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A protester holds a sign condemning the United States Forces Korea (USFK)
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CAMP
CASEY, South Korea, November 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A
second U.S. soldier stood trial Thursday, November 21, over the deaths
of two South Korean school girls crushed by a military vehicle as
anti-American activists and politicians expressed outrage over a U.S.
acquittal of the first soldier.
The
ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) slammed Wednesday’s court
martial ruling to acquit Sergeant Fernando Nino on two counts of
negligent homicide for the deaths of two girls crushed by a 50-ton track
vehicle on their way to a birthday party, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
reported.
The
U.S. military court found him “not guilty of criminal misconduct,” a
charge that could have carried a six-year jail sentence.
“We
cannot accept this fraudulent verdict, which is unimaginable in any
law-abiding country,” said MDP spokeswoman Lee Mi-Kyung, describing
the verdict as an “outrage to heaven and earth.”
The
case has fuelled anti-U.S. sentiment in South Korea, which hosts 37,000
U.S. troops, while the MDP’s remarks and criticism across the
political spectrum illustrate the spread of resentment beyond radical
circles.
The
conservative Grand National Party, generally pro-U.S., called for a
revision of a bilateral agreement that gives Washington jurisdiction in
criminal matters implicating its troops.
The
mutual defense pact dating back to the 1950-53 Korean War is aimed at
deterring war on the world's last Cold War frontier, but despite its
multiple revisions, critics suggest the pact places American soldiers
beyond the reach of South Korean law.
Nino
was the commander of the vehicle that crushed to death 14-year-olds Shim
Mi-Son and Shin Hyon-Sun on June 13. The driver, Sergeant Mark Walker,
was to take his turn in front of the tribunal on the same charges
beginning Thursday.
The
trial opened to furious protests from some 200 South Korean activists,
who dismissed the acquittal of his colleague, on Wednesday, as a sham,
BBC’s online news service reported.
Protesters
led by a veteran anti-American activist, the Reverend Moon Jung-Hyon,
gathered outside the largest U.S. military post in South Korea for the
start of his trial.
“We
demand the withdrawal of U.S. troops, who are murderers!”, the
protesters shouted.
As
the hearing got underway, demonstrators tried to storm the gates to the
sprawling camp but were beaten back by some 1,000 riot police armed with
shields and clubs. One demonstrator was hit by a club and taken to
hospital in an ambulance.
Some
20 activists cut their fingers to write anti-U.S. slogans such as
“U.S. troops leave our land” in blood on two South Korean flags.
“We
cannot accept the verdict which came from a U.S. court with a U.S. jury
in a restricted courtroom. South Korea should be allowed to try them to
bring justice,” Moon said.
He
said civic groups would step up a campaign to expel “U.S. influence
and U.S. troops” from South Korea.
The
South Korean government asked for jurisdiction in the case but was
denied by Washington, fanning widespread anti-American sentiment that
prompted senior U.S. officials in Washington and in Seoul to issue
repeated apologies.
U.S.
military officials expressed concern over growing anti-Americanism even
as the issue has become a political flashpoint ahead of South Korea’s
December presidential election.
U.S.
authorities issued a security alert late Monday, November 18, urging
U.S. nationals in South Korea to avoid large crowds and to be “highly
alert to your surroundings.”
Following
Wednesday’s acquittal, U.S. army commander Lieutenant General Charles
Campbell urged Koreans to respect U.S. justice saying the U.S. judicial
system guarantees “fair and open proceedings.”
During
Nino’s hearing, the defense argued he had alerted Walker to the
presence of the girls as he drove the vehicle in a military convoy.
Because of an apparently defective communications system, the driver
says he never heard the warning.
