Vladimir Tikhonov
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It reminds me so much of one, rather well-known episode of world history: in February 1917, conscript soldiers refused to fire on demonstrators in hungry Petrograd who demanded bread and an end to the insanity of world war. This refusal started a chain of events which changed the world forever. So, the fact that in our case too, soldiers de facto sabotaged their orders is of utmost importance. It means that the chances of getting rid of these far-right extremists in power may be better than we think. They can’t even rely on bayonets for now.
Se-Woong Koo
npoetdSosr3ccic94g17g7f99c7m2um72m9fuu5hu58122u81uc64834900h ·
Tomorrow is the big day in South Korean politics. Demonstrations calling for Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment are expected at 1 pm local time on Yeouido, the island where the National Assembly stands. The legislature is set to vote on the motion at 5 pm local time, according to the opposition Minjoo Party.
I was on a 20-minute episode of Al Jazeera's podcast The Take, and while most of you are familiar with everything that's transpired, I am sure, let me summarize some points that I mention on the show (and some that I did not but have been emerging).
- - It's reported that the members of the Special Forces ordered to storm the parliament were initially not fully informed about their purpose; they were told only that they were being mobilized to counter North Korean threats.
- - on arrival, they were given the assignment of arresting key lawmakers. Initially reports said they included the opposition leader, the leader of the ruling party, and the speaker, but now it is being contended that more than 10 lawmakers were subject to arrest.
- - The opposition has shown bundles of plastic cable ties, used in lieu of handcuffs, which it says it found on the ground after the soldiers departed.
- - Police and military on the ground appear to have had no appetite for carrying out martial law. The police initially blocked entry into the National Assembly building but subsequently allowed passage, it has been said. The soldiers also resorted to no violence (other than one recorded episode of pushing). This seems to have been a big factor in why imposing martial law failed.
- - The ruling PP Party of the president is now splitting into factions, with more pressure building on the president to resign. Han Dong-hoon, the PPP leader, has signaled he will vote for impeachment. An Cheol-soo, another key PPP lawmaker, said he will support impeachment if the president doesn't resign.
- - Rumors flew all day today that Yoon might declare martial law for a second time to preempt the impeachment vote. So far no sign of that. Or he might issue an apology to the nation and resign, that's another possibility being floated.
The organizers of tomorrow (Saturday)'s protest have told the police that they expect a crowd of 200,000. I would be surprised if fewer than half a million people showed up (and more than a million wouldn't be out of the question).
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The episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQF8-PvtFHo
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