[imText1]Lawyers were out on the streets to demand North Korea to repatriate the abducted.
Seoul Bar Association (chairperson: Lee Jun Beom) and Families of Abducted and Detained in North Korea (representative: Choi Seong Ryong) held a joint rally at the Lawyers’ Hall in Seocho, Seoul at 11 in the morning on the 20th day. They issued a declaration for the human rights of minorities in society, and urged North Korea to repatriate the abducted.
70 people including 40 lawyers from Seoul participated in the rally under the slogan of ‘We have not forgotten you!’
The participants urged the South to enact a special law for the abducted while they marched from the Lawyers’ Hall to Seoul National University of Education Subway Station for 15 minutes, carrying signs showing slogans like ‘With our backs to human rights, cooperation with the North is like building a sand castle,’ and ‘Enact a special law immediately. Establish an exclusive post.’
Around the Seoul National University of Education Subway Station, the participants appealed to passersby to support the movement for the repatriation of the abducted in North Korea by distributing handouts. Even though it was cold, passersby paid considerable attention to them partly because of their enthusiasm.
Seoul Bar Association is the first among legal circles to march in the street for a specific case, which means its will to help the abducted is strong and firm.
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| ▲ Lawyers distribute handouts that illustrate the issues of the abducted |
Seoul Bar Association has planned to carry out human rights movements for the minorities in society. By means of the movements, the association intends to reveal the severe realities of human rights abuse of the minorities in society and demand law systems for promoting human rights. As the first action, the association held the street campaign for the repatriation of the abducted in North Korea.
Lee Jun Beom, the chairperson of Seoul Bar Association, said, “Those families where a member of the family has been abducted by North Korea have spent some 20 years with sighs and desperation without knowing whether their kinsman are dead or not. Their suffering continues due to the Southern political cause of reconciliation and cooperation, and the majority’s indifference. We are an association for human rights whose fundamental duty is to protect and support human rights in the world. Therefore, it is natural for us not to be able to turn our backs to the painful outcries of the families of the abducted.”
Choi Seong Ryong, representative of Families of Abducted and Detained in North Korea, commented, “Lawyers’ aid will be extremely helpful for us. In fact, we have felt as if we were alone because of the government’s 5 year indifference and inhospitality regarding our issue. We will be more eager to act for the repatriation of our kinsmen as if it were the starting point of our efforts.”
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| ▲ Participants are marching in the street |
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| ▲ Lee Jai Gun, Jeon Jeong Pal, and Kim Byeong Do, the three repatriates, also participated |
Choi Mi Ja, Choi Jang Gun’s daughter, read a letter to the President in the rally. Her father was an officer of the fishery department of Tongyeong City Hall. He was abducted by North Korea while he was guiding fishermen in the East Sea on the 10th of May, 1977.
Through the letter, Ms. Choi said, “We tried to choose a day for a memorial service for our father, but we could not make a choice because we even don’t know whether he is dead or alive. We have no other choice but to just weep for our father. We no longer expect our folks to return alive, but we definitely need to know if they are alive, and see a special law enacted for them. The government must not avoid our requests.”
