SANTA CLARA -- More than 240 Korean-Americans waived placards and handed out leaflets in Santa Clara on Sunday, seeking to pressure the South Korean government to fully investigate fatalities from a ferry disaster last month.
The protest was one of about 20 held nationally, organizers said, with all of them intended to attract the attention of Americans as well as Koreans to the April 16 tragedy that occurred off the country's southwest coast, in the East China Sea. Protesters are upset over what they say are many unanswered questions about the sinking of a ferry. More than 300 people, most of them high school students, died or are missing in the accident.
"Our objective is to remember the ferry victims, honor their lives and show support for the victims' families," said Shawn Kim, 35, one of Sunday's organizers. Members of an online Korean-American women's group, MissyUSA, organized the protests in cities including Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The protests followed massive candlelight gatherings in South Korea demanding answers from the government.
In Santa Clara, protesters chose the Lawrence Square Shopping Center for its visibility at busy El Camino Real near Lawrence Expressway off-ramps, as well as the predominance of Korean-owned businesses in the neighborhood.
The ferry's captain and three crew members have been charged with homicide for allegedly being negligent in protecting the passengers on board, the Associated Press has reported. Eleven other crew members are facing lesser charges. Students, instructed to stay in their rooms, drowned when the ferry listed then sunk.
Protesters want a full and transparent investigation, Kim said, into what she called the apparent disregard for safety regulations, mishandled rescue and the Korean government's refusal to accept search-and-rescue help from other governments. She said in South Korea, those who are protesting to seek answers are getting arrested. The government, she said, is "hiding the truth and we want to know why."
