SOUTH KOREA: PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE AT STUDENTS FUNERAL

Описание: (11 Apr 1996) Natural Sound

The funeral procession for a South Korean student who died after a recent anti-government demonstration has turned violent in downtown Seoul.

Thousands of students had gathered to mourn the student but when confronted by riot police things got out of hand.

Hundreds of colourful funeral streamers flapped in strong spring winds as the estimated six-thousand demonstrators weaved through downtown Seoul Wednesday.

But like so many other recent marches in the South Korean capital, this one too turned violent as students clashed with police.

Hundreds of militant students wielded bamboo sticks and kicked at police armed with shields.

Riot police units fired volleys of tear gas to repel the students.

The smoke burned the eyes and noses of demonstrators and passersby alike as wind gusts blew the gas across the area.

Across the country, students in 40 universities boycotted classes and held separate campus rallies to mourn the death of Roh Su-sok, a student at Seoul's Yonsei University.

Doctors say Roh died of a heart attack, but students say that excessive force and tear gas used by police brought about the cardiac arrest.

Roh was involved in a protest on 29 March concerning the slush fund scandal which has brought two former presidents to trial in South Korea.

Protests such as these have become commonplace in Seoul, as students have held rallies almost weekly since scandal began.

As the funeral march turned violent, police fired some incendiary devices into the air to scatter the demonstrators.

Although this created several small fires, it failed to end the demonstration.

Students preferred to finish it on their own terms, apparently tired of the fruitless charges and repeated gassings.

This latest protest came on the eve of South Korea's parliamentary elections, seen by many as a referendum on the ruling party.

Many students have called for a resignation of President Kim Young-sam, whose party has only a slim majority.

But the current tensions with North Korea could well sway some voters to cast their ballot in favour of the seemingly greater stability of the status quo.

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