Jun 08 2009
Two American journalists sentenced for 12 years (update)
Update: The DailyNK has a good article to give some hope. I like hope, well, as hopeful as this situation can be. While nobody can be certain where they will be held, this article does make sense (somewhat), because of these women are worked to death, or sent to a camp like Yodok, how can North Korea hope for ransom in return? From the article (which gave some hope):
Labor camp prisons are not dealt with by the National Security Agency but the People’s Safety Agency. Prisoners are detained in the labor camps under the PSA and are not classified as political prisoners. Family members or relatives of prisoners can visit the reeducation camp and are allowed to bring in food for prisoners. When the term of imprisonment expires, the prisoners can be released.
Emphasis mine. My God, I hope so. However, it does not make the situation any better, but does give hope.
The two have a high chance of being sent to one or other of two special reeducation camps. The People’s Safety Agency operates special reeducation camps in order to detain officials of the Workers’ Party, other high cadres or important figures who need to be well treated. These camps are better-equipped than other general camps. They serve relatively better food.
Let’s hope this is true as well. I am not taking the seriousness of the situation lighter though, because there is no confirmations on where they will be sent.
Original post: Two American journalists filming near the North Korean border in China were captured and held for months have been sentenced to twelve years hard labor by the Central Court in Pyongyang according to the New York Times and many other news sources.
More at ROK Drop and One Free Korea (With update)
While it may be redundant to post this when I agree with these other bloggers, one more will not hurt. I am going to be busy today calling my congressman and others to help secure the release of these women and ask them to put the massive human rights abuses in North Korea front and center (I am not holding my breath, but something is better than nothing). This has not happened yet, and Pyongyang still gets the goodies. My friends, something has to give here. North Korea regulary uses people as pawns as ROK Drop points out, not to mention the abductions. Somehow, this has to stop, and the only way I think this is going to stop when the tyrannical rule of Kim ends (whatever Kim that may be).
Please visit Euna Lee’s and Laura Ling’s Facebook page to see what you can do to help secure their release.
Could these women be the champions for the thousands of voiceless souls languishing in North Korea’s prison camp system? I do not hear a lot about North Korea’s infamous prison camp system in the mainstream press. Now that these women have been sentenced and no word has been said on where they are being sent, speculation abounds. Whatever that place may be, places like Yodok are not Camp Snoopy. However, these women are just two of thousands needing a voice and somebody to care. I do not see Washington caring. It is time they got off their ass and do something about human rights in the DPRK. Again, I am not holding my breath, but my mom always said, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”.
Yes, call me stupid, but I hold hope for human rights even if the situation looks bleak.
With that said, I also agree the Kim Jong Il regime will be paid for their release:
I see no way the US government will allow these two to be held hostage in North Korea for 12 years. Something will be worked out to get them released; I just have to wonder how much the US government is willing to give up to do so? (ROK Drop)
Joshua also makes a good point:
It is hard to predict with certainty what will happen next. It seems there is a consensus out there that the two women will eventually be released, although it could be months before they see freedom. My fear is that if North Korea senses it is being pushed into a corner it cannot get out of, these two women will remain in DPRK custody for a very long time. Having said this, I feel it is too late for the U.S. to effectively separate the Ling-Lee case from North Korea’s nuclear program. Although I believe it was a good effort by the U.S. and a smart approach to take publicly, the two were always intended by the DPRK regime to be pawns in the greater scheme of things. (One Free Korea)
I cannot begin to imagine the sheer horror of even a few months of hard labor in North Korea. May they be released soon.
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