Attention: Members of the News Media, Bangkok
I wish to inform you that a group of seven North Korean refugees,
all women, have arrived in the Nongkai Province of Thailand from
Laos from Laos and have presented themselves without delay to
the authorities at 09:00 hrs., Monday, 18 September 2006 in accordance
with Article 31 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees, which prohibits, among other things, imposing penalties
on refugees on account of their illegal entry. They are appealing
in desperation to the King and People of Thailand for safe passage
to the foreign authorities concerned and swift travel to the
country accepting them.
In August, the seven refugees met in China for the first time
during their journey south to escape the specter of repatriation
by Chinese authorities. At the time, the group was 11 women when
they arrived in Laos. As they entered the territory of Laos,
they endured cold and rain on a hillside for over 30 hours without
food and drink at which time they were finally rescued by an
international aid worker from Laos. The group was subsequently
reduced to seven when four of the refugees decided to seek their
own way independently a few days ago.
The desperate plight of the seven in Laos as well as their helplessness
when they arrive in Thailand have come to the attention of the
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (LFNKR), an NGO based in
Tokyo, Japan and Helping Hands Korea, an American NGO based in
East Asia. The individual profiles of the seven refugees are
attached.
LFNKR provides physical assistance for the survival of North
Korean refugees wherever they are encountered. We are also at
the forefront in demanding that these North Koreans be granted
the refugee status they deserve under the 1951 Geneva Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Your kind attention and bringing their situation to the attention
of Thai people and international community will be greatly appreciated.
Kato Hiroshi,
Secretary General,
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~fe6h-ktu/
E-mail: nkkikin@hotmail.com
A-101, Nishikata HITEL, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 1130222 Japan
TEL/FAX: +81-3-3815-8127
Tim Peters
Founder of
Helping Hands Korea
www.helpinghandskorea.org
Email: tapkorea@gmail.com
Tel: 82-11-9652-6731
