On the heels of North Korean defector Shin
Dong Hyuk’s admission that some elements of his story were untrue, a group of North Korean defectors who are political prison camp survivors, and family members of the victims, have responded to claims made by a North Korean media outlet that all defector
testimony is just as unreliable as Shin’s. “Shin’s admission of his lies goes
to prove that everything told by those who claim to be ‘defectors from the
north’ cannot be trusted and the above-said report [referring to the UN
Commission of Inquiry report] is peppered with sheer lies.” The statement was
posted online through Uriminzokkiri, the propaganda arm of North Korea’s
Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland. It continued, “The
establishment of the ‘human rights office’ and all so-called human rights
slander and commotion must also stop.”
The statement read, “We the North Korean defectors who are political
prison camp survivors…hereby request that the North Korean government release
information about… the prison camps in North Korea, before claiming to the
world that the UN’s COI report is groundless and invalid.”
The Shin Dong Hyuk incident, which incited
this tit for tat exchange between the survivors and Uriminzokkiri, started when Shin
admitted that some aspects of his account had been falsified. During interviews
conducted for the purpose of a biography written by Washington Post journalist
Blaine Harden, Shin misrepresented his age and location. Following the release
his popular memoir, Escape From Camp 14, Shin was thrust into the international spotlight as an icon for North Korean human rights–appearing in news media and speaking at
conferences–but now controversy surrounds the veracity of his testimony.
Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN’s COI, is
taking the news in stride, saying, “Mr. Shin was one of 320 witnesses who
testified publicly or privately, and the Commission’s final decision was made
based on the countless number of testimonies drawn from its investigation.” A
spokesperson for the US State Department reiterated this sentiment during a
media interview on January 20th. “This should not distract from the issue
at hand, which is the DPRK’s deplorable human rights situation, for which more
than ample evidence exists.” Human rights groups estimate that 100-200 thousand
North Koreans are currently locked up in political prison camps, where they are
routinely worked to exhaustion, starved, and tortured. In light of this, this group of victims and their families is going on the offensive in retaliation.
To make a valid nullification of the COI
report, the group of signatories is insisting that North Korea reveal the location of the
political prison camps, release the whereabouts of defector’s family members,
and detail specific evidence to countenance claims verified in the COI. “Only after
our three requests are met with genuine explanation and reply from the North
Korean regime… will we be able to accept the North Korean regime’s claim of
nullifying and invalidating the resolutions passed in the UN.” The letter is
signed by a number of political prison camp survivors, including Kang Cheol
Hwan, who also rose to prominence in the North Korean human rights field after
the publication of his biography, The Aquariums of Pyongyang.
The letter’s writers, who want more than
anything else to get some peace of mind about family members still being held in these camps, would like to see the spotlight restored to its rightful position, leading the
way towards a brighter future for those trapped in political prison camps with
no immediate hope for escape or redemption.
