BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY JACK STRAW MEETS NORTH KOREAN GULAG SURVIVOR
By Jeremy Reynalds (09/06/05)
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has met with former North Korean political child-prisoner Kang Cheol Hwan.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the Foreign Secretary asked Kang about his imprisonment in a political prison camp at the age of nine for an alleged offence by his grandfather.
After hearing Kang speak, CSW reported that Straw expressed his abhorrence for a system that would punish a child for the alleged crime of a relative, saying "such treatment of nine- year- old children defies imagination."
Asked about the country's current political climate, CSW reported that Kang confirmed the gulag system exists today, with an estimated 200,000 inmates (www.hrnk.org/hiddengulag/toc.html).
Straw praised Kang for his work in campaigning for improvements in human rights in North Korea. CSW reported he stated that the British Government is "very concerned indeed about the human rights situation."
According to a news release from Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391638&a=KArticle&aid=1125559797902), Straw also said that Britain and Kang "share a common goal in attempting to raise the international awareness of the human rights abuses taking place there. The British Government presses the North Korean authorities on human rights abuses at every opportunity, urging them in particular to cooperate with UN mechanisms and to allow international monitors to inspect prison camps."
Kang thanked the Foreign Secretary for the advocacy being carried out by the United Kingdom (UK) in reference to North Korea, CSW reported, and expressed appreciation for the UK's consistent position on human rights in the country. He emphasized the important role that the UK and European Union (EU) have to play in addressing the human rights situation.
Kang urged the British Government, CSW reported, to give special attention to the violence, oppression and death occurring in the North Korean prison camps.
According to CSW, Kang also urged the British Government to bring pressure to bear on China to stop its repatriation of North Koreans, a contradiction of its obligations under the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
CSW's International Advocate, Elizabeth Batha, who organized the meeting, encouraged the Foreign Secretary to use the UK Presidency of the EU to take a strong lead within the international community in bringing up human rights concerns, especially through the EU and the UN.
Straw also said, "It was an honor to meet Mr. Kang Cheol Hwan, who has experienced at first hand the despicable human rights abuses committed by the North Korean regime. North Korea is rightly considered to have one of the worst human rights records in the world, with arbitrary detention, political executions, torture, labor camps and extreme religious persecution commonplace."
Kang presented the Foreign Secretary, CSW reported, with his autobiography "Aquariums of Pyongyang." The book tells the story of Kang's ten years of imprisonment in Yodok prison camp and his ultimate dangerous escape to China, where he lived in hiding before stowing away on a cargo ship to South Korea.
According to CSW, President George W. Bush was so moved by reading Kang's book that he invited him to the White House in June 2005 to talk about his experiences in the camp, in China and about policy regarding North Korea.
Commenting on his meeting with the Foreign Secretary, CSW reported Kang said: "The meeting was meaningful and important, and I was assured that the Government of the United Kingdom has a clear understanding of the human rights crisis in North Korea. As the British Government has diplomatic relations and an embassy in Pyongyang, I believe the United Kingdom is in the best position to address human rights in North Korea. The UK has a long and glorious history of liberty, freedom and protection of individual rights. I expect that in the near future the ethos of the British people will be channeled to the North Korean population, eventually leading to change of this very closed society. When freedom comes, the people of North Korea will deeply appreciate what the British people and government have done, are doing, and will do, for them."
Following the meeting with the Foreign Secretary, Elizabeth Batha of CSW added, "The UK has increasingly recognized ... the very severe violations in North Korea and the imperative need for these to be addressed. CSW welcomes the Foreign Secretary's concern over the gulag system, and his assurances of concern over human rights in North Korea. We encourage the UK to utilize its Presidency of the EU to articulate these concerns in the strongest and most effective terms."
According to CSW, Kang has been traveling in Europe with a delegation from the human rights organization Freedom House (www.nkfreedomhouse.org), and has been calling on the international community to bring an end to the human rights violations and the gulag system in North Korea.
For more information about CSW, go to www.csw.org.uk
Additional information about Kang is available at www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050515/news_mz1e15howard.html
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