The death of two Korean hostages in the hands of alleged Taliban kidnappers have left a gaping hole in the hearts of peace-loving citizens worldwide. Riddled with 10 bullet wounds in the different parts of his body, 42-year-old Bae Hyung-kyu did not deserve this brutal fate. Another still unidentified South Korean was found on the side of the road in the village of Arizo Kalley in Andar District, some 10 kilometers (5 miles) west of Ghazni city, We dread the lot of their 21 South Koreans companions still in the hands of the Taliban since19 July.
Calls for immediate release of remaining 21 and withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
Media Statement
Southeast Asia Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (SEA GPPAC)
The death of two Korean hostages in the hands of alleged Taliban kidnappers have left a gaping hole in the hearts of peace-loving citizens worldwide. Riddled with 10 bullet wounds in the different parts of his body, 42-year-old Bae Hyung-kyu did not deserve this brutal fate. Another still unidentified South Korean was found on the side of the road in the village of Arizo Kalley in Andar District, some 10 kilometers (5 miles) west of Ghazni city, We dread the lot of their 21 South Koreans companions still in the hands of the Taliban since19 July.
With deep sorrow, the Southeast Asia Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (SEA GPPAC) condoles with the families of the victims as we strongly condemn the killing of the helpless and innocent civilians. We call on the international community to unite in urging and exerting pressure on the kidnappers to release the remaining 21 Korean hostages.
The killing of the South Korean hostages, who are totally helpless and innocent, is totally unacceptable in this civilized world. The account narrated by an Afghan police official claiming that the Bae Hyung-kyu was shot because he was sick and can no longer walk is even more reprehensible if true.
Let us not just watch in horror as these militants threaten to execute the remaining hostages with impunity. But let us also be vigilant and resolute to do whatever we can as one international community to secure the freedom of the other Korean hostages.
But while we condemn the despicable act of the slain South Koreans’ captors and appeal for the release of his companions, we also strongly appeal to the South Korean government to study and seriously consider the demand of the militants for the withdrawal of their troops in Afghanistan. The tragic incident should move the government to re-think its decision to support the Bush government’s panting global war against terror.
At the same time, we urge the Taliban militants to show compassion for innocent human beings in the same way that they passionately pursue what they claim is their legitimate struggle. Killing civilians contradict this claimed legitimacy.
It must be repeatedly stressed that the incalculable disaster engendered by the Bush global war on terror cannot be solved by facing it off with another terror especially among hapless citizens of the world. As violence begets violence, any hegemonic paradigm imposed by one superpower can only be successfully confronted by the overwhelming moral force of peoples around the globe who have suffered the most from such infliction.
Therefore, the GPPAC-SEA urges both the South Korean government and the Taliban to re-think and reconsider each other’s positions as we appeal for the safe release of the remaining 21 hostages and the restoration of the dignity of the Afghan people in their march towards freedom and complete self-determination.
We express our unwavering and continuing solidarity with the suffering peoples of the world.
It is always the civilians, the non-combatants who are the victims of the deadly cycles of violence.
This madness has to end.
Media Contact:
Antonio M. Manaytay
Research Officer
Initiatives for International Dialogue
+63 09285045316
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