Koreans rally against sending troops to Iraq

SEOUL: Some 3,000 people rallied near the US embassy on Saturday to protest the South Korean government’s decision to send troops to Iraq, witnesses said.

The protestors braved freezing temperatures and gusting winds to chant anti-US and anti-government slogans on the pavement, some 150 metres away from the US embassy compound. “No troops to Iraq,” they shouted while waving banners. The protestors included activists, workers, students, teachers, farmers, street vendors and representatives for the urban poor. They also chanted slogans opposing a free trade agreement with Chile and opening the market to agricultural imports.

Companies of riot police, who outnumbered the demonstrators, formed human barriers to block roads leading to the embassy.

Last month South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun said he would consider sending around 3,000 troops, mostly non-combatants, to Iraq — far fewer than the United States requested. —AFP

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