Korea: fears of mad cow disease take the streets

More than 10,000 protesters took to the streets of Seoul demonstrating against the import of US-produced meat. Fears of mad cow disease are cited while President Lee is asked to reverse his “mad decision” to admit the meat.

Sunday, May 04, 2008
by Asia News

More than 10,000 people took to the streets overnight in the South Korean capital to protest against the decision to open the domestic market to beef imports from the United States. During a candlelight vigil, the protesters asked new president Lee Myung-bak to reverse the “mad decision”, a reference to the mad cow disease believed to be present in the imported meat.

At the same time, a petition launched on the internet has gathered more than 500,000 signatures: the text rejects the “humiliating and miserable diplomacy” of Seoul, considered “too close to Washington and its goods”. Now, the government is afraid of a new outbreak of anti-American sentiment, similar to the explosion in 2002, when two South Korean girls were killed near the capital by an armoured U.S. army vehicle.

 

http://urlet.com/sets.becoming