Anti-US protests in Seoul

Anti-US protests in Seoul
AGENCIES

WASHINGTON, MARCH 18: Around 100 protesters on Friday held a rally nearSouth Korea's defence ministry to protest against a visit by US DefenceSecretary William Cohen, witnesses said. The ralliers, including activistsfrom local civic groups and college students, brandished placards bearinganti-US slogans and denouncing alleged US crimes here. No violence wasreported but the protest has raised the spectre of what the US defence chiefmight have to face during his two-day visit to this key military ally.

Some demonstrators were seen holding signs reading ``Yankees go home!'' inEnglish and ``US forces leave this country!'' written in Korean. Theydemanded the revision of what they branded an ``unequal'' US-South Koreanaccord, the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that governs the presence of37,000 American troops stationed here. "Defense Secretary Cohen mustpublicly promise all Koreans a full-scale revision of the SOFA and apologizeto Korean victims of US crimes," said the People's Action for Reform of theunjust ROK-US SOFA Agreement in a statement. South Korean critics claim theaccord unreasonably restricts Seoul's Judicial rights to detain andinvestigate US military suspects in criminal cases.