17 March 2009

INTOLERABLE SUFFERING, STARVATION, torture, almost universal suffering, yada yada:

Thai jurist Vitit Muntarbhorn told the world body’s Human Rights Council that the situation in the communist-ruled country was “dire and desperate” with the population living in fear and pressed to inform on each other. “The country is under one-party rule. At the pinnacle there is an oppressive regime, bent on personal survival, under which the ordinary people of the land undergo intolerable and interminable sufferings,” he said.

Diplomats said his comments and an accompanying report, although similar in their conclusions to studies of North Korea from independent rights groups, were among the most critical on one country ever presented to a U.N. forum. Muntarbhorn, formally a special rapporteur for the Council which is not obliged to act on his recommendations, said the North Korean government’s abuse of its citizens should be addressed by the entire global community. [Reuters, Robert Evans]

Interesting to see Reuters report this:

Although North Korea and the military government in Myanmar have been the subject of relatively mild resolutions in the past, the Council — where Islamic countries have a strong voice — has issued five condemnations of Israel. [….]

Collective punishment was used, with whole families persecuted and sent into detention when a member falls foul of the authorities, he said. Public executions were common. Torture was used extensively and in the country’s jails, lack of food and forced labor helped ensure “many prisons are a death trap for the inmates.”

Yes, duly noted. And it’s pretty much foregone that the U.N. won’t do a damn thing about it as long as Ban Ki Moon is in change and China holds a veto. It can’t hurt that most members of the Islamic bloc are North Korean arms clients, frequently in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718. More here.

THE STORY OF MI SUN is one of nine featured in a series of short videos produced by LiNK. LiNK continues to impress me with advances in its artistry and creativity. If you like the good work that LiNK does, consider sending them a few bucks.

THE LATEST GOOD FRIENDS DISPATCH IS OUT, with some perspective for all the grim news about our economy. I’m guessing things aren’t about to get this bad:

Ryongdae Coal Mine, located in the Workers District, new Sungchun, in Sungchun County of South Pyongan Province, has been supplying its partial production to the Pyongyang Thermoelectric Power Plant. However, there has been a recent failure in supply, due to low productivity volume. The production level has dropped to about 27,000 MT a month. This coal mine had produced over 100,000 MT a month and about 1,000,000 MT a year. The workers blame their obsolete equipment, a lack of electricity, and transportation problems, as well as a lack of workers. There are only about 6,000 registered workers at this site; such a seriously depleted work force is due to a decrease in attendance level. A coal miner in his forties, named Choi Hyuk, said, “They do not give us our rations or any other vitamins. This is why attendance level has declined. Poor coal miners and mine diggers have nothing else to do but live as beggars. [Good Friends No. 268]

As always, there’s a lot of interesting stuff in there, including more on North Korea’s efforts to combat its serious methamphetamine problem.