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On April 28th, ‘NK Freedom Week’ in Washington, DC (U.S.) ended with an assembly in front of the Capitol Building and an all-night collective prayer in front of the Chinese ambassador to the U.S.
‘NK Freedom Week’ 2006 was the 3rd one held by the North Korean Freedom Coalition. The North Korean Freedom Coalition is an organization of religious and human rights associations in the U.S. that have combined their efforts to try and improve North Korea’s human rights conditions.
Remarkable Progress, Leading the NK Human Rights Issue
‘NK Freedom Day’ was launched in 2004 with a declaration that 4.28 of every year will be ‘NK Freedom Day’. The event came about as a way to urge the quick passage of the ‘North Korea Freedom Bill’ that was submitted to Congress in 2004. Through rallies and visits with key Congressional members, the participants of NK Freedom Day were able to persuade members of Congress of the dire reality of the human rights situation in North Korea and the necessity of the ‘North Korea Freedom Bill’. In the end, the ‘North Korea Human Rights Act’ was passed in October of 2004, despite the expectation that ‘it will be difficult to get it passed before the coming presidential election’.
The 2004 event involved such activities as Congressional hearings featuring the testimony of defectors as witnesses to the miserable North Korean human rights conditions, a visit with the Religious Freedom Committee regarding the lack of religious freedom in North Korea, as well as a demonstration in front of the United Nations headquarters.
In 2005, the week of April 22~28 was declared, ‘North Korea Freedom Week.’ The event warranted great attention by awarding ‘Freedom Medals’ to war captives who defected from North Korea and came to South Korea. Demonstrators gathered in front of the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. against the compulsory repatriation of North Korean refugees by the Chinese government.
This year, the 2006 event highlighted the North Korean ‘abduction’ issue. Returned abductees and their families, people abducted during the 6.25 war and their families, and Japanese abductees’ families were invited to the event, and they testified to North Korea’s abduction crimes at a Congressional hearing. The international community came to tangibly know that North Korea has frequently committed abduction crimes at the ‘regime level,’ and President Bush proclaimed that, “It is an unbelievable fact that a nation and its leader manipulated to abduct children.”
The highlight of this year’s event was that President Bush met with North Korean defectors and the families of abductees. President Bush met with Kim Han Mi and her family who were forcibly prevented from entering the Japanese consulate in Shenyang, China. This meeting sent a strong message to the Chinese government; that President Bush will not overlook the inhumane actions of the Chinese government.
President Bush also met with Kim Sung Min, a North Korean defector and the founder and director of Free NK Radio. This sent a message to the North Korea regime; a warning sign that the U.S. will support such projects that facilitate the flow of outside information into North Korea. So, ‘Kim Jong Il will have to prepare for it.’ At the same time, President Bush met with the Japanese family of Yokota Megumi who was believed to have died after being abducted in 1977. This is also a signal to Pyongyang that ‘from now on, he will thoroughly verify that crimes such as abduction, have been being committed for a long time.’ By now, Kim Jong Il should be quite uncomfortable with the news of President Bush’s meetings.
Kim Jong Il More Isolated, North Koreans More Hopeful
As seen above, ‘North Korean Freedom Week’ has remarkably evolved from an effort to support the ‘North Korea Human Rights Bill’ to a full out campaign for changing Chinese policies toward North Korean refugees, raising awareness of abductees and war prisoners, aiding North Korean defectors, and even a meeting with President Bush. These achievements were possible thanks to the efforts by NK human rights activists who have cultivated international solidarity for the dire North Korea human rights condition that has steadily gotten worse since the mid 90s.
The first activists were alone in their efforts; social interest was extremely low and few people participated in the movement. However, now the NK human rights movement has become a cause for major concern worldwide, gaining support on all levels – from individuals to NGOs to governments.
Above all, the biggest accomplishment is that 23 million North Koreans are no longer alone. Today they can look forward to a day when radio waves spread freely throughout the oppressive night air of North Korea and can find comfort in the fact that their international friends are watching at them and are working tirelessly to alleviate their suffering.
In July 2005, the first ‘International Convention for North Korean Human Rights’ sponsored by Freedom House, was held in Washington, DC (U.S.). The 2nd convention was held in December 2005 in Seoul, co-sponsored by domestic NK human rights organizations. The 3rd convention was held in Brussels, Belgium in March 2006, and was spearheaded by a consortium of European NGOs. This May, the ‘International Conference for NK Human Rights Refugees Issue’ will be held in Norway, sponsored by Citizen’s Alliance for North Korean Human Rights.
Overall, the louder the international voice is against North Korea’s human rights violations, the more hopelessly isolated the dictator will be, brining hope to the North Korean spring air. It won’t be long now before a wave of justice will sweep through North Korea, one that will not stop until it finally reaches a free, democratic, vast sea.
