Indian seafarers step up pressure on South Korea (3)

1 Name: Unverified Source : 2009-01-16 12:08 ID:yk/TabTW

SOUTH Korea will come under increasing pressure later this month to release the master and chief engineer of the Hebei Spirit .

The jailing of the vessel’s two senior officers, after initially being found innocent, has outraged the international shipping industry.

Representatives for the vessel’s master, Jasprit Chawla, and chief engineer, Syam Chetan, are seeking bail pending an appeal at South Korea’s supreme court.

National Union of Seafarers of India general secretary Abdulgani Serang said there would be a call for a boycott by Indian seafarers of ships calling at South Korean ports if there was no positive news over the bail application.

He told Lloyd’s List today that the boycott, which would cover both Indian and foreign-flagged ships, would start on February 1.

It follows a public boycott of South Korean, especially Samsung, products by Indian consumers which Mr Serang was already having an effect on sales.

The call for the port boycott would be made by the union alliance, which includes the National Union of Seafarers of India, the Maritime Union of India and the Merchant Navy Officers Association.

2 Name: Unverified Source : 2009-01-16 12:09 ID:Heaven

Mr Serang said the union “respected South Korea’s judicial system” but felt there was no other alternative.

He added that the seafarers union are also organising weekly demonstrations starting this Saturday in major cities across India to raise public awareness of the plight of the Hebei Two and South Korea’s involvement in the continued incarceration of the two men.

“We want to take the issue to the masses,” he said.

Demonstrations will be held in cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Cochin and follow rallies in Mumbai and Chennai last month including one in Mumbai where protestors smashed Samsung products.

The International Transport Workers Federation also confirmed it was working with shipowner groups, including Intertanko and Intercargo, for a rally outside the South Korean embassy in London on January 23 to protest against the jailing of the Hebei Two.

ITF spokesman Sam Dawson told Lloyd’s List that permission for the event was still being sought from the Metropolitan Police and that further details would be released assuming the go-ahead was given by the police. Senior union officials from India have been invited to attend.

The Hebei Two were jailed on December 10 at an appeal court hearing for not doing enough to prevent a massive oil spill after the anchored Hebei Spirit was holed by a drifting crane barge owned by Samsung Heavy Industries.

Capt Chawla was jailed for 18 months and Mr Chetan for eight months after being cleared on June 23 at a district court.

http://lloydslist.com/ll/news/indian-seafarers-step-up-pressure-on-south-korea/20017605787.htm

3 Name: Unverified Source : 2009-01-16 12:14 ID:Heaven

Sikh Federation sends memo to PM
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 9
The Uttaranchal Sikh Federation (USF) activists today staged
a protest demonstration at the District Magistrate office.
The protesters were demanding that Indian government should
take immediate steps for the release of Capt Jaspreet Chawla,
convicted by South Korean High Court, in the Hebei Spirit oil
spill case.

The family members of Capt Chawla including his mother and
father Bhupinder Kaur and Manjit Singh, respectively said
Korean government had done injustice with Capt Chawla and it
is the responsibility of the Indian government to help its
citizen. The USF members also submitted a memorandum in this
regard to the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh through
District Magistrate, Amit Singh Negi.

The memorandum, a copy of which was released to the press
reads, “On December 7, 2007, a tug towed crane barge owned by
Samsung Heavy Industries struck the anchored Hong Kong
registered very large crude carrier Hebei Spirit in South
Korea, which resulted in leaking tons of oil in the sea.
Subsequently, Capt of Hebei Spirit, Jaspreet Chawla and chief
officer, Shyam Chetan were made the scapegoats.” Giving the
details of the matter in chronological order, the memorandum
further mentioned that in no way Jaspreet Chawla and Shyam
Chetan were at fault and hence both of them should be set
free.

“A very strong voice has been raised in favour of the two
Indians and against the South Korean government in
International Markets of Shipping Associations in the world.
It is a matter of great concern that why the Indian
government is yet to take up the matter seriously,” the
memorandum further reads. The USF members also stated that
since matter is related to a foreign country, only high-level
efforts by India could help the two innocent Indians.

Meanwhile, the USF president Gurdeep Singh Toni said on
January 10, their Federation activists along with the family
members of the Capt Jaspreet Chawla would be holding a
protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090110/dun.htm#1

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