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An armed terrorist group in Iraq have taken a Korean hostage, threatening to kill him if the Korean government does not withdraw all its troops from Iraq and withdraw its plan to send additional troops. The Korean hostage, Kim Sun-il, crying out for his life saying, ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡± looked extremely gruesome and heartbreaking.
More than ever, we are enraged by this terrorist act of kidnapping an innocent civilian and we strongly denounce such an outrageous inhumane act. If Kim had been targeted solely for being a Korean, then it is an attack against Korea and the Korean people as a whole. Korea¡¯s intention for dispatching troops to Iraq is for the peaceful reconstruction of Iraq, not an attempt to fight against the Iraqi people.
So far, Korea¡¯s peaceful reconstruction approach has been made clear by the devotional efforts of the Korean Seohee and Jaema Corps (medical and engineering units), which have impressed the hearts of many Iraqi people. The Zaitun Division, getting ready to leave for Iraq, would serve no other purpose than for a peaceful reconstruction. The Korean government must immediately inform the Iraqi people of the peaceful intentions of the additional troop dispatch. That is the only way to fundamentally avoid any kind of terrorism against the Korean people.
The most serious barrier in saving Kim is the urgency of time. The government must begin convincing the terrorist group at once through Iraq¡¯s religious leaders and, if necessary, engage in off-the-record negotiations. Although Japan has dispatched troops to Iraq, its government has successfully rescued Japanese hostages kidnapped by the terrorists. The government must organize prompt diplomatic mutual cooperation with such allies that have experienced similar cases. At the same time, the government should arrange complex countermeasures at a national level to not only protect the safety of Koreans living in the Middle East, but to protect the nation from further terrorist threats. Moreover, it is essential that the Korean people strictly comply with the anti-terrorist policies provided by the government in order to avoid personal misfortune and the sad plight of the nation.
However, no matter how precise the plan would be, it may be difficult to totally block out threats of terrorism. Therefore, an important factor would be how much the government and its people maturely confront the situation against terrorism. Surrendering to a terrorist attack is the same as inviting terrorism.
The fundamental rule and intention of Korean troop dispatch to Iraq must not be swayed by this incident. If we can¡¯t accept any sacrifice, we should not have had planned for another dispatch. In that sense, in the midst of this agitated situation, the signing of the anti-American statements by some members of the ruling party¡¯s lawmakers and holding a candle-lit rally protesting against the additional troop dispatch to Iraq would not in any way help save the hostage and aid the difficult situation Korea finds itself in.
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