Affrontement à 제주도 Jeju Island – 1 septembre 2011

S.Korea police break up protest against navy base

AFP

Sep 1, 2011

SEOUL — More than 1,000 South Korean riot police dispersed or arrested scores of protesters who for months have blocked construction of a naval base on a scenic holiday island.

Navy engineers resumed work after police evicted about 130 protesters who have occupied the site at Gangjeong on the coast of southern Jeju island since June.

Military officials say the $970 million project is vital for national security. But village residents and activists oppose it, arguing the base could set off a regional arms race and damage the environment.

The pre-dawn raid sparked clashes but there were no immediate reports on injuries.

« Heavy equipment moved into the site after the navy erected fences to block off the protesters, » a police spokesman in Seoul told AFP.

Police detained 35 people, including three activists who have been wanted for leading violent protests for months, he said.

The operation came two days after the government warned that the project could not be delayed any longer. Read more…

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Jeju-do (transliterated Korean for Jeju Province, short form of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province or Cheju Island) is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country’s largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946. Its capital is the city ofJeju.