Euna Lee and Laura LingNot good, along with Roxana Saberi we now have Laura Ling and Euna Lee facing charges and what could be along stay in a North Korea. By all accounts they haven't been shifted to the labor camps yet are being confined in reasonable quarters, something I took as a sign that North Korea was going to let them go. Now, it looks like bleak news for their families.
SEOUL — North Korea said Friday that it had decided to indict two American journalists who have been detained for more than five weeks on charges of illegally entering the country and committing “hostile acts.”
Espionage or "hostility toward North Koreans" _ possible crimes that could be considered "hostile acts" _ could mean five to 10 years in prison, South Korean legal expert Moon Dae-hong said.
The Americans' prolonged detention and pending trial come amid mounting diplomatic tensions between Pyongyang and the international community, including the U.S., over its rogue nuclear program
"The detention of these two women is part of a much larger scenario," said Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists. "Our greatest fear is that they are being used as pawns in the broader game being played out on the Korean Peninsula."
North Korea, which carried out a nuclear test in 2006 and is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium to build half a dozen bombs, agreed in February 2007 to dismantle its atomic program in exchange for much-needed aid and other concessions.
Ok, what the hell are these women doing in such a disgusting country? Don't they know that they have no conscience. The place is run by a very small megalomaniac with dilutions of grandeur. Please, they got what they had coming to them.
ReplyDeleteThis always happens there's another couple somewhere like Iran too the other week have not heard about them for a few days now
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous (8:59am):
ReplyDeleteLaura Ling is an inspiring journalist. What were they doing in that "disgusting place"? They were reporting on the desperate refugee situation on the Chinese-North Korea border, doing the world a favor by trying to bring under-reported human suffering to light.
She risked her own safety to expose the injustices dealt by an authoritarian dictator to his own people, and that is both courageous and honorable.
"Got what they had coming to them?" What have you done recently to try to make a positive difference in the world? Your condemnation of these women is shameful.
"Please, they got what they had coming to them."--Anon
ReplyDeleteIt is believed that Ling and Lee were not on the NK side of the border when they were arrested. NK soldiers crossed over into China to detain them.
Even if they were on the other side of the border, their detainment and the charges they face are unjust to put it mildly. They were trying to do their job, which is to inform the public about the happenings in an environment that the average American will never see with his or her own eyes.
I don't know about you, but I do not want to live in a world where information is restricted because we're too afraid to go out there and find the truth. Shame on you for 1) making disparaging remarks about two brave young women and 2) posting said remarks anonymously. Your cowardice merely highlights the courage of Ling and Lee.
These women definitely got what they deserved. It's preposterous to believe that NK soldiers would be able to cross the border just to kidnap these two women, since their Asian and would pass for regular Chinese citizens. Whatever reason they had to cross the border into hostile territory is irrelevant. That's just a red herring. How is it that we "deserve" to know about information on the other side of the world? You posters are just trying to rationalize their mistakes but however you spin the story, they're stuck in NK now and I hope the laws are enforced to the highest degree there. Tough luck.
ReplyDelete