Lee Kyung-hae used a Swiss army knife to stab himself in the chest. His death came during an attempted life-saving surgery at Cancun's General Hospital. He was 56 years old. Mr. Lee had a humble background, as he came from a family who suffered through rural poverty. After having struggled as a poor farmer for many years, Mr. Lee became involved in activism as an advocate for farmers and eventually became the president of the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation. In his own words, Mr. Lee described the WTO as a source of "waves that destroyed our lovely rural communities."

[NOTE: Full text of an article by Mr. Lee, describing his own personal experiences and reasons for opposition to the WTO, can be exclusively found right here!]

Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico: On the first day of the 5th ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization, a number of events were planned to demonstrate against the meeting, including a march organized by Via Campesina.

The march was supposed to protest the fact that agriculture is included within the purview of the WTO's jurisdiction, the way that the WTO has handled that topic and the existence of the WTO itself as a legitimate institution. No one at the march, however, expected it to be the scene of a suicide.

That, however, is exactly what happened today as a video taken by the Independent Media Center clearly reveals Mr. Lee Kyung-hae using a Swiss army knife to stab himself in the chest. His death came during an attempted life-saving surgery at Cancun's General Hospital. He was 56 years old.

The march was organized by Via Campesina, which is an international network of organizations advocating rights for small rural farmers. At approximately 11:00am (local time) this morning, the march started and attracted some 10,000 people.

It did not take long for a clash to erupt between the police and the protestors. A large barricade topped with barbed wire was erected this morning and the demonstrators were less than happy to find it there. Rocks that were thrown over the fence were thrown back by police, landing randomly amongst bystanders in the crowd of the demonstrators. Pepper gas was sprayed and the scene was tense.

Several banners were hung over the barricade and Mr. Lee climbed on top of the fence, emotionally gesturing towards the crowd. A symbolic coffin was lifted by protestors from the Korean Organization of People's Action (KOPA), who attempted to force it through the barricade.

« The coffin is a part of a traditional Korean ceremony that we used to symbolically represent the death of the WTO, » said Ji-Young Park, a member of the organization.

It was during this tense point of the march that Mr. Lee turned towards the police and proceeded to stab himself, as footage shot by the Independent Media Center clearly reveals. Representatives from KOPA described Mr. Lee as a, « quiet, sensitive man, » during an emotional scene in front of the hospital where Mr. Lee died, where other protesters present started to chant, « We are all Lee. »

Indeed, Mr. Lee had a humble background, as he came from a family who suffered through rural poverty. After having struggled as a poor farmer for many years, Mr. Lee became involved in activism as an advocate for farmers and eventually became the president of the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation.

Mr. Lee attracted attention in Europe this past February when he put up a tent in front of the WTO headquarters in Geneva, staging a solo protest against Mr. Stuart Harbinson, who is the chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture in the WTO. Mr. Lee had one placard that said « WTO Kills Farmers, » which coincidentally he also had on hand when he was on top of the fence today before he stabbed himself.

A little bit over two years ago, Carlo Giuliani was killed at the hands of a young Italian policeman during anti-corporate-globalization protests in Genoa and his funeral was attended by hundreds of thousands of people in Italy. His death was a matter of controversy and importance for some time and will always be known as the first fatality since the anti-corporate-globalization movement first came to prominence in 1999 following massive protests in Seattle against the WTO.

Similarly, Mr. Lee's death may have additional ramifications, rather than being a mere rallying point for the anti-corporate-globalization movement. Anonymous sources who have had contact with an observer in the South Korean delegation to the WTO ministerial revealed plans in the work for a walk-out tomorrow. That walk-out could have a domino effect as South Korea is far from being the only country that is disgruntled with present negotiations.

Whether or not that walk-out does happen, today's death is sure to have a lasting impact, as actions are already being planned for tomorrow in commemoration of what Mr. Lee's Korean friends termed, « the maximum sacrifice one could undertake to show his dedication to the cause and the movement against the WTO. »

Mira también:
http://antiwto.jinbo.net/eroom/index.html
http://www.viacampesina.org/welcome_english.php3