Finally, someone is talking about Lisa Ling and Euna Lee publicly. Hillary Clinton mentioned them during a press conference today. If you don't know what happened to them, these two journalists for San Francisco based Current TV were arrested/captured near the North Korea border where they were investigating human trafficking. They had what passes for a trial in North Korea and were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. And, then there has been an eerie silence about their fates. Clinton originally characterized the charges as "baseless". Today, she said that the two journalists "have expressed great remorse" for their actions and that the U.S. was seeking "amnesty" for them. I am relieved that there seems to be something being done about them, but there are still so many disturbing aspects to this whole situation. First of all, what is the connection between their detention and North Korea's recent nuclear activity? Are they being held as a bargaining chip, which seems very possible? Secondly, what about the details of their capture? I do not believe they would have been so foolish as to have wandered across the border of North Korea. This leads me to suspect that the person who arranged the interview or the trafficker himself either lured them across the border or sold them to the North Korean border guards. This would at least provide some hope because it looks as though they really are being used as bargaining chips. Reportedly, North Korean authorities have said that the two women are not being held in a prison but in a "guest house in Pyongyang." However, the scariest thing about this whole situation is that we seem to have no idea about how stable North Korea's domestic politics are right now. After Kim Jong Il's stroke, no one seemed to know who was in charge. And, now it looks as though Kim Jong Il is trying to ensure the succession for his youngest son, Kim Jong Un ("Brilliant Comrade"). Being held prisoner in North Korea is bad news in the best of times (such as it is in North Korea), but to be held prisoner duirng a time of domestic upheaval and instability is even more difficult. Perhaps that is why Clinton is requesting amnesty even though that implies an admission of guilt. She may just want to get the two women out of there. Or, she may be trying to make sure their fates can not be tied to some nuclear negotiations.
Any thoughts?
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I feel bad for these two journalists. I'm sure they are remorseful because they illegally snuck into a hostile foreign country and got caught. I'm sure they were lured in by the promise of a great story (and pay day) and were sold out to the border guards. They then received an unfair trial in North Korea (SHOCKING?!) I don't think the are guilty of any spying. I'm sure the CIA could come up with a better cover story than two journalist from San Francisco. We can not allow Kim Jong Il to use their release as a a bargaining chip against the world's condamnation of the nuclear testing. We should use all our diplomatic resources to get their release but if that fails, we should not tie their release to concessions to North Korea. The stakes are too high and there are too many other lives at stake than these two unfortunate ladies. As cold as it seems, spending a decade in the Korean version of the Hanoi Hilton is the price you pay for illegally entering and lawless foreign country with a crazy dictator. What did they think would happen if they got caught? If you are a North Korena and you illegally enter the USA you don't get arrested, and the taxpayers give free health care, public school education, tax free employment, a driver licence, and quick path to citzenship. Maybe these ladies were just misinformed about what would happen to them? That's a story for another day.
ReplyDeleteAh, there's the right winger I know and love. Don't you think it is possible that htey did nto actually cross into North Korea and that they were actually captured and taken into North Korea? That has certainly been North Korea's MO on several occasions.
ReplyDeleteI don't really care how they got there. A country has many obligations to its citizens, but the most important one is protection; protection from foreign invasion, other citizens, and hostile governments. North Korea needs to be made aware that it cannot do as it pleases with U.S. citizens. Whatever is needed to make that happen needs to happen. Otherwise, what is the value of U.S. citizenship?
ReplyDeleteWhat are you suggesting, Dave? We do not exactly have much leverage with North Korea. And if it is as politically unstable as I suspect it is, who would we deal with. For a while it looked as though relations between North and South Korea were warming up a bit, but that seems to have gone nowhere.
ReplyDeleteBig question: Does a government have an obligation to protect its citizens when they have done something illegal, immoral or treasonous and gotten themselves into trouble in a foreign nation I don't think that is the case with these two reporters at all. I am just interested in it philosophically.
Short of all-out war, I am suggesting that we do whatever we need to do to bring these reporters home. I'm not sure what chips we have on the table, so I can't comment specifically. I'm sure we can make life in North Korea worse than it is somehow. It's tough to risk the welfare of the many on the reality of the few, but if the U.S. government won't back up its citizens when they are being mistreated, I really don't see the advantage of U.S. citizenship.
ReplyDeleteI'll deal with the next set of questions individually. 1. on illegal: Does a government have the obligation to protect its citizens if they do something illegal to whom? It depends on the law, the country of origin, and the country taking offense. If U.S. citizens aren't doing something that is illegal in the U.S., then we have an obligation to bring them home. Immoral: again, to whom? To me? To you? To the U.S.? To the U.N.? To North Korea? Treasonous: If a U.S. citizen does something treasonous to the U.S., I would like to see them brought back to U.S. soil to recieve a fair trial and (if they are guilty) appropriate punishment (execution if their treason puts other U.S. citizens at risk).