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A civic group dedicated to improving human rights in North Korea on Thursday sent an open questionnaire to Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Unification in protest against President Roh Moo-hyun's decision to watch North Korea¡¯s notorious mass propaganda calisthenics when he goes to Pyongyang in October.
Presidential chief secretary for national security Baek Jong-chun said the South needs ¡°to respect the host North Korea's position. We decided to watch a performance of ¡®Arirang¡¯¡± -- the title of the event -- ¡°in the belief that now is the time for us to approach the issue from the standpoint of recognizing each other's system."
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Members of conservative civic groups protest on Sept. 21 against President Roh Moo-hyun's plan to watch North Korea's 'Arirang' mass gymnastic propaganda performance during his visit to the North for the inter-Korean summit next week.
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But the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights said, "At home and abroad, there is controversy over child abuse in the ¡°Arirang¡± performances. If President Roh were to watch a performance of ¡°Arirang¡±, he may face public criticism that the South Korean head of state pro-actively aided and abetted North Korean authorities' infringement of human rights. ¡°We must ask President Roh what he thinks of the controversy over child abuse in the ¡®Arirang¡¯ performances and what the rationale for his judgment is." The group asked, "Are you willing to cancel your decision to watch the performance if there is evidence of child abuse?"
Grand National Party spokeswoman Na Kyung-won also objected. She said the propaganda performance, which literally features a cast of thousands forming giant patterns in perfect unison, has ¡°nothing to do with the success of the inter-Korean summit.¡± She expressed hope the president ¡°will put the human rights situation in North Korea on the agenda."
Meanwhile, senior GNP member Lee Jae-oh told a party meeting the fact that the defense minister is to accompany the commander-in-chief on his visit to North Korea could lead to a ¡°security vacuum.¡± ¡°It is inappropriate for the president and the defense minister to sit together at the inter-Korean summit, where both sides may discuss delicate inter-Korean military issues, including the Northern Limit Line," the de-facto sea border between the two Koreas. Lee called on the defense minister to change his mind.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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