CINA

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KOREA TIMES wrote today:

Amnesty International Vows to Protect Conscientious Objectors

By Chung Ah-young An international human rights group has vowed to wage a worldwide campaign for conscientious objectors, calling on the Korean government to introduce an alternative to military service. The Korean branch of Amnesty International (AI) said Friday that if two Korean men who were declared ``conscientious objectors’’ and rejected military conscription are imprisoned, it will take the case to the World Wide Appeals, which is designed to mobilize international support for them. Oh Jung-rok, 27, and Koh Dong-ju, 26, known as pacifists, refused to be conscripted for military service on Oct. 4 and Oct. 11, respectively, when they received the notices. AI said that if the two are imprisoned, it will designate them as conscientious prisoners and launch a worldwide campaign for them after reviewing their activities as pacifists. Kim Myeong-sik, a campaign coordinator at AI’s Korean branch, said that it will resort to the World Wide Appeals, in which its members from other countries will send thousands of letters and appeals to the Korean government. ``However, conscientious objectors are supposed to be proven non-violent and refuse military conscription due to their beliefs or faith to receive international support under our organization,’’ he told The Korea Times. ``We will protect conscientious objectors according to the right to freedom of thought, religion and conscience, along with international campaigns,’’ he said. Kim said that AI’s Korean branch might invoke urgent actions if any serious violations on the basic rights of conscientious objectors are reported. ``Alternative service can be a good replacement to military service allowing those who refused their military obligation due to their faith to abide by the duties without sacrificing their rights,’’ he said. Under AI’s campaign for conscientious objectors, Lim Tae-hun, who served one year and four months in prison, was released in June after rejecting his military obligation. Lim received about 3,000 letters from around the world under AI’s campaign. A citizen of one country cannot take part in their own country’s appeal campaigns of AI in that country. However, an official of the Free Citizen’s Alliance of Korea said that the attempt to adopt an alternative service system might be abused by draft dodgers, threatening national security. Since 1939, the country has imprisoned 10,000 conscientious objectors, the largest number of conscientious objectors with 439 in prison as of June 15, 2004. The number of conscientious objectors has been on the rise over the past few years from 683 in 2000 to 804 in 2001 and 734 in 2002, despite growing pressure from the international community on Korea to recognize and uphold the right to freedom of thought, religion and conscience. PS.: "Since 1939..."??