Sunday, November 19, 2006, Shawal 26, 1427 A.H. Editor-in-Chief: Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman 
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 S Korean activists plan protests against US trade pact
SEOUL: South Korean anti-globalisation groups said on Friday they would stage three mass protests in coming weeks against a planned free trade agreement with the United States.

The demonstrations will take place on November 22, November 29 and in early December in Seoul and other cities, a coalition of civic groups said.

“Farmers, trade union members and other activists will take part in the protests against a free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States,” a coalition spokesman told AFP.

“We plan to mobilise more than 100,000 protesters for rallies in Seoul and elsewhere.”

President Roh Moo-Hyun’s government has been pushing for the pact despite strong opposition from farmers and other activists who fear for their jobs.

In the last mass protests in July, riot police used water cannon as some 70,000 people, including 13,000 farmers, rallied in downtown Seoul.

After a fourth round of talks last month in the South Korean resort island of Jeju, both sides expressed hope for an eventual deal even though the lengthy negotiations will drag on into next year.

A fifth round is scheduled for December in the United States and a sixth in South Korea in January.

The negotiations on what would be the biggest US free-trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement must end well before President George W. Bush’s Trade Promotion Authority expires on June 30. The deal allows him to fast-track an accord through a Congress now controlled by Democrats, who have historically been more suspicious of free trade deals than the Republicans.

Both sides have been under pressure to wrap up negotiations as soon as possible but South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-Chong said last week that talks could continue beyond the sixth round in January.

 
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