(28 Apr 1996) Eng/Korean/Nat
Angry farmers and student activists have held a rally outside a United States military base north of Seoul.
They're demanding an explanation and an apology for a brush fire that killed seven Koreans.
They're also demanding that a firing range be moved because it is on privately owned land.
The anti-US sentiment is more than just vocal in South Korea.
Grafitti saying "Yankee Go Home" was spray-painted on the parking lot in front of Camp Casey, a U-S military base north of Seoul.
About 1-hundred farmers and activists shouted anti-U-S slogans during a rally demanding that the U-S military take responsibility for a recent brush fire that killed seven Koreans.
The angry farmers brought in tractors to try to break the riot police barricade.
Emotions ran high among the farmers who appealed to the crowd to help them not lose their land.
Police tried to calm the tractor driver and the angry crowd but the clash turned into a kicking match.
No serious injuries or arrests were reported - but feelings were reaching boiling point.
SOUNDBITE: (Korean)
"There are tanks on my land. Eight tanks are on the land we need to farm. They're blocking the entrance."
SUPER CAPTION: Lee Chun-ok, local farmer
This is the firing range where a fire broke out during a recent exercise by U-S troops.
Protesters claim the fire was caused by a stray spark from American soldiers who were taking part in target practice nearby.
The protestors are now charging the soldiers with negligence following the deaths of seven South Koreans who died from smoke inhalation while putting out the fire.
Koreans claim the U-S soldiers ran away when the fire broke out.
The U-S military is investigating the cause of the blaze.
This is also land which this women claims is her private property.
Lee Chun-ok is accusing the U-S military of putting the tanks on the land so she won't be able to farm it.
This is threatening her livelihood and so far it is an uphill battle for her.
[UPSOUND: (Korean)
"Is this their land? How could they leave their tanks here? This land is legally ours according to the land ownership deed (certificate)."
SUPER CAPTION: Lee Chun-ok, local farmer
The U-S military claims it owns the land and has access to use it as a firing range.
They say Camp Casey wasn't responsible for responding to the fire because U-S military headquarters in Seoul oversees all operations of its bases in South Korea.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Barker Range belongs to 8th US Army. It is not 2 ID range. We do not control. There's nothing we can do about it. I will transfer this letter to the 8th army commander. He is the only guy who has authority to do anything about it."
SUPER CAPTION: Major Doan, Camp Casey officer
The problems in Tongdu-chon, the town where Camp Casey is located, aren't likely to go away.
The anger of the protesters was not appeased by the response given by the major.
They're demanding the U-S make immediate reparations to the families of the victims of the fire and relocate its target ranges they say threaten their lives.
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