On March 17th, amid the 28th session of the
UN Human Rights Council, a special event was held to screen the recently
produced short film, “Answer Me,” wherein North Korean defectors, personally
affected by the political prison camp system [kwanliso] in North Korea, demand that the
authorities take responsibility to remove the truths behind the political prison camps from obscurity.
The film opens with Kim Dong Nam, who does
not know the whereabouts of his son who was taken away by State Security
Department agents, followed by Kim Young Hee, who demands to know the whereabouts
and condition of her brother who is currently being held in a political prison
camp in North Korea. Kang Cheol Hwan and Jung Gwang Il, both kwanliso victims, demand transparency from the North about what’s happening behind the
walls of these inhumane facilities.
These brave individuals call on the
North Korean authorities to cease their systematic inhumane oppression of human
rights, their voices shaking yet resolute as they reopen wounds to talk
about these painful experiences and losing family members.
Kang asks, “How can a nine-year-old
child be a political prisoner?” while Jeong points out, “Why was I
tortured for 10 months? It was so horrible I made a false confession,” his eyes
brimming with tears. Kwon and Kim call on the authorities to fulfill their most
basic right–knowledge about their family members’ whereabouts and well-being.
This film, produced by Unification Media
Group at the request of ICNK, seeks to fight back against claims by the
North Korean authorities that the UN Commission of Inquiry Report on North Korea is a fabrication underpinned by
false defector testimony.
Scores of dignitaries, journalists, UN
Human Rights Council members, diplomats, and North Korean defectors attended
the special screening event; Marzuki Darusman, the UN’s special rapporteur on
North Korean human rights issues; and U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human
Rights, Robert King, were also in attendance.
Those unable to view the embedded video may find it at the following link.
