Protests as US boosts S Korea security
SOUTH KOREA: The United States military started moving parts of its controversial THAAD anti-missile defence system to a deployment site in South Korea yesterday amid high tensions over North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes.
The earlier-than-expected move prompted protests by hundreds of residents and was denounced by the frontrunner in South Korea’s presidential election on May 9.
A spokesman for Moon Jae In said the decision ‘‘ignored public opinion and due process’’ and demanded the deployment be suspended until the next adminis- tration was in place and had made its policy decision.
The US and South Korea last year agreed to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system to counter the threat of missile launches by North Korea.
However, the move has angered China, which says the advanced system will do little to deter the North while destabilising the regional security balance.
South Korea’s defence ministry said some elements of THAAD were moved to the site on what had been a golf course in the south of the country.
‘‘South Korea and the United States have been working to secure an early operational capability of the THAAD system in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threat,’’ the ministry said. The battery is expected to be operational by the end of the year, it added.
Television footage showed military trailers carrying large units, including what appeared to be launch canisters, being driven into the planned THAAD battery site, about 250km south of Seoul. Images showed protesters hurling water bottles at the vehicles and police trying to block them.
The Pentagon said the deployment was a critical measure to defend South Korea and its allies against North Korean missile threats.
The US and South Korean militaries have been reluctant to publicly discuss the progress of the deployment ahead of the South Korean presidential election. Moon, the favourite to win the race, has said the new South Korean administration should decide on whether to deploy the THAAD after gathering public opinions and having further discussions with Washington. – Reuters
Spears, arrows at protest
Brazilian military police in front of Congress hurled tear gas at thousands of indigenous protesters, who responded by throwing spears and shooting arrows as a peaceful demonstration turned into chaos yesterday. There were no reports of any injuries. Police said protesters got too close to a large fountain on the esplanade in front of Congress in Brasilia, Brazil’s capital. ’’The Indians did not comply with the agreement they made. They were threatening to invade Congress,’’ police said. Demonstrators denied that, saying police were just looking for an excuse to remove them. They said that police had agreed the protesters could come close to the fountain and that the march was peaceful.
‘Lone wolf’ search on
A new New South Wales police unit will work with mental health professionals to identify and target people at risk of becoming lone wolf terrorists. Police Commissioner Mick Fuller vowed in late March he would track down extremists who could commit lone wolf attacks and yesterday he announced the formation of a ‘‘fixated persons investigation unit’’. It will target people who may not have not been monitored under previous counterterror initiatives and could be flagged by their own family members, Fuller said. The unit comprises 17 detectives with a background in profiling criminals and will work with other government agencies. It will begin operating on May 1.
Mass arrests in Turkey
Turkey has issued detention orders for a thousand people and detained 803 of them in overnight operations across the country against the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey blames for last year’s failed coup attempt. Security sources said most of those detained were police officers. After the abortive coup in July, authorities arrested 40,000 people and sacked or suspended 120,000 others. The latest arrests come 10 days after a tightly contested referendum approved the expansion of President Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, according to preliminary results.