metagoogle: image search query: farmers (japan|korea) fighting police
August 26, 2013 7:40 PM Subscribe
Some years back, some farmers were fighting battles with police, I think in either Japan or Korea.
Due to rules that govern how police are allowed to escalate their response, the farmers were able to stage full battles with home-made armour, with blunt weapons, in formation, and the police responded with equivalent force without employing lethal weapons.
I particularly remember a pre-battle photo of police and farmers, in formation, just waiting for the battle to start at the allotted time.
Anyone remember more details than that?
Response by poster: Hi KokuRyu,
It was actually a conversation about the Narita airport protests that reminded me of this other protest I'm trying to recall. So the Narita protest link isn't what I was looking for, it's better than what I was looking for.
posted by compound eye at 8:58 PM on August 26, 2013
It was actually a conversation about the Narita airport protests that reminded me of this other protest I'm trying to recall. So the Narita protest link isn't what I was looking for, it's better than what I was looking for.
posted by compound eye at 8:58 PM on August 26, 2013
The most recent riots in Asian that I can think of were the anti-Japan riots orchestrated by the Chinese government last year.
Other significant riots include the student uprisings of 1968, which spread to Japan, typically Nihon University and University of Tokyo. There are frequent protests in Okinawa over US marine and airforce bases.
Korea in the 80's and the 90's was a hotspot for protests, as the country was transitioning to democracy.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:34 PM on August 26, 2013
Other significant riots include the student uprisings of 1968, which spread to Japan, typically Nihon University and University of Tokyo. There are frequent protests in Okinawa over US marine and airforce bases.
Korea in the 80's and the 90's was a hotspot for protests, as the country was transitioning to democracy.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:34 PM on August 26, 2013
Response by poster: I'm still curious about my original question.
I think it was an agricultural issue, probably imports or subsidy cuts,
not the recent chinese anti-japan flare-ups and not the bases or students or to do with bse,
but I suspect you're right about it being Korea in the 2000's
There was a great series of photos of farmers and police lined up on a rural road. Nothing as dramatic as the Bruno Barbey photo, but there was something about the isolation of the event, the contrast of the calm and chaos that has stuck in my mind.
posted by compound eye at 4:46 PM on August 27, 2013
I think it was an agricultural issue, probably imports or subsidy cuts,
not the recent chinese anti-japan flare-ups and not the bases or students or to do with bse,
but I suspect you're right about it being Korea in the 2000's
There was a great series of photos of farmers and police lined up on a rural road. Nothing as dramatic as the Bruno Barbey photo, but there was something about the isolation of the event, the contrast of the calm and chaos that has stuck in my mind.
posted by compound eye at 4:46 PM on August 27, 2013
This may not directly answer your question. But it may provide a little background as to the nature of the stand-off between South Korean police and farmers.
Oh, it happened elsewhere.
In December, 2005, a contingent (about 1,500) of South Korean farmers made it to a WTO meeting to be held in Hong Kong. Why show up for a WTO meeting held in a foreign land?
The WTO was planning to lower South Korean trade barriers for agricultural imports. The farmers countered that implementation of that policy would lead to flooding of the South Korean market with cheap rice and and other produce. And thereby bankrupt farmers.
The farmers were very media savvy (good for them!) and drummed up a series of 'events' that got a lot of local and some international media coverage. Some of the events got quite physical. At one point over 900 farmers were boxed in by the police in a street. Fourteen were arrested for violent disorder. It took weeks for them to be released, then make their way back to South Korea.
posted by Mister Bijou at 3:31 AM on August 28, 2013
Oh, it happened elsewhere.
In December, 2005, a contingent (about 1,500) of South Korean farmers made it to a WTO meeting to be held in Hong Kong. Why show up for a WTO meeting held in a foreign land?
The WTO was planning to lower South Korean trade barriers for agricultural imports. The farmers countered that implementation of that policy would lead to flooding of the South Korean market with cheap rice and and other produce. And thereby bankrupt farmers.
The farmers were very media savvy (good for them!) and drummed up a series of 'events' that got a lot of local and some international media coverage. Some of the events got quite physical. At one point over 900 farmers were boxed in by the police in a street. Fourteen were arrested for violent disorder. It took weeks for them to be released, then make their way back to South Korea.
posted by Mister Bijou at 3:31 AM on August 28, 2013
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You may also be thinking of the protests in the early 1970's (whoever says Japan is a conformist society has likely never heard of this) against the requisition of farming land for Narita airport.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:28 PM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]