And now to news in what many call the Vieques of Korea, Maehyang-ri, South Korea. Eleven protesters were arrested yesterday after they occupied a U.S. Air Force bombing range in a campaign to close it down. A total of 12 protesters got through a cordon of riot police and a barbed wire fence surrounding the Koon-ni Training Range, 50 miles southwest of Seoul. Six were quickly arrested. Another five hid on the range before a police helicopter swooped down and picked them up. In front of a nearby U.S. military camp, about 200 protesters, including college students, also demonstrated, shouting, “Yankee, go home! Shut down the firing range!” U.S. aircraft resumed training exercises on Monday at the Koon-ni range as scores of protesters scuffled with riot police. For the first time in a month, A-10 attack jets conducted bombing exercises on the range, while F-16s strafed the beach. In May, Democracy Now broke the story of a U.S. warplane dropping six 500-pound bombs near the village of Maehyang-ri on May 7. Villagers there say the bombing injured several people and damaged some 170 homes.
Protesters Occupy U.S. Air Force Bombing Range in South Korea
HeadlineJun 20, 2000