[imText1]“I believe there is a holocaust going on right now in North Korea… Today, we know that Kim Jong Il is committing genocide by targeting specific groups for extermination-specifically those he deems disloyal.”
Suzanne Scholte, who has been fighting for human rights in North Korea and West Sahara for years, accepted The Seoul Peace Prize yesterday at the Shilla Hotel. At the award ceremony, Ms. Scholte received the Seoul Peace Prize not just for herself, but for those who have inspired her work: the North Korean defectors and the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara. “By recognizing my work, you also honor them for they have inspired me in all my efforts and given me strength and endurance” she added.
During her acceptance speech, Ms. Scholte not only thanked those who worked with her and gave her opportunities, including many North Korean defectors, but also encouraged the South Korean and U.S. governments to take further steps in dealing with North Korean human rights issues as a primary concern. She was not shy about criticizing those who had been silent about North Korean human rights and North Korea’s atrocities. She challenged the ceremony participants to take actions by questioning, “How many more North Koreans need to die before we recognize and stop these atrocities? …Who is considering their suffering, their well-being?”
She condemned North Korea’s Kim Jong Il regime and blamed him for hundreds and thousands of deaths and for brainwashing the people. As ways to open a human rights gate to North Korea, she suggested that the International Red Cross “be allowed to visit the political prison camps to provide food and medicines, at the very minimum”. She also believes that we need to “work with other nations in the region to establish a First Asylum Policy for the North Korean refugees”. She further encouraged the U.S. and South Korea to work together to implement a policy that guarantees the safety and protection of any North Korean refugee, especially those in China, Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
“Right now we have the greatest asset to bring about reform and change in North Korea- the defectors… who know how to lead the way forward… These defectors need your support. They are already in the thick of this battle in this fight for human rights which, I believe, can be won with the power of information and truth, just as the Cold War was won.”
Suzanne Scholte has served as president of the Defense Forum Foundation and the North Korea Freedom Coalition. She promoted the human rights conditions of North Korea even when the South Korean government was intentionally ignorant of such matters. In April 1999, Ms. Scholte organized the first U.S. Senate hearing on North Korea’s political prison camps. Since then she has continued to unveil the atrocities of the Kim Jong Il regime and the miserable conditions that the North Korean defectors face. Her ceaseless efforts in improving North Korean human rights played a major role in getting the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 passed in the U.S. Congress and in raising awareness worldwide about the realities of North Korea and the North Korean defectors.
The Seoul Peace Prize is awarded biennially to those who have contributed to the promotion of world peace and harmony. The past laureates include former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Doctors without Borders, and former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. George Pratt Shultz.
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