“A complaint filed with the quasi-governmental National Human Rights Commission, which is reviewing the statue controversy, condemns MacArthur as “a war criminal who massacred numerous civilians.” The complaint adds, “To induce or force children to respect such a person by erecting a statue of him and teaching them that he is a great figure is a national disgrace and greatly injures the dignity of our people.” [Editor's note: The original version mistakenly had the MacArthur quote coming from the commission instead of from a complaint filed with the commission.]”

However, Mr. Kirk or the editors at the CSM should have deleted the next paragraph as well–though this was most likely an editorial oversight:

“The question is whether the view of the commission reflects the outlook of the government of President Roh Moo Hyun, whose soft-line policy on North Korea has often conflicted with the relatively tough line of the Bush administration.”

“Having received the report it commissioned, the NHRC said it would be used as internal reference material and there were no plans to publish it as in any way reflecting the views of the commission. Apparently, the NHRC worries that its publication would invite the displeasure of Pyongyang and complicate inter-Korean relations.”

Not a comprehensive sample by any means but I usually have at least one cable all news channel on. Mostly FOX, but last night PBS News Hour devoted one of their in depth segments to an interval with US Ambassador Hill, whom I found quite impressive.

I’m tempted to go back and simply ask them if they made the statement.

CSM’d better pull the story before it is too late. If this thing gets out of hand, Rho himself will ask CSM to leave Korea.

Last month, Ms. Fikes joined dozens of other people from the National Association of Evangelicals, the Southern Baptist Convention and groups like the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for a meeting in Washington, where they signed a declaration of principles that laid out their goals.

Their aim is to goad the administration to block trade or unrestricted aid to North Korea until it opens its borders and begins to reform human rights, no matter how much that demand might complicate the talks to stop Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program or irk China or American allies like South Korea that favor a less confrontational approach. Although Japan has raised the question of the North Korean abduction of several Japanese decades ago, a broader discussion of North Korean human rights has not been a part of the talks.
Considering the news I read, it really makes one wonder if Korea shall only ever be united in suffering and folly because what I read does not give me hope.

I didn’t even react to the first MacArthur stories with a yawn. I read the headlines and moved on. A read an article or 2 once the blogging community started covering it more. I still didn’t see it as a key item in the anti-US-SK thing. What is going on in Pyongtaek is way more interesting and a meaty issue to examine. But, now the US press is picking up on statue…

In 2002, a GI gets held captive and forced to participate in an anti-USFK rally as well as beaten with his two GI buddies who managed to escape, and the American media runs two stories on it — 2.

2002 - I know of 3 or 4 pre-blogger Korea expats set up websites specifically to get the word out - because after having peppered the US media with links, images, news clippings, links to the videos of the protests, begging, pleading, crying, knashing teeth and pulling out hair, for weeks going on to months!! —- I mean, we eventually got together a list of emails to the international desks of over a dozen major US print and television news orgs and passed around links and articles to each other and other expats so we could hit them over the head with them from a variety of emailers

http://www.boston.com/news/wor.....a_protest/

“MacArthur is a war criminal who massacred numerous civilians at the time of the Korean War,” anti-U.S. groups said in a plea submitted to South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission last month.

“To induce or force children to respect such a person by erecting a statue of him and teaching them that he is a great figure is a national disgrace and greatly injures the dignity of our people,” they said.

My, how things have changed … First Paik Sun Yup gets hit by a water cannon while protesting against President Roh. Then riot police show up to protect a bunch of leftists from their grandparents. What’s next?