China Still Holding Noguchi & other Aid Workers
More European officials questioning North Korea
Earlier this month, a BBC documentary revealed strong evidence that North Korea is running chemical and biological experiments on political prisoners and their entire families.
Mr. Kato Hiroshi, secretary-general of our organization, together with Mr. Sang Hun Kim, Korean human rights activist, flew to Europe to meet with UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, as well as NGO officials and parliamentary members in a number of countries. The purpose of the trip was to explore greater European involvement in and support for an end to Chinese maltreatment and repatriation of North Korean refugees.
UK Foreign Office Minister, Bill Rammell MP, summoned the North Korean Ambassador. Mr. Ri Yong Ho, to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on February 12 to raise concerns at new reports of grave human rights violations in North Korea. Mr. Rammell said, “I called in Mr. Ri to inform his government that we were deeply disturbed by the allegations in the BBC documentary.” Rammell further stated, “We will continue to lobby DPRK on human rights at every opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Japanese citizen Takayuki Noguchi sits in a Chinese jail, more than 70 days after his arrest. That country is holding him, along with the two North Korean refugees he had gone there to help. UNHCR is requesting access to the refugees, but China refuses.
Noguchi and other humanitarian aid workers have been arrested while attempting to protect North Korean defectors, who would face brutality beyond belief at the prison camps in their own country if repatriated. These aid workers are still in Chinese jails.
IN-PERSON REPORT:
In Tokyo, on February 22, Mr. Kim and Mr. Kato will report details of their talks with the European leaders they visited. At the conference, Mr. Kim will also give further details about the biological experimentation.
(See “Refugees Bring Proof of NK Biological Experiments”
at Biological Experiments on Political Prisoners )
| Hosted by: Date & Time: Place: |
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (LFNKR) 6:30 PM, Sunday 22 February 2004 Kameido Bunka Center (Camellia Plaza 5th Floor, Room No. 1) 2-min. walk from Kameido Station 2-19-1 Kameido, Koto-ku, Tokyo |
Following BBC’s broadcast of the documentary“Access to Evil,” we have decided to release an e-book collection of more than a hundred eye-witness accounts of North Korean defectors whom we have interviewed over the past decade. As the e-book reveals, biological testing is only a part of North Korea’s inhumanity. The e-book is also available as a free download atwww.northkoreanrefugees.com/ebook.htm
Best regards from Japan,
Kenkichi Nakadaira
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees