SOUTH KOREA / WESTERN EUROPE
Fortress Europe conglomerates have become apparent.
Many of the problems have already been encountered in the developed capitalist countries. Just as in the US (with Ford or
ON JUNE 3, 1990, the French parliament passed, by a large
General Motors in Detroit) and Europe
(with Fiat in Turin) the most important majority, the June 19,1990 convention on the implementation industrial groups are tending to reduce
The the enormous productive centres.
This convention clarifies the terms of the original agreement
South Korean government is currently putting strong pressure on the chaebols signed on June 14, 1985, between representatives of the to convince them to specialize in specific
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, the German Federal fields and reduce their concentrations of production.
Italy joined this initial "Schengen group" of countries on
Urgent need for industrial
November 27, 1990, after five years observer status, while the restructuring
Spanish State and Portugal are to adhere on June 25, 1991.
is
The agreement will come into effect when the convention has
The need for restructuring now becoming urgent; although still higher been ratified by all the member countries, probably in the than in the most developed capitalist countries, South Korean growth rates have been in decline over the past three years, with estimates of between 3 and
7% for 1991. Exports, long the key to the
South Korean boom, grew by 36% in
1987 and 28.4% in 1988, but fell by 3% in 1990.12 This ycar the government is aiming to limit the rise in the minimum wage to 12%, while the unions are demanding 19%.'3
The birth of Chunnohyup was followed in November 1990 by the creation of the
People's Party (Minjoungdang), which is the political expression of the new independent workers' movement and is supported by the student movement.
Its leader, Jon Ki Pyong enjoys great popularity in the country and all its Icaders, which include workers, students and intellectuals, have already spent several terms in the country's prisons. The hostility of the pro-North Korean current towards the Minjoungdang, which calls for national reunification without making it the central point in its programme, is a sign of this party's independence. Its programme follows to a large extent that of
Chunnohyup (sce box).
While based on the unions, it brings together a range of political outlooks, including the various left and social dem-
(above all Catholics), sectors of the peasant movement, women's organizations and left wing elements of the civil rights' who denounce censorship and struggle for the relcase of the political prisoners.
Minjoungdang is a party in formation, but its militants are already discussing the possibility of putting up its own lists in next year's national elections. Apparently the party has not yet taken a firm position on its attitude to Kim Dae Jung, the main leader of the liberal democratic opposition, the only force opposed to the regime present in the South Korcan par-
18 12. Hid.
13. Korea Labor, op. cit.
International Viewpoint #210 • July 8, 1991 of the Schengen agreement. Republic (FRG) and France'. latter half of 1992. BEATRICE RAYMAN
W HILE envisaging the dis-
appearance of the borders agreement also involves the establishment of draconian frontier controls on the external border, the stepping-up of cooperation between police forces and the creation of a gigantic computerized information bank, the Schengen Information System (SIS)?. Charged with the ures" for the abolition of internal frontiers, the agreement will lead to the building of a formidable repressive
The text's main provisions concern the creation of highly restrictive immigration legislation for the Europe Community. Thus people coming from non-EC states will be unable to penetrate the walls of the Schengen fortress without "thorough controls". In the context of the creation of an EC-wide visa, the signatorics have drawn up a black list of 104 countries for which possession of such a visa will be required.
This list is to have the force of an instruction and it can only be changed if all the member states agrce. Thus, to come into line, since summer 1990, Italy has required people coming from north Africa to have such a visa. On May 15, 1991, the Spanish state followed suit. On the other hand, on the request of the Germans, visa requirements have been abolished for Hungarians, Polcs, Czechs and Slovaks.
Anyone who may be considered as presenting a "threat to public national security and international relations" will be refused entry into the Schengen arca - thus opening the door to all manner of arbitrariness.
To "efficiently" control the right of entry, the agreement envisages the creation of files on "undesirables". The foreigner who has been designated a persona non grata in the SIS files will be forbidden to stay in any of the signatory countries, except in exceptional circumstances. The text considers that, even when residence has been permitted, this can be withdrawn. To get put on the "undesirable" list it is enough to have been found guilty of any crime that carries a sentence of more than a year.
The discrimination will not stop at the outer borders of the Schengen area While people from member states will be able to circulate freely, foreigners residing in any one of these states who want to visit another will have to register with the local police.
Even more seriously, the agreements only cover the metropolitan area and thus do not apply to people from overseas territories. In the Schengen area, people from, for example, Guadelupe, Martinique or New Caledonia are considered as foreigners.
Carriers to be made responsible
Another part of the agreement undermines the traditional right to asylum. Thus, it will be impossible for an asylum seeker refused asylum in one country to seck it in another of the signatory coun tries. Furthermore, as has already been the case in Germany, Belgium, Britain and Denmark, the carrier will be made responsible for the arrival of foreigners without the right papors and will face a fine.3
Police cooperation is to be stepped up. The creation of an "observation law" will
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In this context, the weaknesses of the