Text of the NKFC letter sent to President Bush
February
28, 2007
The
Honorable George Bush
President of the United States
The White House
Dear
Mr. President:
We
are writing on behalf of the North Korea Freedom Coalition, a nonpartisan group
of over 65 American and Korean-American human rights, religious, and
non-governmental organizations representing millions of American citizens. We
are deeply grateful for what you have done to express solidarity with and hope
for the people of
The
North Korean Freedom Coalition believes you accurately described the Kim Jong-il regime as “a regime arming with missiles and
weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.” We were
greatly encouraged when you signed the North Korea Human Rights Act of 2004
citing its "useful new tools to address the deplorable human rights
situation in
We
were very encouraged when, in 2005, you met with North Korean defector Kang Cheol-hwan, and in 2006, on North Korea Freedom Day, you
met the director of Free North Korea Radio, Kim Seung-Min,
and Kim Han-mee and her family, as well as Sakie and Shigeru Yokota, and Shigeo Izuku,
whose family members had been abducted by Kim Jong-il’s
regime.
Your
administration has worked to hold this regime accountable for its illicit
activities: counterfeiting, money laundering, and drug-trafficking. The
section 311designation by the Treasury Department had a strong impact on the
regime’s inner circle. The UN Sanctions imposed after the missile tests of July
and the nuclear test of October 2006 stand as great achievements in your
administration’s international diplomatic initiatives. The effect of these
measures was clearly felt by the regime, as evidenced in its strong protests
and sales of gold overseas.
Just
as these efforts were beginning to bear fruit, State Department negotiators
persuaded you to mitigate this pressure in order to win North Korean acceptance
of additional meetings and vaguely-worded commitments relating to
Leverage obtained over years of showing strong resolve to halting the regime’s
activities were exchanged for a commitment to again shut-down Yongbyon, an “empty shell” according to the defectors, and
to talk.
These
actions have given Kim Jong-il’s regime new life:
American criticism of
As
you deal with
1) Reaffirm designations under section 311 of the Patriot Act for banks that
facilitate
2)
Promise energy assistance and medical and food aid only when
-all abductees and POWs are released and allowed to return to their homeland;
-aid can be monitored as required under UN resolutions 1695 and 1718;
-North Koreans are allowed freedom of movement; and
-the political prison camps are dismantled and the International Red Cross is
allowed to administer to the victims there.
We
also encourage you to
3)
implement and fully fund the North Korea Human Rights
Act of 2004;
4)
continue to list North Korea as a state sponsoring terrorism until it
apologizes for past terrorist incidents, makes restitution to persons killed or
harmed by its terrorist acts, and returns perpetrators of terrorism to justice
in countries where the acts were committed; and
5)
instruct
We
strongly desire the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula and the
normalization of relations with
The
nuclear issue is a diversion from the real issue: human rights. No one understands
this better than the 10,000 strong North Korean defectors, who have escaped
their enslavement to live in freedom. Because of your past actions, they have
long believed that you and your administration are the greatest hope today to
helping the millions still enslaved. There is still time, and we hope and pray
that as the leader of the Free World, you will stay true to your principles and
promote human rights for the North Korean people. We also hope that you
will meet with the leadership of the North Korean defectors when they visit
Sincerely,
Suzanne
Scholte
Sin U
Chairman Vice
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Ann Buwalda Mariam
Bell
Sue Yoon Logan
Treasurer
Legislative Chair Administrator
Public Members (partial listing):
Aegis Foundation
American Anti-Slavery Group
American Family Association
China-e Lobby
Christian Coalition
Christian Solidarity International
Christian Solidarity Worldwide - USA
Citizen's Coalition for Human Rights
of Abductees & North Korean Refugees
Coalitions for America
Commission to Help North Korean Refugees
Committee for the Rescue of Korean War POWs
Concerned Women for America
Defense Forum Foundation
Democracy Network Against the NK Gulag*
Discovery Institute
Embassy of the Prince of Peace
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
Exile Committee for North Korean Democracy*
Family Research Council
Focus on the Family
Freedom Society of America
Free North Korea Radio*
Helping Hands Korea
Human Rights Coalition-USA
Human Rights First
Human Rights Without Frontiers
Institute on Religion and Democracy
Institute on Religion and Public Policy
Intl Korean War Memorial Foundation
Jabbok, Inc.
Jubilee Campaign
Korean-American Freedom Fighters Movement
Korean Congress for N. Korean Human Rights
Korean Dream
Korean Freedom Council (KFC)
Korean Freedom Democracy League of America
Korean War Abductees Family Union
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees
National Association for the Rescue of
Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea
National Council for Freedom and Democracy
NY Commission to Help N. Korean Refugees
N. American Religious Liberty Association
OneFreeKorea
Open Doors USA
PSALT
Religious Freedom Coalition
Salvation Army, U.S.A.
Save North Korea
Schindler’s Ark
Simon Wiesenthal Center
Southern Baptist Convention, ERLC
StandToday.org
The Israeli Jewish Comm. Against the
Gas Chambers in North Korea
The Wilberforce Forum
*organizations of North Korean defectors
Executive Committee
Suzanne Scholte, Chairman
Sin U Nam, Vice Chairman
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Vice Chairman
Mariam Bell, Legislative Co-Chair
Ann Buwulda, Treasurer
Sue Yoon Logan, Administrator
Advisors: Hwang Jang-Yop, Chuck Downs,
Col. Gordon Cucullu, ret.
www.nkfreedom.org