Just Wondering…

Does the National Human Rights Commission make a distinction between peaceful protest and violent protest?  On the one hand, it’s pretty obvious that the South Korean government is trying to censor both peaceful and violent opposition to the proposed Free Trade Agreement (and it’s such a dead issue, all you can do is wonder why anyone bothers).  On the other hand, when protestors get through the police blockades, things like this happen.  Another 20 injured today.  Gee, I wonder if my friends in the …

Police said about 20,000 demonstrators were in the streets in 10 cities across the nation.  The park in Daehangno was to have been the site of a Democratic [Peoples’]  Labor Party demonstration protesting new laws on non-regular employees. But about 5,000 participants at the rally hoisted flags of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Korean Peasants League and the Korean Street Vendors’ Confederation, all members of the anti-trade alliance.

… KCTU were there.  For the love of God, somebody do to these people what we did to the Teamsters.

Why is  the idea of arresting people who commit, you know, crimes, and letting them do some hard time so incomprehensible?  And, for that matter, what’s so difficult about letting  people who choose to  express their views peacefully just do so?