James Bow of Bow, James Bow has an open letter to the Minister of Immigration.
Dear Ms. Sgro
I call upon you to personally intervene in the matter of Song Dae Ri and grant this individual asylum in Canada. It strikes me as inconsistent, not to mention inhumane, that we should have a reputation for lax border controls and immigration laws, and yet send this individual back to certain death in North Korea.
I am particularly confused that your department would rule Mr. Ri to be a war criminal, simply for being a trade official in North Korea’s dictatorship. I remind you that no specific allegations have been made against him and that Canada’s War Crimes Unit have found no evidence of wrongdoing. This perplexing stance, that simply being a part of North Korea’s dictatorship prevents you from defecting from it, prevents North Koreans from speaking out against their country’s dictatorship and saving themselves and their families. In your own small way, by using Mr. Ri’s alleged and unsubstantiated complicity in North Korea’s human rights abuses, you have bolstered North Korea’s dictatorship, allowed it to act with impunity against its citizens, and have made it harder for average North Koreans to bring about democratic change.
Over and above that, your own department acknowledges that Mr. Ri will face execution upon his return to North Korea. For this reason you have allowed his six-year-old son to stay (which, on its own, is reason enough to allow the father to stay). Every measure of humanity and standard of compassion requires that Mr. Ri be allowed to remain in Canada. This country has balked at allowing the extradition of citizens and landed immigrants to countries where they might face execution for legitimate crimes; what does it say about Canada that we make North Korea an exception?
I understand the reasons for having a bureaucratic process, but bureaucracy should never be allowed to get in the way of the most basic human rights. As the minister of immigration, you have the power to intervene. Do so, now, and allow Mr. Song Dae Ri to remain in Canada with his son.
Sincerely,
James Bow