U.S. Out of Korea Committee Demands End to the Austerity Measures Imposed on south Korea by the IMF
U.S. Out of Korea Committee
International Action Center
39 West 14 Street, #206,
New York, NY 10011
212 633-6646 Fax: 212 633-2889
Email: iacenter@iacenter.org
Web: http://www.iacenter.org
November 6, 1998
Michel Camdessus, Managing Director International Monetary Fund
828 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Dear Mr. Camdessus:
The U.S. Out of Korea Committee and the Alliance of Korean Americans for One Korea are protesting outside of the New York offices of the IMF today in solidarity with a mass protest of workers in south Korean this weekend. The target of this massive mobilization by unions and people's organizations is the inhuman terms of the IMF-imposed austerity measures there.
We are demanding:
An end to the austerity measures imposed on south Korea by the IMF;
Release of hundreds of jailed Korean trade unionists;
A moratorium on the south Korean debt.
The IMF is not working to solve the economic crisis in south Korea. Instead, it is acting as a collection agency for the giant banks of the world. It is turning south Korea into a virtual economic colony.
The IMF-imposed austerity measures and massive layoffs have created a life-threatening crisis for the Korean working class. This has led to the wholesale repression of Korean workers and their leaders, with hundreds under arrest and hundreds more in hiding.
We are calling for a moratorium on the $120 billion debt. The Korean workers did not create this crisis, but they are being forced to bear the brunt of a "solution" that only guarantees the billionaire bankers a return on their investment.
With the economic crisis starting to hit here, working people in the U.S. are subject to mass layoffs by the same banks and corporations that are imposing hardship on the Korean people. If the economic crisis deepens here, these same corporate elites will increasingly carry out attacks against unions and working people. Korean and U.S. workers face the same enemy. We are demonstrating today to extend a hand of solidarity in a common struggle to protect our jobs, our families and our future.
Sincerely,
Brian Becker
U.S. Out of Korea Committee