On This Day

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ON This Day
7 February

1987: S Korea clashes over student death
South Korean police have made hundreds of arrests in the country's biggest demonstrations for six years.
Rallies went ahead across the country to commemorate the recent death in custody of student Park Chong-choi, in spite of yesterday's warnings by President Chun Doo Hwan.

Mr Park, 21, a linguistics student at Seoul National University suffocated during police interrogation for alleged pro-communist activities on 14 January.

The ruling Democratic Justice Party claimed dissidents were using the memorial services as an excuse for violent and illegal political rallies.


Our anger at the present regime has reached a point no longer bearable


Spokesman, New Korea Democratic Party


Organisers of the demonstrations - including church, labour and student groups as well as the political opposition - claimed they just wanted to honour Mr Park.

The government had ordered the country's 120,000 police to tighten security in readiness for the memorials.

Police arrested 2,400 suspects and placed a dozen leading dissidents under house arrest last night.

In response to the police mobilisation a spokesman from the main opposition party, the New Korea Democratic Party, said: "Our anger at the present regime has reached a point no longer bearable."

Up to 30,000 riot police lined up to face as many as 20,000 demonstrators in the streets of the capital, Seoul, in three hours of confrontations.

Police were trying to prevent the crowds from reaching the main memorial mass at the Catholic Myongdong Cathedral.

Smaller demonstrations took place in 17 provincial cities including Pusan, Kwangju and Taegu.

No major incidents were reported but there were sporadic outbreaks of violence as protestors threw petrol bombs and stones at the police, who responded with tear gas.

Official sources said 34 police were injured and they made 799 arrests nationwide - 740 people were detained for further questioning.

There were no figures available about how many civilians were injured.

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ON This Day
7 February

1966: Hawaii hosts US-Vietnamese summit
Talks between the US and South Vietnamese leaderships have opened in Hawaii.
President Lyndon B Johnson said the purpose of the unexpected summit was to review the economic, social and political conditions in Vietnam with South Vietnamese Prime Minister Air Vice-Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky and his Chief of State Nguyen Van Thieu.

The trip - which Mr Johnson only announced three days ago - coincides with the Washington hearings of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, which have been highly critical of America's role in Indochina.

A dozen senior officials have joined the President in Honolulu - although some are wanted for questioning by the Foreign Affairs Committee - for his first visit outside the American continent since he took office in 1964.

Search for peace

In an opening address at the three-day conference Premier Cao Ky described the social reforms in his country but emphasised military strength was the only language the Communist forces understood.

The American Commander in Vietnam, General William Westmoreland told a press conference bombing North Vietnam was important though supplementary to the strategy in the south of the peninsula.

President Johnson was keen to adopt a less belligerent tone in the tranquil surroundings of Camp Smith, overlooking Pearl Harbour.

He accepted the difficulties of negotiating from weakness but explained social, political and economic reforms would improve conditions in South Vietnam sufficiently to cause the collapse of guerrilla movements.

Although both leaders spoke of the need to continue the search for peace Mr Cao Ky underlined South Vietnam's commitment to war as long as necessary and refusal to surrender to or compromise with the Communists.

Mr Johnson's condemnation of those who "counsel retreat in Vietnam" attracted criticism from the anti-war faction in Washington, especially Democratic Senator for Oregon Wayne Morse.

I got this information from BBC Web