VTMBH Article: Body
Members of Bomdaewi, the Committee of Pan-Koreans, a group of activists formed in response to these killings, and their leader, Rev. Han Sang-ryol, held a protest rally in front of the UN building on Dec. 3 at noon, along with a coalition of New York groups, including: the New York branch of Korean Democratic Reunification of Korea (Representative Hak-sam Song), and the International Action Center, (Chairman Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general). They demanded that U.S. President George W. Bush openly apologize for the deaths of two Korean girls crushed by an American combat vehicle in June. They also demanded a retrial of the soldiers in a Korean court and revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
The demonstrators then moved to Times Square, the center of Manhattan, and they held a silent protest in front of the U.S. military recruiting station.
Rev. Han Sang-ryol and several other members also displayed photos showing crimes committed by U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea, and scenes from the deaths of Shin Hyo Soon and Shim Mi Sun by the U.S. armored vehicle.
"We want President Bush to publicly apologize in person, punish those responsible and revise the Status of Forces Agreement,'' or SOFA, Han said.
Han and others will give a press conference at the National Press Center on Friday before visiting the White House to deliver their letter to President Bush, along with documents that contain over 1.3 million signatures demanding Bush's personal apology and SOFA reform. The delegation also will deliver a protest letter to the Pentagon.
They will hold rallies in front of the White House in Washington D.C., before returning to Seoul. Han and six other members will call on the Pentagon, hoping to meet with the South Korean delegation at an annual ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM).
"Bomdaewi" will hold a protest and other activities, including a video screening, over nine nights and 10 days in New York, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, and then will return to Korea on Dec. 11.
Meanwhile, in Korea, a group of Catholic priests continued a hunger strike near the U.S. Embassy, while Buddhist monks have vowed to hold rallies today, along with citizens, to demand a retrial of the servicemen and rewriting of the SOFA, which governs the legal status of 37,000 U.S. troops stationed here.
The demonstrators then moved to Times Square, the center of Manhattan, and they held a silent protest in front of the U.S. military recruiting station.
Rev. Han Sang-ryol and several other members also displayed photos showing crimes committed by U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea, and scenes from the deaths of Shin Hyo Soon and Shim Mi Sun by the U.S. armored vehicle.
"We want President Bush to publicly apologize in person, punish those responsible and revise the Status of Forces Agreement,'' or SOFA, Han said.
Han and others will give a press conference at the National Press Center on Friday before visiting the White House to deliver their letter to President Bush, along with documents that contain over 1.3 million signatures demanding Bush's personal apology and SOFA reform. The delegation also will deliver a protest letter to the Pentagon.
They will hold rallies in front of the White House in Washington D.C., before returning to Seoul. Han and six other members will call on the Pentagon, hoping to meet with the South Korean delegation at an annual ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM).
"Bomdaewi" will hold a protest and other activities, including a video screening, over nine nights and 10 days in New York, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, and then will return to Korea on Dec. 11.
Meanwhile, in Korea, a group of Catholic priests continued a hunger strike near the U.S. Embassy, while Buddhist monks have vowed to hold rallies today, along with citizens, to demand a retrial of the servicemen and rewriting of the SOFA, which governs the legal status of 37,000 U.S. troops stationed here.