U.N. Officials’ Messages Broadcast on Radio to Abductees in N. Korea

Tokyo, March 3 (Jiji Press)–Messages by U.N. officials have been broadcast since February on a radio program addressing Japanese nationals who were abducted by North Korea decades ago. The two messages are by Grazyna Baranowska, vice chairperson of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and James Heenan, who heads the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul. The four-minute messages are delivered in English, Japanese and Korean on the shortwave radio show “Shiokaze.” In her message, Baranowska states that the abductions are “not a relic of the past,” and remain “a brutal contemporary crime.” “The working group stands at the front line, transforming pain into global advocacy and silence into action,” she notes. Meanwhile, Heenan says, “We have an obligation to seek some justice, or at least some conclusion, to these terrible stories.” “All families need to be reunited with their loved ones or to know what happened to their loved ones,” he adds. Their messages came in response to a request from the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea, or COMJAN, a Japanese civic group dedicated to locating missing persons who may have been abducted by North Korea. COMJAN chief Kazuhiro Araki said that it was rare for U.N. officials to provide official messages for a private broadcasting platform. “North Korea is sensitive about its international reputation,” Araki said. “We hope to convey a message that the United Nations is also tackling the issue, and put international pressure (on North Korea).” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]