A traitorous act

In a national crisis, we should stand united no matter how severe the political bickering or ideological conflicts may be. In such a situation, the division between the right and the left, or the split between the ruling and the opposition camps lose their raison d’etre. Our current national security situation in the wake of the disastrous Cheonan sinking is a litmus test for the unity in our society.

Against this backdrop, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a leading anti-government civic group, has sent an open letter to the United Nations Security Council regarding the Cheonan incident. Arguing that the government-led probe of the incident has left many questions unanswered, they have requested that the Security Council discuss sanctions against the North in a prudent manner. This attempt, which amounts to a self-injury, has us dumbfounded. Since the Cheonan disaster, North Korea has been laying the blame on us, rather than admitting to their brutal crime and apologizing. Moreover, we have been employing diplomatic efforts to forge a united front in the international community. We believe PSPD’s act is deplorable and benefits the enemy.

The civic group’s suspicions about the water pillar created when the North Korean torpedo exploded, the appearance of the severed part and the image from a thermal imaging device all are just a raw compilation of groundless rumors from the Internet. The timing of the letter is also bad because our government is scheduled to brief the Security Council today on the results of its investigation. Now the North has volunteered to give its own briefing to the council, as if it had been waiting for the chance. No doubt they will argue they had nothing to do with the tragic incident and that even a South Korean civil organization has cast suspicion on the matter.

North Korea is seeking our internal division through a proposal for academic debate, while threatening to turn Seoul into a “sea of fire.” Yet the Korea Alliance for Progressive Movement, another civic group friendly to the North, supported the North’s sly trick by sending one of its leaders to Pyongyang on the weekend. These are the people who took the lead in the anti-government and anti-U.S. movements by inciting massive candlelight protests against the resumption of U.S. beef imports and the deaths of the two schoolgirls by a U.S. armored vehicle.

We cannot but feel a deep sense of betrayal and pity if a famous civic group like PSPD thinks it can play around when it comes to North Korea. We believe they should not mislead the public by presenting the letter as an expression of diverse voices and mature democracy in South Korea. We urge them to be responsible as our nation faces this grave moment.