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International News Title: North Korea is a prison camp and torture chamber. Why not go there on holiday and take some hilarious selfies? Otto Warmbier was in North Korea with a company that offers "fun" tours of a country that murders, tortures and rapes hundreds of thousands of people Spare a thought for the parents of Otto Warmbier today. Their child is in the hands of the North Korean regime, sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for “crimes against the state”. It may well be that Mr Warmbier, a 21-year-old student at the University of Virginia, does not in fact serve that sentence. The North has a habit of bartering back Western prisoners as part of its bizarre diplomatic game with the US. But there’s no certainty of that, and if it does happen, who knows how long they’ll have to wait before their boy is home? And until he is, Fred and Cindy Warmbier will know neither peace nor happiness. How did their son come to be in this situation? The answer stirs strong emotions too, some of them less generous than the compassion we should all have for the Warmbiers. Otto Warmbier was arrested during a five day tour of North Korea. He was travelling with friends on a trip organised by a company called Young Pioneer Tours, which bills itself as “the first company to offer budget tours to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. Here’s an extract from the firm’s website: "We are renowned and rated as one of the best tour operators to the DPRK (North Korea) with our unparalleled experience, fun way of doing things, and most importantly, excellent relations in country; this makes us the best choice for your Korea tour. "As well as seeing the must see sights in Pyongyang and visiting the DMZ, we provide tours to various locations within North Korea. "So whether you’re looking to compete in the Pyongyang Marathon, experience the spectacular sights of Mt Paektu, ski at the world class Masikryong Ski resort, explore the extreme North East of the country, or visit Rason city – North Korea’s Special Economic Zone, we have itineraries to suit all travellers." Which indeed makes North Korea like just another delightful tourist destination, whose unique politics just add a bit of interest for the jaded Western traveller. Indeed, the firm’s site has numerous photographs of young tourists having a jolly time around North Korea, marvelling at various monuments to the regime and giving (presumably ironic) salutes in the style of its soldiers. Hilarious stuff, no doubt, but some people might struggle to see the joke. People who have been detained without trial. People who have been beaten and tortured. People who have been worked or starved to death. People who have been raped and sexually abused. People who have seen every basic freedom and dignity stripped from them by the world’s worst and most oppressive regime. The people of North Korea. We’re all aware that some countries have imperfect records on human rights. Indeed, concerns about “human rights” are even raised about the policies of European governments. But this isn’t a smooth continuum with Sweden at one end and North Korea at the other. When it comes to human rights abuses, North Korea isn’t so much in a different league as a different planet. Here’s a summary from Human Rights Watch: "A 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry found that abuses in North Korea were without parallel in the contemporary world. "They include extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions, and other sexual violence. "North Korea operates secretive prison camps where perceived opponents of the government are sent to face torture and abuse, starvation rations, and forced labor. "Fear of collective punishment is used to silence dissent. There is no independent media, functioning civil society, or religious freedom. " Under the current regime, as many as 3 million North Koreans have starved to death since 1994 (the year of Otto Warmbier's birth, incidentally.) Then there are the camps. There are probably 200,000 people being held in the camps. The things that happen there can be hard to describe: torture and abuse of the worst kind are routine. Many, including children, are beaten to death. Other stories told by that UN investigation are, if possible, worse. Here is one, recounted by Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN. Ahn Myong Chul, a former guard at Prison Camp 22, spoke of guards routinely raping prisoners. In one case in which a victim became pregnant and gave birth, the former guard reported that prison officials cooked her baby and fed it to their dogs. These aren’t secrets, at least outside North Korea. This information is easily and freely available to anyone with an internet connection. If you can book one of Young Pioneer’s tours, you can read these accounts. Every decision to go on holiday to a country with an imperfect human rights record involves making a judgement on whether you’re helping or not. By and large, I’m in favour, since in most cases going on holiday to a country puts money in the pockets of ordinary people there and money means empowerment and technology and that may, just, eventually, mean more freedom. But North Korea really is different. It’s not a country, it’s a prison camp and a torture chamber. Taking a tourist trip there means spectating on the murder and abuse of your fellow human beings, and putting hard currency into the hands of the people responsible for those crimes. But, hey, the selfies are massive lolz, right? Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: nativist nationalist (#0)
Otto Warmbier is an IDIOT. He is in that jam because he is STUPID !!!
Si vis pacem, para bellum Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. There are no Carthaginian terrorists. President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people. --Clint Eastwood "I am concerned for the security of our great nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within." -- General Douglas MacArthur
and you have to ask how did he get to be stupid? was he taught to behave in a disrespecting manner? did he not know that as a US tourist he is representing his country and yet all he could do is mimic the behaviour of a petty criminal. Didn't he know he would be observed? When you twist the tail on the tiger you get bitten
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