This tombstone about says it all.
One Free Korea has much more on the backlash against the Korean appeasers.
A weak response to a weak response!...
Koreans are lashing out at the released Christian missionaries for "forcing" the government to negotiate with the terrorists and pay them $2 million.
This came after the international outcry against the Korean government for bowing to the terrorists.
Blame it on the missionaries...
The final seven hostages, who had been held hostage for six weeks, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in two groups late Thursday. (Reuters)
They say it was the missionary's fault that the Koreans now look like pudding in the eyes of the world!
How pathetic!
The AP reported:
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's relief at the release of 19 countrymen held hostage by the Taliban gave way Friday to anger at the victims themselves, members of a Christian church who are being criticized for ignoring warnings against travel to Afghanistan.Two million smacks to be exact:
Critics said the group's actions forced their government into negotiations with the Islamic militants that damaged the nation's international reputation.
A day after the last hostages were let go, some of the church workers apologized for the trouble caused by their captivity, and a few collapsed when told the militants had slain two male colleagues. One said she secretly kept a diary on the lining of her pants.
With the crisis over, South Koreans turned their focus to what went wrong, who is to blame and what lessons can be drawn from the six-week ordeal. Public anger toward the hostages had been expressed in one form or another from the beginning, and it was rising on Friday...
The apparent ignoring of the warning levied a high price on the government, critics argued, forcing it to deal directly with the Taliban in violation of the international principle of not negotiating with terrorists. Seoul is also alleged to have made a secret ransom payment to the insurgent group, although the government denied it.
According to Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper, South Korea paid 2 mln usd to the Taliban extremists.Aljazeera reported that $20 million was paid.
Germany and Canada blasted the weak Korean government for stooping to the demands of the Taliban killers.
Previously:
Taliban Kills South Korean Hostage- Dumps Body on Highway
Korean Hostages to Be Released-- Reports of Rape
This email exchange with my expat buddy in ROK covers it well:
ReplyDeleteMe:
"By the way, how do the DAKs feel about their missionaries being taken hostage by Taliban? I imagine they are pissed."
Him:
The DAKS are in total disarray over this thing. Their government has been following an appeasement policy with the Norks for 9 years and they now find themselves against an enemy they have to be tough with. So far, they are handling it like they do everything else these days: Blame the US. > >
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/IG27Dg01.html
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/07/26/yonhap-kabul-wont-budge-because-of-west/
If the outcome of the hostage situation weren't so potentially tragic, it would be hilarious to watch the current RoK government bumble around this thing. Haven't talked with a lot of koreans friends about it yet, will update later.
Why shouldn't the Korean missionaries be criticized? Because they're Christians?
ReplyDeleteThey created a situation that resulted in the weakening of their government and the strengthening of the Taliban.
Through their arrogance and refusal to face reality, they've guaranteed that more Afghan and Coalition lives will be lost now, all because of their need to spread their religion.
Just because they're Christians doesn't mean they can act like fatuous, bubble-headed idiots riding around in a big attention-getting bus without security, trusting Jesus to keep them safe.
They've done more harm than good, and for that they deserve criticism.
now if ethe koreans say we are going to have 100000 troop going after them then things will be interesting
ReplyDeleteTom W.- The government was not "forced" to become limp-wristed because of the missionaries. The missionaries did not "force" the government to act like pudding.
ReplyDeleteSure the Christians can be criticized. They knew where they were going. They knew it was dangerous. But, the Christians did not force their government to bow to terrorists.
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ReplyDeleteIMO the ONLY reason this is being exploited to the max is due to the fact they they were CHRISTIANS..
please take note:
There’s a Price for Paying Ransom for Hostages
excerpt:
[Every time Westerners are captured, the home front goes into high gear: crisis session of the cabinet, special envoys to the region, constant reports in the media. Even though no Western government has ever admitted that it actually paid ransom to the abductors, it has become an open secret that Germany, France and Italy would rather pay up than risk a highly publicized death of a citizen.
Germany paid 5 million euros ($6.7 million) in 2005 for the release of archaeologist Susanne Osthoff and coughed up 10 million euros for two abducted engineers last year. Italy went a step further earlier this year when it pressured the Afghan government to release several Taliban prisoners in exchange for an Italian newspaper reporter. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi was sharply criticized in other European countries, not for doing everything to help a citizen, but for openly admitting his cave-in.
Still the biggest ransom ever paid by a European government was the French deal with Libya’s strongman Muammar Qaddafi to secure the release of six Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian-born doctor who were falsely accused of deliberately infecting some 400 Libyan children with HIV. Shortly after a high-profile release engineered by First Lady Cecilia Sarkozy, her husband, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, announced a million dollar deal involving arms and civilian nuclear technology.
Remarkably, most European governments would think twice before they make concessions to domestic kidnappers. During the left-wing terror in the 1970s, Germany at first agreed to prisoner exchanges with the Red Army Faction, but refused to budge when RAF militants kidnapped leading industrialist Hans-Martin Schleyer 20 years ago and killed him after more than a month of captivity.
When it comes to abductions in foreign countries, European governments feel obliged to act to protect their citizens. With law enforcement impotent and military action unacceptable, they prefer to pay quietly and get the case behind them.]
can you/we say HYPOCRITES?!
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ReplyDeletewoops, forgot to highlight this in previous post:
Shortly after a high-profile release engineered by First Lady Cecilia Sarkozy, her husband, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, announced a million dollar deal involving arms and civilian nuclear technology.
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Well, you can't win either way. They went to a war zone! That would be fine if they were aware of the possible outcome of death, but I don't think they and their families really thought about that and accepted it. With their distraught families begging for their lives, what is the govt supposed to do? Let them be killed, one by one?
ReplyDeleteAlso, some of the criticism might stem from the Confucian culture, perhaps, where loyalty to the group is so emphasized.
I heard a Korean pastor on some news show saying the US was the real cause of violence there. I guess we all know what the Taliban thinks of that argument.
Any person, Christian, soldier, or whatnot who goes over to Afghanistan at this time should accept the fact that they may be kissing their arses good-bye before they go over. No money should be given to the Taliban for the release of any hostages; it is not the fault of the Korean Christian hostages if their government paid out money - it is the government's fault. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and look the other way.
ReplyDelete