been steadily deteriorating since his capture.
Immediately after Anwar was arrested, MTU filed suit in Korea's courts and appealed to the Korean National Human Rights Commission requesting a temporary release of Anwar. In their investigation, the KNHRC found that Anwar's arrest was actually illegal. According to Korean immigration law, a warrant must be issued within 48 hours of an arrest. In Anwar's case, more than 52 hours passed before a valid warrant for his arrest was issued. It was later found out that there was actually a warrant issued within the initial 48 hour period, but it was signed by an employee who doesn't have the authority to issue warrants. However, due to this evidence, the KNHRC has sided with immigration officials and denied recommending the full release of Anwar, as well as the temporary release of Anwar. This means that Anwar will have to remain in the detention center until the outcome of his court case, which could take several years to resolve as it is still in the lowest level of the court system and will likely be appealed until it reaches the highest level of the Korean court system, the Special Court.
Anwar is not a criminal. The KNHRC investigation has shown that his arrest was illegal, and continuing to detain him is not only illegal according to Korea's own immigration laws, but also inhumane. Demand justice for Anwar! Please send a letter to the Korean Ministry of Justice and the Korean Human Rights Commission demanding the full release of Anwar Hossain.
A Brief History of the Migrants' Trade Unions
MTU was officially formed on April 28th, 2005, after a 14 year history of struggle against Korea's oppressive and racist immigration laws, as well as unfair, unsafe and discriminatory workplace practices. The history of the migrant workers struggle started in 1991 in the small town of Maseok, when migrant workers banded together to fight an employer who refused to compensate an employee for a workplace injury. Through direct actions such as strikes and protests, migrant workers were able to achieve victories at their work sites. These victories led the formation of a larger group of migrant activists who began challenging not only employers, but also the Korean government. Eventually, in 2002 they would come together to form ETU-MB- the Equality Trade Union, Migrants' Branch.
Starting in November of 2003, ETU-MB staged a 377 day sit-in struggle at Myeong Dong Cathedral in protest of the crackdown on migrant workers in Korea, as well as the implementation of Korea's immigration law called Employment Permit System (EPS). After the sit-in struggle in Myeong Dong, MTU was formed so that migrant workers could have power within their own organization and make decisions for themselves. MTU is the only organization in Korea that is organized and led solely by migrant workers in Korea. They are still struggling against EPS and the constant crackdown on Korea's migrant workers.
CRACKDOWN AGAINST MIGRANT WORKERS
From the beginning, the South Korean government refused to recognize the Migrant Workers Trade Union (MTU) and publicly announced that the MTU could not have the three basic labor rights---the right to organize, the right to strike, and the right to collective bargaining. In addition, the South Korean government launched an all-out campaign to repress the MTU. During a press conference held by the MTU to announce its formation, immigration officials secretly videotaped the proceedings in an effort to specifically target migrant workers participating in the MTU. Clearly, the arrest of President Anwar is a direct attempt by the South Korean government to repress the MTU and crackdown against migrant workers in South Korea. The recent repression by the South Korean government is not new. The government has consistently targeted migrant workers activists who have been arrested and deported. In 2003, many migrant workers were labeled as “terrorists” and forcibly deported. Samar Thapa, a key leader of the ETU-MB and the Myeong Dong sit-down demonstration was “kidnapped” in broad day light by immigration officials and deported in an effort to stop the mobilization efforts by migrant workers. Like all workers in South Korea, migrant workers should be treated with dignity and respect. Migrant workers should be guaranteed the same fundamental labor rights that are enjoyed by native workers. Despite the government crackdown and threats of deportation, the MTU will continue to organize and fight for the rights of migrant workers. On behalf of more than 400,000 workers in South Korea, MTU calls on the South Korean government to stop the crackdown against migrant workers and recognize the labor rights of migrant workers.
For more information, please visit their website: migrant.nodong.net/2005

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