10/25/2004: "The WCC: doin' what they do best"

It says here that "Fifty-five church leaders and consultants from nine countries of Asia, Europe and North America met under the auspices of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) at the Tozanso YMCA conference centre in Japan from 17th to 21st October 2004 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of an historical ecumenical consultation that initiated lines of communication between Christians of the Democratic People�s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK)."

The consultation issued a "final communiqu�" in which the participants told a breathlessly waiting world what needs to be done to bring about peace and security (but not freedom�see below) on the Korean peninsula. It criticized the United States for refusing to give in to Kim Jung Il's demands for bilateral negotiations and a non-aggression pact, and criticized Japan for not confronting its undoubtedly beastly past behavior in Korea. Beyond that, the proferred formula for peace goes like this:

*Normalization of relations between the DPRK and the USA and the adoption of a non-aggression pact will provide a solid foundation for ending the Armistice and replacing it with a Peace Treaty. Reconciliation between the US and the DPRK remains the key to diffusing tension in the region.

*A more independent regional policy and role by Japan is essential to create a climate for peace, security and regional stability. The implementation of the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration 17 September, 2002 will further this process.

*Humanitarian support for food, medicine, and other inputs should be continued by Japan, USA and other countries without conditions attached. Humanitarian assistance should not be abused for political ends. In order to address the fundamental economic conditions, donor countries should consider other forms of assistance like the provision of energy and development aid.

*Lifting of economic sanctions of the DPRK will lead to better living standards and progress in different sectors of society. The US and Japan should refrain from using sanctions as a political leverage in their policy of confrontation and isolation.

*The participants encourage the WCC and the CCA to convene a working group to build an ecumenical network of churches, individuals and organizations interested in promoting peace and the reunification of Korea.

Anyone notice what's utterly missing from those five points (indeed, from the entire communiqu�)?

Any reference whatsoever to the North Korean regime's human rights record�universally regarded as the world's worst�or its possession of nuclear weapons in violation of a 1994 agreement that saw the United States and Japan ship lots of humanitarian aid to the North, only to see it wind up on the tables of the military.

You'll remember that just a couple of weeks ago, Bob Edgar of the National Council of Churches was blasting away at the IRD's human rights report for being "grievously off the mark" when it accused the WCC, NCC, ECUSA, UMC, PCUSA, and ELCA of one-sidedly criticizing Israel while ignoring the far worse human rights abuses of others nations, including North Korea. Well, here was an opportunity, under WCC auspices, for someone to point out that North Korea more closely resembles one of the rings of hell than a free and open society, but no. It would seem that any unpleasantness found on the Korean peninsula is�you guessed it�the fault of those evil Americans and their Japanese toadies. Apparently, for consultation participants, the fact that North Korea is the world's foremost thugocracy should present no real barriers to its reunification with the democratic South.