The South Korean government has denounced an NGO for writing to the Security Council. The South Korean prosecutor’s office has initiated a criminal investigation against one of the most respected civil society organizations in South Korea, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD). But is it a criminal act for an NGO to send a letter or report to the Security Council on a problem before the Council?

PSPD is a watchdog NGO that was founded in 1994. Since then it has monitored the actions of the South Korean government, supporting the efforts of South Korean citizens to participate in political affairs.

In a letter asking for support, PSPD writes (1):

“PSPD believes that diplomacy and security policy should be under the citizenry’s watch and democratic control. National Security and diplomatic policy should not be monopolized by military and diplomatic authorities.”

On June 11, the Center for Peace and Disarmament of… weiter lesen

An article on the Cheonan warship sinking, “The whole story of the South Korean government as a false account?” was published in Telepolis on June 1. It documents several of the misleading claims being made by the South Korean government to put the blame on North Korea.

The June 2 election in South Korea for local and regional government showed that many South Koreas citizens and netizens rejected the Lee Myung-bak government claims and rendered his Grand National Party candidates a surprising and serious defeat.

This, however, has not deterred the Lee government from its goal. The election results were announced demonstrating the criticism of the government’s hostile policy toward North Korean represented by the so called “investigation” blaming North Korea for the sinking of the Cheonan. Yet, the South Korean government initiated action to take its spurious claims to the United Nations Security Council. A… weiter lesen