See No Evil
And to think that in Roh Moo-Hyun’s administration, Ban Ki-Moon is actually the sensible one. Via the Chosun Ilbo:
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told a press conference on Wednesday the government would take some time to decide its position on the conference scheduled for Dec. 8-11 since it was a privately organized event. He also hinted that the government is wary of meeting with Jay Lefkowitz, the special U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights, who will come to Seoul to attend the conference. Ban said he would decide whether to meet with Lefkowitz only if there is a request.
I can see reasonable differences in how to improve human rights in the North. Some, and I think they’re misguided, think that we can coax North Korea to liberalize through talks or even some sort of Helsinki process. Some of us on the more extreme side believe that the end of the regime is a condition precedent to any liberalization of consequence, and that we should be trying to form an alliance with the North Korean people to achieve that result, even if it could take years. Some even think Han Brix and the U.N. will be the salvation of North Korea. Those goals are debatable. But official ambivalence to the very facts of life in North Korea today, and to the very idea that we should seek to improve the conditions of life for people there, strikes me as simply indefensible.
“The government’s involvement in the conference could affect inter-Korean relations as a whole,” officials said. “We are mindful how the North will react to the conference since inter-Korean ministerial talks are scheduled on Dec. 13, right after the conference.
I’m also perplexed about what Ban gains, or who he makes happy, by going public with the sort of addled, indecisive ambivalence that good diplomats hide like their their wives’ drinking habits.
Here, then, is my question for Ban and Roh. Can either of you (or in your absence, Mi-Hwa) name a single accomplishment of tangible value to the people of either North or South Korea that Sunshine has accomplished since 1997? Is there less artillery aimed at Seoul? Can North Koreans visit or call their relatives in the South? Do southererns have any freedom to travel in the North? Has the oppression in the North relaxed? Is there less hunger in the North than in 1997? Does Seoul’s refusal to even talk about human rights in the North show any promise of improving or saving the lives of those who will condemn Seoul’s silence until their dying days?
The conference is a high-profile event to be attended by representatives from 30 international organizations and human rights groups. The U.S. is contributing funds through the semi-official Freedom House pressure group.
This is journalistic malpractice. Let’s begin with what is true. FH does receive substantial support from the U.S. government when it sumbits winning grant proposals. Freedom House did receive $2 million in Section 102 funds from the State Department, money that was appropriated per the North Korean Human Rights Act. But most of its funds come from private donors. And as we know, not all parts of the U.S. goverment are equally enthusiastic about following the NKHRA’s directives. “Semi-official?” On what basis? FH competed with several other NGOs for that grant money, which no more makes FH semi-official than any other government contractor. Basic research should have at least included a visit to FH’s Web site, which lists the long roll of private donors who keep it afloat. Some of the names on that list may surprise you; they’re a diverse group, to say the least.