Universal Human Rights Are the Cornerstone of a Truly Developed Nation

Universal Human Rights Are the Cornerstone of a Truly Developed Nation
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The concept of human rights is a controversial issue. Some argue that it cannot be universal simply because there is no universal culture or religion. Others say that the Declaration of Human Rights was created with a Western bias, unaware that there are countries in the other hemisphere that have their own set of traditions, culture and faith quite different from those of the United States and Europe.

What cannot be argued however is that the developed nations recognize and accept the 30 articles embodied in the Declaration that was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris in 1948. It is now the foundation of national constitutions, international treaties, trade agreements and policies of humanitarian aid and civic groups.

The Group of Seven (G7,) countries with the richest economies as classified by the International Monetary Fund (IMF,) also happen to be non-communist states whose governments are intent on protecting the rights of its peoples based on the UN declaration. The G7 includes Japan, the only non-Western nation and paradoxically, the country most widely perceived as the perpetrators of human abuses of all forms during WWII.

The metamorphosis of Japan from an empire to a democratic country began after its defeat in WWII. The Allies led by the US' General Douglas MacArthur began Japan's reconstruction from a country in shambles into what it is today, the world's third-biggest economy after the United States and China. After the surrender of Japan, its new leaders joined the Western bloc, countries that are allies of the United States, and signed the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951. It is said that the treaty was based in large part to the articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The other countries that make up G7 - Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom - although more concerned about international economy, security and energy policies, informally serve as a watchdog for human rights and a country's right to sovereignty. This is evident when it expelled Russia (then making the group a G8) in 2014 for annexing Crimea and seizing it from Ukraine.

Hence, there is validity to the observation that universal human rights are the cornerstone of a truly developed nation. Japan, because it was able to rise from its disreputable image as a war aggressor and human rights abuser to an economic powerhouse and one of the world's biggest donors of aid, is a prime example of a truly developed nation.

But the same cannot be said of South Korea, the other key Asian ally of the US. Like Japan, it too saw a rapid economic rise in the 1960s. After the wars it was involved in, it was as impoverished as the poorest African countries. But the millions of dollars that Japan and the US paid to South Korea enabled it to rebuild its infrastructure. Korea received the money from Japan as reparation for property and other claims and from the United States for sending more than 300,000 ROK soldiers to fight in the Vietnam War. Its development though came at the expense of South Vietnam people who were massacred and its women turned into sex slaves.

These incidents belong to the past, even as South Korean president Park Geun-Hye will not admit to its veracity nor apologize to the surviving victims and kin. And herein lies the danger of Park's denial of history. Philosopher George Santayana comes to mind when he said, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it" and it is happening now with Park. As her father the dictator Park Chung-hee suppressed oppositionists who were vocal against the excessive abuses of his regime, so the current Park is squelching scholars, politicians, civic groups, protesters, and journalists who dare speak out against her policies and regulations.

Park Yu-ha, author of the book "Comfort Women of the Empire" is facing lawsuits for revealing the truth about the Korean comfort women. She has questioned the accepted version of the alleged sexual slavery and contends that it was private Korean and Japanese businessmen who set up brothels to serve the Japanese army. Further, she adds that not all women were forced into prostitution and that many of them went willingly with their partners and lived a comfortable life.

Tatsuya Kato, Seoul bureau chief for Japan's Sankei Shimbun, was charged with defamation for writing about the whereabouts of Park during the critical hours of the MV Sewol ferry disaster in April 2014. Pressure from external media and governments forced the Seoul Central District Court to acquit him.

About 60,000 protesters from civic organizations and labor groups marched to the capital in November of last year to rally against new labor policies and the plan to revise history textbooks. They were attacked by South Korea's police with water cannons and tear gas.

Will Ms. Park learn her lessons? In the April 2016 National Assembly election, her Saenuri Party won only 122 seats while the opposition Minjoo Party got 123 and the rest went to the new People's Party. To have a majority of the 300-seat National Assembly, Park needs 151 assemblymen from her party.

Korea's economy has fallen and unemployment and household debt are rising. Discontent showed in the election returns. Pres. Park should heed the voice of the people and respect their rights if she wants to get South Korea back in the right direction.

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