February 2, 2004
AGAIN (via Bruce Cleaver):
Revealed: the gas chamber horror of North Korea's gulag: A series of shocking personal testimonies is now shedding light on Camp 22 - one of the country's most horrific secrets (Antony Barnett, February 1, 2004, The Observer)
In the remote north-eastern corner of North Korea, close to the border of Russia and China, is Haengyong. Hidden away in the mountains, this remote town is home to Camp 22 - North Korea's largest concentration camp, where thousands of men, women and children accused of political crimes are held.Now, it is claimed, it is also where thousands die each year and where prison guards stamp on the necks of babies born to prisoners to kill them.
Over the past year harrowing first-hand testimonies from North Korean defectors have detailed execution and torture, and now chilling evidence has emerged that the walls of Camp 22 hide an even more evil secret: gas chambers where horrific chemical experiments are conducted on human beings. [...]
With North Korea trying to win concessions in return for axing its nuclear programme, campaigners want human rights to be a part of any deal. Richard Spring, Tory foreign affairs spokesman, is pushing for a House of Commons debate on human rights in North Korea.
'The situation is absolutely horrific,' Spring said. 'It is totally unacceptable by any norms of civilised society. It makes it even more urgent to convince the North Koreans that procuring weapons of mass destruction must end, not only for the security of the region but for the good of their own population.'
Mervyn Thomas, chief executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: 'For too long the horrendous suffering of the people of North Korea, especially those imprisoned in unspeakably barbaric prison camps, has been met with silence ... It is imperative that the international community does not continue to turn a blind eye to these atrocities which should weigh heavily on the world's conscience.'
Saying "Never again" makes us all feel better, but when it starts happening again we show rather little interest in stopping it. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 2, 2004 8:41 PM
It is nice to dream that a disgusted world might rise as one to save these wretched people. But does it constitute an imminent genocide?
Surely they don't expect anybody to do anything until our international lawyers say we can. Don't they understand we are a civilized people?
Posted by: Peter B at February 3, 2004 6:24 AMIf half the stories coming out of NK are true, the place would be improved if it were nuked.
Posted by: Mike Earl at February 3, 2004 9:45 AMLet's keep in mind that what is occurring in N. Korea is "class" based persecution when taken to it's logical extreme. Discrimination, even when it ends in persecution, is tolerable to some if the motives are pure. Thus it will always be overlooked by those who are rightfully horrified by the race or ethnic based variety. "Never Again" and "Lest we Forget" have become, sadly, empty slogans which have proven themselves powerless in the face of the atrocities which have become commonplace at the hands of the utopian "left".
Posted by: Tom C., Stamford,Ct. at February 3, 2004 11:05 AMGenocide in North Korea is OK because it's not being done by blond-haired, blue-eyed Europeans under the banner of a hooked cross.
All fifty years of REMEMBER THE HOLOCAUST! has done is just sensitized us to the trappings and symbology of Naziism and to Germans in general, not repeat NOT to the attitudes and methods they used and that the NKs (and all those People's Democratic Republics) use.
As long as you don't salute from the shoulder, shout "SIEG HEIL!", or hoist the Hakenkreuz, (or go after Jews), it isn't really "genocide"...
"You'll always have Nazis among you;
Next time they won't wear brown shirts or boots,
They'll come speaking softly in three-piece suits..."
-- Donna Barr, Desert Peach: the Musical
Ken:
Well said, although I'm not so sure about that not going after Jews bit, especially if the criminals drop the discredited racial nonsense and focus on politically correct anti-Zionism.
Posted by: Peter B at February 3, 2004 4:59 PMIt takes the spotlight and the gun to keep this sort of evil at bay. The left doesn't like either one, and the right is ambivalent.
I remember thinking in 1984 that Reagan should have ordered the US Army to go to Ethiopia to organize the refugee camps and feed the starving. Anyone who interrupted would be shot - no questions asked. But it wasn't on the Republican radar screen. Would it have prevented subsequent famines (including the current one, which is probably about the worst)? No. But it might have helped establish some ground rules.
Rule 1: when Americans go to help, don't get in the way.
Today, we are in a phony war in the Balkans and in a real one in the Middle East. Which one is working out better? Which one do humans rights types prefer? That is all one needs to know about "never again". Unless someone says it with bread in one hand and a rifle in the other, walk away.
Posted by: jim hamlen at February 3, 2004 10:38 PM