[Editorial] Anti-American Candlelight Vigil Peddlers

“Korea’s Dasan Engineering Unit and Dongui Medical Unit are a part of the occupation forces, helping the U.S. in its occupation and massacre.” These words appear in a video clip posted on the Korean Federation of Progressive Groups website. Those Korean troops dispatched to Afghanistan are now providing medical services there and helping in the nation’s reconstruction. However, in the video clip, they are almost being cursed.

Co-chairmen of the federation is pastor Han Sang-ryeol, who is now staging a hunger strike in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, saying, “The main responsibility for the current Korean hostage situation in Afghanistan should fall on the United States.” He also worked as a co-representative of an organization for the two middle school girls named Hyo-soon and Mi-seon, who were killed in 2002 by a U.S. armored vehicle during a routine drill. When the federation was launched in January this year, most of its 22 member organizations were pro-North Korean leftists, who used the heartbreaking incident of Hyo-soon and Mi-seon as a cause for the anti-American candlelight vigil. Among the organizations are the Korean Federation of University Student Councils (Hanchongryeon), the Korean Confederation of Trade Union, Democratic Labor Party, Organization for a Withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Korea, and Buddhist Federation for Peace.

Once again, however, some groups in the federation approached the families of the kidnapped and suggested a candlelight vigil. When the families rejected their suggestion, saying, “We don’t want the situation to turn into anti-American activities,” the organizations have started holding candlelight vigils on their own since yesterday. The Buddhist Federation for Peace has even released a statement that includes phrases of “Taliban heroes, you remind us of Korea’s independence activists during the Japanese Colonial rule.” Those who are supposed to follow and teach Buddha’s mercy are glamorizing kidnapping and murders.

Extreme leftists are now systematically spreading their view that the U.S. is responsible for the Korean hostage situation in Afghanistan. As the situation is dragging on without breakthrough, this view is being raised even among the families of the captives. However, this is the very time that we need to make a reasonable judgment on the situation.

“Viewing the U.S. as responsible for the incident” means demanding the U.S. to step in and play a role in releasing imprisoned Taliban terrorists. This is no different than saying, “It doesn’t matter if it fuels another kidnapping of someone else’s daughter or son by terrorists, as long as my child can be released.” If the Taliban’s demands are met, no matter what they ask for, all terrorists around the world will plot yet another kidnap with the aim of having their imprisoned members released. There are already 15,000 overseas evangelical activists. So putting the responsibility on the U.S. is equal to driving those activists into new danger. It is not helpful at all. It is creating an obstacle for the Korean government and her allies’ efforts to rescue those in captivity as well as goes against the altruistic mind of the hostages.

Extreme leftists are calling for U.S. responsibility for some other reason. For them, the life of a hostage is just a secondary matter. They only want to create the next “Hyo-soon and Mi-seon” incident by taking advantage of this rare opportunity. It is suspected that by doing so, they want to establish an anti-conservative coalition, as North Korea has demanded, and give rise to a pro-N.Korea regime. This might be a reason why they are cursing Korean troops in Afghanistan as backup forces for carnage.