ID :
186774
Mon, 06/06/2011 - 18:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/186774
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Five S Koreans files complaint to UN human rights body
GENEVA, June 6 (Yonhap) -- Five former and current South Korean military judge advocates filed a petition with the U.N. human rights body Monday over a military ban on 23 books labeled as pro-North Korean.
The rare move comes two years after the defense ministry fired two of them, cut salary for another and placed two others under probation for filing a petition with the Constitutional Court to lift the ban.
In 2008, the defense ministry placed a ban on 23 books that included publications by world renowned scholars, including Noam Chomsky, a U.S. author and linguist, and Chang Ha-joon, a South Korean professor at Britain's Cambridge University.
The ministry divided the books into three categories -- pro-North Korean, anti-government and anti-U.S. or anti-capitalism -- and claimed the books could have a "bad influence" on soldiers.
The Constitutional Court upheld the decision of the defense ministry last year.
On Monday, the five filed an individual complaint to the U.N. Human Rights Council, demanding the ban be lifted and their punishment be retracted. They argued that the defense ministry ban infringes upon the freedom of expression.
The rare move comes two years after the defense ministry fired two of them, cut salary for another and placed two others under probation for filing a petition with the Constitutional Court to lift the ban.
In 2008, the defense ministry placed a ban on 23 books that included publications by world renowned scholars, including Noam Chomsky, a U.S. author and linguist, and Chang Ha-joon, a South Korean professor at Britain's Cambridge University.
The ministry divided the books into three categories -- pro-North Korean, anti-government and anti-U.S. or anti-capitalism -- and claimed the books could have a "bad influence" on soldiers.
The Constitutional Court upheld the decision of the defense ministry last year.
On Monday, the five filed an individual complaint to the U.N. Human Rights Council, demanding the ban be lifted and their punishment be retracted. They argued that the defense ministry ban infringes upon the freedom of expression.
