Seoul (AsiaNews) It was politics, rather than more traditional economic matters, which took on exceptional significance during this year's Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), held in the port city of Pusan (South Korea, four million residents) from 14 to 19 November.
The forum was like a huge screen, projecting a picture of the current political and diplomatic situation in East Asia. The sight does not leave much room for fantasy. There were three dramatic protagonists: South Korea, Japan and North Korea. The first experienced a week covered in glory. "APEC 2005 was the greatest diplomatic event in South Korea's history," wrote the columnist of the JoonAng daily newspaper. Pusan hosted more than 1000 directors of important financial and industrial groups (CEOs) and around 3,500 government officials who accompanied or came before the leaders of 21 member states. President Roh Moo-hyun had bilateral meetings with leading exponents of international politics, among them Chinese President Hu Jintao, his American counterpart, George W. Bush and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Japan, meanwhile, was forced to endure a humiliating diplomatic insult: Chinese President Hu Jintao refused to meet Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, because of the latter's visit to the controversial shrine, Yasukuni, last month. Two days earlier, the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Li Zhaoxing, said bluntly in an interview: "Japan must learn from Germany. After the end of the Second World War, no political leader in Germany ever venerated Hitler. The Chinese people want real ties of friendship with the Japanese people, but the leaders of Japan must abstain from actions which cause suffering to other Asian nations." Yohikazu Sakamoto, former lecturer in international politics at Tokyo University, said: "Japan is now paying a high price for the visit of its prime minister and other politicians to the Yasukuni shrine. Many nations in Asia now view Japan unable to grasp the feelings of its neighbours diffidently. At stake are diplomatic stability and Japan's national interests".
With North Korea under the spotlight, the scenario becomes more confused. Although not present at the forum, the country was the subject of much discussion, especially in bilateral talks. On 12 November, the sixth round of "six-party talks" on its nuclear problem was interrupted after only three days. "Thanks to the obstinacy of the north, the 'six-party talks', started in 2003, seem to have lost the edge acquired with the 19 September joint declaration made at the end of the fifth round," said the Korea Herald. However, the development which gives most cause for concern is the rift which materialised between Washington and Seoul over what position to adopt with regard to Pyongyang. This was highlighted by a European Union decision.
At the beginning of November, the EU proposed a draft resolution to the United Nations assembly which expressed "serious preoccupation about the systematic, widespread and serious violations of human rights in North Korea." The bill was passed with 84 votes in favour, 22 against and 62 abstentions. Among those who voted for the bill were delegates from the United States and Japan, while the government of South Korea opted to abstain.
The motion will be submitted for approval of the UN General Assembly, which will be held next month. In this regard, Mrs Kang Kyung-wha, spokeswoman for the South Korea Ministry for Foreign Affairs, said: "Our nation will abstain from the vote after presenting an explanation about the human rights situation in North Korea. We intend to tackle this problem in the general context of inter-Korean relations."
The attitude of the Seoul government makes one wonder. Both the president, Roh Moo-hyun, and the majority party, URI, have always presented themselves as champions in the defence of human rights. A good part of the population and mass media have reacted negatively. "Abstaining from the vote has damaged the image of our nation in the eyes of the international community," said the Korea Times. The reality is that the Pyongyang government is known to be a systematic violator of human rights." Well-informed sources in the north claim that more than 200,000 political prisoners are detained in concentration camps, where they are subjected to torture and inhuman treatment. The Grand National Party (GNP), the largest opposition party, has denounced the government abstention, judging it to be a "humiliating stain on the history of the nation".
