[121] in peace2
on this Int'l Women's Day
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (F. AuYeung)
Tue Mar 7 02:56:10 2000
Message-Id: <200003070756.CAA08948@EMAT1.MIT.EDU>
To: peace-list@MIT.EDU
Date: Tue, 07 Mar 2000 02:56:01 EST
From: "F. AuYeung" <auyeung@MIT.EDU>
happening elsewhere to condemn
military violence against women
------- Forwarded Message
From: "M Chui" <maisiechui@hotmail.com>
To: auyeung@MIT.EDU
Subject: Fwd: Vioience Against Women - ACTION!
Date: Sat, 04 Mar 2000 10:14:30 PST
>The brutal murder and the confession of the US Army serviceman to the crime
>last week and the death of young Crizel Valencia in the Philipines from
>exposure to military toxics reminds us of the violent acts against women
>and children even in times of "peace". Criminal acts of violence against
>women commited in wartime as well as today continually go unaddressed by
>governments both here and abroad.
>
>Join us if you can, on Wednesday March 8, International Women's Day, at a
>demonstration in front of the Japanese Consulate in Los Angeles to demand:
>1) redress and apology by the Japanese government to the Korean comfort
>women and other women who served as sexual slaves to the Japanese military
>during WWII; and 2) the stop to the construction of a new military
>facility and removal of US military facilities in Okinawa. The
>demonstration will begin at noon in downtown Los Angeles in front of the
>Consulate at 350 South Grand Ave. (between 1st and 3rd Streets). Wear
>white to symbolize the absence of justice for the comfort women, the people
>of Okinawa and others struggling against militarism.
>
> >KoreaTimes(All)
>US Soldier Confesses to Barmaid Murder
>2000/02/22(Tue) 17:44
>Cpl. Christopher MacCarthy, 22, of the U.S. Eighth Army, yesterday
>confessed that he killed a bar hostess in Itaewon, Seoul, last Saturday
>night, the Yongsan police said yesterday.
>A police spokesman said, ``MacCarthy confessed that he strangled the
>32-year-old hostess Kim to death at a bar in Itaewon during an
>investigation by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Department.''
>The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested MacCarthy of
>the 47th armored troop battalion stationed in Paju, Kyonggi-do, Monday on
>charges of murdering the barmaid.
>The spokesman said: ``MacCarthy repeatedly demanded abnormal sexual
>activities after one sexual intercourse with Kim in a bar room. Upon having
>his demands rejected, he beat and strangled her to death.''
>The National Institute of Scientific Investigation determined through an
>autopsy that Kim's neck was broken and resulted in suffocation. The police
>are ready to investigate the murder case upon the hand-over of the American
>solider from the CID, he said.
>The discovery of blood on MacCarthy's hands during an interview with his
>company commander led to his arrest, police said, adding that he was
>immediately handed over to CID at around 3 p.m. Monday.
>The police said the CID confiscated a sweater believed to belong to the
>murder victim and a handbag containing an identification card of her
>colleague and a cellular phone in MacCarthy's room.
>hmchae@koreatimes.co.kr
>
> >
> >KoreaTimes(All)
Murder of Barmaid Reignites Debate Over SOFA
2000/02/23(Wed) 18:48
The murder of a bar hostess by a U.S. soldier has reignited the debate over
the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which prohibits
Korean authorities from taking custody of accused U.S. servicemen until they
are convicted.
"It is difficult for Korean law enforcement authorities to investigate
crimes of American soldiers because suspects can destroy evidence, reverse
statements or make up a fake alibi while staying in U.S. military bases,"
said Lee So-hee, speaking for a local organization to eradicate crimes by
American soldiers.
Cpl. Christopher MacCarthy, 22, confessed Tuesday to strangling a
32-year-old bar hostess in Itaewon after sex. The suspect reportedly got
angry after the hostess refused to engage in more unusual sexual activities.
Police in the Seoul district of Yongsan summoned MacCarthy yesterday
afternoon but must return him to the U.S. military as soon as his
interrogation ends.
The current SOFA, which regulates the legal status of U.S. servicemen in
Korea, requires Korean authorities to hand over U.S. soldiers to the U.S.
Forces Korea without delay if such a request is made.
The U.S. side, however, is not obliged to hand over custody of American
soldiers suspected of committing a crime to South Korea under SOFA.
Korea has long sought the revision of SOFA since 1996, when Foreign Minister
Gong Ro-myung and U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry agreed to revise the
agreement by January 1997.
Several rounds of talks ensued with the last one held in November 1996.
``We have been requesting on several occasions that the United States
come out for another round of talks but they only say they are examining the
issue,'' said Song Bong-hon, director of North American affairs division III
of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry.
``It appears that the two sides have gaps too wide to be narrowed.''
The revision of SOFA is one thing and U.S. soldiers committing crimes is
another, Song said, dismissing the notion that the revision will be a
panacea for crimes by American soldiers.
``Nonetheless, SOFA clauses that are problematic must be revised,'' he said.
According to government statistics, Korean authorities exercised their right
to detain U.S. servicemen in just seven out of 657 crimes involving American
soldiers between 1996 and last year.
Korea is demanding that it have the right to take custody of U.S.
servicemen accused of murder, rape or other serious crimes just before their
indictment, according to officials.
It also wants to allow the local prosecution to bring to a higher court
acquittals of U.S. servicemen by a lower court in line with the domestic
legal system.
The U.S. government has rejected the demand as its legal system bars
prosecutors from appealing an acquittal to a higher court.
``It is suffocating to see the attitude of our government,'' says another
spokesman for a civic organization to prevent crimes by U.S. soldiers. The
government should take every means to pressure the United States to come out
for another round of talks, he said.
> >
> > (Yonhap)
> >
> >
> >
> >
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