By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Amid rising international voices criticizing Myanmar's military junta, Koreans have also shown support for the pro-democracy movement by the Myanmar people.
An association of eight civic groups, including the National League for Democracy Liberated Areas (NLD-LA), the Korean House for International Solidarity, and the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, gathered Saturday at Gwanghwamun square in downtown Seoul, and Sunday in front of the Myanmar Embassy in the capital.
They requested the Korean government take part in protesting the violent crackdown by the Myanmar government and criticized its silence on the bloodshed. They also asked the Korean people to pay attention to the historical movement taking place in Burma.
About 30 migrant workers from the Southeast Asian country and 200 citizens joined the peaceful rally and the candlelight vigils protesting the Myanmar's military government for conducting an armed crackdown on peaceful demonstrations by monks and citizens.
Migrant workers began singing songs in their native language and the Koreans responded by singing ``Morning Dew,'' which was one of the most popular songs in Korea back in the 1970s when demonstrations took place for full democracy in the nation.
There will be more protests to raise public attention to the movement. From Tuesday to Wednesday, there will be gatherings and a fund-raising event to support the protesters in Myanmar. Also, there will be photo exhibitions showing the current Myanmar junta oppressing their nationals.
Some people related the movement to the May 18 pro-democracy movement that took place in 1980 in Gwangju.
The May 18 Memorial Foundation held an emergency meeting on Friday to announce a statement to the Myanmar government to resist violence in the country. The organization also plans to hold a signing campaign and deliver it to the Myanmar Embassy on Tuesday. Its spokesperson said, "We will do everything our members can to help friends in Burma.''
The politicians joined the big wave, too. Rep. Kwon Young-ghil, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Labor Party, met the NLD member on Friday and promised his full support in uniting with the pro-democracy activists of the Southeast Asian country.
Rep. Lee Nak-yon of the United New Democratic Party said Thursday, ``We, Koreans, who have already gone through bloodshed and tragedy to gain full democracy cannot avert our eyes from this crisis.''
His party strongly recommended the Myanmar government accept its people's requests peacefully.