North Korea Freedom Day 2005

Plans are already underway for this year’s North Korea Freedom Day, April 28th. Last year’s event marched from the Holocaust Museum to the Capitol to lobby for the North Korean Human Rights Act. This time, we’re taking our message directly to the Chinese embassies and consulates, and not just in Washington, either. According to organizer Suzanne Scholte of the Defense Forum Foundation, The protest will be worldwide.

With the passage of the North Korean Human Rights Act, the focus now shifts to other countries. The same organizations that will work together on this year’s protests will also work for the passage of human rights legislation in South Korea and Japan. Activists are pushing for legislation in Poland, France, and Norway. And as for those of us in D.C., the Chinese Embassy is just five blocks away from the South Korean Embassy . . . . Hey, I’m just saying . . . .

Other events in Washington, D.C. will include:

• A special Capitol Hill forum the week before the international protest with two former South Korean POWs held by North Korea since 1953. This special forum to honor these men who will be visiting Washington, D.C. for the first time to tell their stories will be held on Friday, April 22;

• A screening of the documentary film Seoul Train, discussing the plight of North Korean refugees; my review here;

• Tentative so far, but the North Korea Genocide Exhibit should hopefully open during the week of April 25th and conclude with a forum with North Korean defectors on Friday, April 29th.

If your country doesn’t have human rights legislation for North Korea yet, by all means, drop me a line, and we can get a discussion started. Maybe there’s something we can do about that.