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China Slammed for Return of North Korean Refugees
SANTA ANA, Calif. (April 16) -- A United States commission said Tuesday that North Korean refugees suspected of meeting with religious groups are often marked for harsh interrogation, torture and long detentions without trial after they are forced by China to return to North Korea, according to reports from several news agencies.
A report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom called for nations to press China to stop sending North Korean refugees back to their homeland. The commission was created in 1998 to monitor religious freedom around the world and make policy recommendations.
Open Doors USA, along with other members of the North Korea Freedom Coalition, are partnering during North Korea Freedom Week (NKFW) April 26-May 3. During that week the United States and other countries around the world will focus on the massive human rights abuses by the North Korean communist government headed by President Kim Jong Il. The North Korea Freedom Coalition is also urging China to stop the repatriation of North Korean refugees.
“We need to speak out about this human rights issue,” says Open Doors USA President Carl Moeller. “Please go to our Website (www.OpenDoorsUSA.org) to see how you can advocate on the behalf of these refugees; many of whom are targeted because of their faith in Jesus Christ.”
The 48-page U.S. Commission report offers a rare window into religious freedom conditions inside North Korea. It is based on interviews with 32 North Korean refugees and six former security agents from the reclusive state.
Refugees said that merely owning a Bible could lead to arrests, disappearances and even deaths of those repatriated, who were treated “just like animals.” One refugee claimed that “a person was shot to death” on a riverside in Hoeryeong, a North Korea city along the border with China, for accepting a Bible from South Korean priests. Another refugee told the researchers that although freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, “in reality, it is considered as a threat to the system, a hotbed of security problems, and opium” of the people.
The commission lamented “the grave situation” facing the repatriated North Koreans and called for global action to contain the crisis. It said there was sufficient evidence to make a case that North Koreans in China should qualify as refugees under the international standards. At least 300,000 North Korean refugees are believed to have fled to China, which terms them economic migrants and forcibly repatriates them back.
Special events during North Korea Freedom Week include an “International Protest Against China’s Violent Repatriation of North Korean Refugees” Saturday, April 27, at Chinese embassies and consulates around world. United States cities include Houston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, April 29, there will be a Capitol Hill rally (Taft Memorial Carillon Park) at noon. North Korean defectors as well as members of Congress will participate. Also, April 27 has been designated as the International Day of Prayer for North Korea.
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