PROTEST U.S. ARMY KILLING
of Shin Hyo Soon and Shim Mi Sun,
two 13-year-old girls in south KoreaSend email letters to President George W. Bush demanding that he issue a public apology to the Korean people: president@whitehouse.gov
On June 13, 2002, a U.S. armored vehicle crushed to death two young Korean girls, Shin Hyo Soon and Shim Mi Sun, who were walking to a friend’s birthday party. The vehicle was part of a convoy traveling to a training exercise 10 miles north of Seoul, south Korea.
Thousands of Korean youth have mounted nearly daily protests demanding that the U.S. military hand over the two U.S. soldiers in the vehicle, that President Bush apologize for the deaths, and that the U.S. withdraw its troops from south Korea.
Tens of thousands have signed a petition to the commander of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division that reads in part, "We believe this incident was not an accident caused by a driver mistake. It was caused by your long-standing practice of safeguarding American vehicles at any costs with little respect for the lives of the Koreanpeople." Let the Korean court prosecute not only the guilty driver but also his superiors.”
The vehicle involved in the deaths of the two 13-year-old girls is a 60-ton AVLM, which is used to clear mines. It was part of a convoy traveling on Highway 56, a two-lane road winding past rice fields and small farms. The road, which has no sidewalk or shoulder, is a main pathway for pedestrians in the area.
At 12-feet wide, the AVLM was wider than the lane it was in and so it extended about 30 inches off the road. At the time that the girls were crushed, another convoy of U.S. military vehicles was coming in the opposite direction.
Outraged Koreans are demanding that the U.S. military take measures to prevent similar accidents, compensate the victims’ families, stop holding training operations near civilians, and revise the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The Korean authorities cannot investigate the tragedy because under SOFA, the 37,000 U.S. soldiers stationed there are immune from criminal prosecution if they commit crimes against the Korean people.
Following mass anti-U.S. demonstrations, the U.S. military said on July 5 it had filed negligent homicide charges against the two soldiers in the vehicle, Sgt. Mark Walker and Sgt. Fernando Nino, reversing an earlier decision not to court-martial the soldiers. However, on July 10 South Korea's Justice Ministry requested that the U.S. military give up jurisdiction over the two soldiers. The U.S. military has yet to respond.
The Korean people are asking letters to be sent to President Bush and for solidarity demonstrations on July 31 in U.S. cities and internationally in front of U.S. embassies and consulates.
Demands of the letter-writing campaign and demonstrations are:
1. President George W. Bush issue a public apology for the deaths of Shin Hyo Soon and Shim Mi Sun to the bereaved families and the Korean people.
2. U.S. military give up criminal jurisdiction in this case and hand it over to Korea.
3. The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) be amended to eliminate immunity from prosecution for U.S. soldiers who commit crimes against Koreans
4. U.S. military withdraw its troops from Korea
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