On 4 May the Republic of Korea government enclosed the Pyeongtaek rice fields with razor wire for the purpose of the US military base expansion.
Most of these fields were areas where the Pyeongtaek district residents had planted rice.
The fields where the young rice plants were growing were cut off by razor wire and it became impossible to continue the farming work.
However, on 8 November, the ROK government carried out operations to fence off additional areas that were not already surrounded by razor wire.
This area was land where the residents had farmed and harvested a rice crop this year.
That day, from early in the morning, the military started to dig up the soil, using more than 10 backhoes, and to string razor wire around the fields.
The police encircled all the roads leading to the fields and places enclosed by razor wire, preventing people from approaching the area.
On the road barricaded by the police, the residents carried out a protest action against the use of razor wire to enclose fields, and held a press conference.
Nine SPARK activists ran across the fields to the place where the backhoes were and staged a protest action to interrupt the unfinished work of putting up additional razor wire fencing.
But from the first, the backhoes were a long distance off, screened off by the police, and before the SPARK activists could come close to the area, they were surrounded by the police.
Also the police arrested them, without informing them of the fundamental “Miranda” regulations.
(They were all released the following day.)
A few days before this, a Korean court sentenced village leader Kim Ji-tae to two years in prison.
Furthermore, the police blocked off the front of the courtroom and the entrance of the building and even the family was unable to see the trial.
The family and residents were shocked, because they had expected that he would be given a suspended sentence.
This sort of attitude on the part of the Korean government is very shameful.
SPARK is well aware of the US military’s intentions and denounces the Korean government for ignoring the citizens’ demands.

SPARK Nousbases report 2006-11-17