Relatives of the 159 victims of the human avalanche that occurred on Halloween in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea, have clashed on Saturday with the police, who were ordered to prevent the placement of a tribute altar to the deceased at the site of the accident.
«We are very sad that the police and the Seoul metropolitan government are trying to silence the voices of the victims’ families instead of remembering and honoring the victims,» said a spokesman for the group Lawyers for a Democratic Society or Minbyun, quoted by Yonhap news agency.
A thousand protesters, including 150 relatives of the victims, marched Saturday morning to Noksapyeong Station and Sejongno Street, where authorities deployed about 3,000 officers to prevent the installation of the altar in Gwanghwamun Square.
Suddenly, family members and attendees of the demonstration set up an altar of remembrance in Seoul Square, in front of the capital’s City Hall and Sejongno Street. The officers intervened, but due to the resistance of the participants, they gave up.
Some 70 officials later tried to dismantle the makeshift memorial, but they also had to leave, reports Yonhap. One of the victims’ relatives lost consciousness and was taken to a nearby hospital, according to eyewitnesses.
Finally, at 2:10 p.m., a ceremony in memory of the victims began, in which some 5,000 people took part, occupying four of the six lanes of the street.
Relatives carried a red scarf, symbol of the loss of a loved one, and a ribbon with four stars representing the victims, relatives, survivors and rescue personnel.
At the demonstration there has been criticism of the politicization of the commission of inquiry opened by the National Assembly into the incident. The commission concluded its work in 55 days.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
