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UPDATE (SOUTH KOREA): Family members of victims of suspicious deaths stage sit-down strike for 27 days

November 5, 2002

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

5 November 2002
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UP-62-2002 (UA-39-2002: The activity period of the PTCSD must be fully extended)

UPDATE (SOUTH KOREA): Family members of victims of suspicious deaths stage sit-down strike for 27 days
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"Even though my son who was dead mysteriously, cannot come back to life, I never want these tragedies to happen again in which young people are unjustly accused of suicide."

"If we can reveal the truth about suspicious deaths, freezing weather will not be an obstacle to our struggle."

The above statements were made by the family members of the victims of suspicious deaths who have been staging a sit-down strike in Seoul for the last 27 days on the street in front of the office of the Grand National Party, the majority party in South Korea's National Assembly. Through their sit-in that began on Oct. 10, they hope to persuade the National Assembly to amend the Special Act to Find the Truth on Suspicious Deaths.

According to the statute of limitations of this legislation, on Sept. 16, 2002, the mandate of the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths (PTCSD) ended. However, many cases of alleged suspicious deaths that have been brought before the PTCSD have not been investigated. During the two-year period in which the PTCSD has sought to reveal the truth about suspicious deaths that occurred during the country's previous authoritarian regimes, the PTCSD has received 83 petitions of alleged suspicious deaths. However, in only 19 cases has the PTCSD stated that the victims were killed by the State. In addition, the PTCSD has concluded that 30 cases are impossible to determine due to various limitations, and it has rejected 33 cases.

In fact, from the beginning, the victims' family members and human rights organisations have been concerned about the PTCSD's limited powers, short mandate to investigate cases and lack of ability to charge the perpetrators. Therefore, even though various progressive groups in South Korea and in the international community have urged the Korean government to amend the Special Act to Find the Truth on Suspicious Deaths in order to extend the mandate of the PTCSD and to strengthen its power to investigate the accused national institutions, the Korean National Assembly has not indicated any willingness to do so. At the present time, South Korea's politicians are only interested in the presidential election that will be held at the end of this year.

Therefore, 134 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in South Korea held a press conference on Nov. 4 in front of the office of the Grand National Party to urge the National Assembly to amend this legislation so as to extend the mandate of the PTCSD and to strengthen the body's power to investigate these suspicious deaths through the appointment of special prosecutors. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of South Korea and Korean Bar Association have also supported these demands.

In order to create international pressure to amend the Special Act to Find the Truth on Suspicious Deaths, we are again urging you to send your appeal to the president and national assemblymen of South Korea. Presently, the amended legislation is now languishing in the Legislative and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly.

If you need more information on this issue, please read our previous urgent appeal at <http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2002/298/>.


SUGGESTED ACTION

Please send your appeal to the president of South Korea, to representatives of the ruling and opposition parties and to members of the Legislative and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly to urge them to amend the Special Act to Find the Truth on Suspicious Deaths as soon as possible.


SUGGESTED LETTER (You may use your own words or use the following letter as a sample.)

Dear

I am writing this letter to express my deep concern that the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths (PTCSD) has finished its work on Sep. 16, 2002, even though the truth of many alleged cases of suspicious deaths has remained uncovered.

My attention has been drawn to the work of the PTCSD, and I very much want the PTCSD to succeed as it will become a model for other countries in the world that have had or are still undergoing similar experiences. As you know, most Asian, Africa and South American countries have been under a military or developmental dictatorship; and as a result, millions of innocent people have been killed or have disappeared through state violence. However, because official investigations have not resulted in the filing of charges against the perpetrators, the perpetrators still continue to enjoy impunity.

Therefore, I strongly urge you to amend the Special Act to Find the Truth on Suspicious Deaths so that the mandate of the PTCSD will be extended until the truth about the country's suspicious deaths have been determined. Moreover, I ask that the PTCSD have the power to investigate cases through the appointment of special prosecutors. I also urge you to enact the new law as soon as possible to exclude the statute of limitations from applying to crimes against humanity as the United Nations has recommended.

I look forward to learning about your action on this important matter to the people of South Korea.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

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PLEASE YOUR LETTER BY FAX OR E-MAIL TO:

1. Mr. KIM Dae-jung
President of the Republic of Korea
1 Sejong-no, Jongno-ku
Seoul 110-820
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +822 770-0347 or 770-0001
Tel: +822 770-0018
E-mail: president@cwd.go.kr

2. Mr. SEO Cheong-won
Representative of the Grand National Party
17-7 Yoido-dong, Youngdeungpo-gu
Seoul, 150-010
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +822 3786-3110
Tel: +822 3786-3101-5
E-mail: webmaster@hannara.or.kr

3. Mr. HAHN Hwa-gab
Representative of the New Millennium Democratic Party
Kisan Building, 15 Yoido-dong, Youngdeungpo-gu
Seoul, 150-010
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +822 788-3428
E-mail: hahn@assembly.go.kr

4. Mr. HAM Suk-jae
Chairperson
Legislative and Judiciary Committee
17-7 Yoido-dong, Youngdeungpo-gu
Seoul, 150-010
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +822 784-3863
E-mail: hsj727@assembly.go.kr

And send copies of your letter to the members of Legislative and Judiciary Committee of the Korean National Assembly;

1. The Grant National Party (GNP)
- Mr. KIM Young-kyun: ykk01@asseembly.go.kr
- Mr. KIM Ki-choon: kckim@assembly.go.kr
- Mr. KIM Young-iel: http://01kim.pe.kr/board-list3.php?boardind=A05
- Mr. SHIM Kyu-cheol: shim114@assembly.go.kr
- Mr. WON Hee-ryong: heeryong@lycos.co.kr
- Mr. CHOI Byung-gook: bk2000@assembly.go.kr
- Ms. CHOI Yeon-hee: yhchoi@assembly.go.kr

2. The New Millennium Democratic Party (NMDP)
- Mr. HAM Seung-hee: runjs21@assembly.go.kr
- Mr. SHIN Ki-nam: skn@skn.or.kr
- Mr. LEE Sang-soo: sslee@assembly.go.kr
- Mr. CHUNG Kun-hwan: ckh21@assmebly.go.kr
- Mr. JOUGH Soon-hyung: shjough@assembly.go.kr
- Mr. CHOI Young-kyu: lawyk1@thrunet.com

3. Non-Negotiation Group
- Mr. KIM Hak-won: hakwonk@assembly.go.kr

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-62-2002
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.