The details of the bill that would initiate an official inquiry into unanswered questions about recent history are becoming apparent as the negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties come to a close. The bill is being criticized for being anachronistic, since it includes clauses about questioning victims of the National Security Law (NSL) that would serve as obstacles to shedding light on the past. Civic groups say they will try block the bill's passage. It is most disappointing that the "basic law" on resolving the past, which had the goal of reconciliation and unity by ascertaining the truth, is being seriously perverted by the demands of political strategizing.
When it comes to the scope of the inquiry, the Grand National Party (GNP) wants to include "terrorism, violence, massacres, and suspicious deaths by elements that sought to deny the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea or engage in activities hostile to the state, or individuals who sympathized with such elements." It wants to re-investigate NSL violations such as "organizations advantageous to the enemy" and "anti-state activities." That goes against the intention behind the bill, which was to look into cases where people suffered at the hands of the state apparatus. That could easily lead to further pain for people who worked for democracy, people who suffered wrongly because of the NSL in years past. The law about facing the wrongs of past decades would be something like a "second NSL."
If the bill continues in its current form there might be times when individuals who collaborated with Japan or who abused human rights while perpetrating violence in the name of the state get excluded because of political deals over balance between left and right. Were that to happen it would be hard to expect the truth to really be revealed in whole and it would hard to have confidence in the inquiry. The ideological confrontation could divide national opinion. Saying that a negotiated agreement is important, however, Uri Party is ready to go so far to achieve a breakthrough that it is willing to delete words like "violence." That is like trying to revise the NSL when party policy was once about abolishing it, and there is no telling what the bill is supposed to be for.
The two parties have reduced the authority the investigation committee would have, and they have proposed that the subject of the inquiry be limited only to those with "basis for review." The GNP has a lot of responsibility to bear for the wrongs of the past, so it is regrettable to see it trying to thwart the inquiry instead of showing remorse. Uri should also be criticized for its consistent attempt to engage in deception through political deals behind closed doors. If this was how it is going to be we would be best without any law at all. The people are watching carefully. We hope the ruling and opposition parties would start from the beginning over again,
The Hankyoreh, 27 April 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Start Over on Historical Inquiry Bill |
