MAIDEN SPEECH
MANILA, APRIL 18, 2012 (MANILA STANDARD) EDITORIAL - North Korea's
twenty something leader, Kim Jong Un, delivered his first public speech Sunday
during the 100th birth anniversary of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung. The young
Kim bears a striking resemblance to his grandfather, who established the country
and was revered by the North Korean people.
Kim told his people that he would strengthen the military to make it a
superior force and at par with the "imperialists." A parade then showed off the
military's cache of weapons, including a missile.
Nobody dared mention that the speech and the parade took place two days after
the embarrassing failure of North Korea's rocket launch , which perhaps best
showed the state of North Korea's military capability despite Kim's grand
pronouncements.
That rocket launch, to be sure, rattled some nerves in the Philippines.
Several airlines anticipated debris falling into their flight paths and adjusted
those flights accordingly. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Council convened a meeting to prepare parts of Northern and Eastern Luzon for
the effects of the launch.
The United States condemned the plan and canceled food aid to North Korea,
which the millions of North Koreans need badly.
Kim made no mention of those setbacks in his fiery speech, of course,
promising his people that they would "never have to tighten their belt again,"
reported The New York Times. Despite this rosy promise, Kim did not say exactly
how he intended to achieve that goal. It is believed that millions of North
Koreans go hungry, with the government spending inordinately on the military and
on other items to glorify the regime.
The young leader was groomed to speak this way, extolling the might of the
North Korean military, speaking ill of the West and controlling what the
population thinks and feels.
North Korea causes anxiety to the rest of the world primarily because of the
mystery that shrouds it. The reclusive state reveals so little of itself to the
outside world. In the same way, it isolates its own citizens from external
influences by tight censorship of information.
This is the environment in which leaders like the Kims thrive and are able to
pursue their personal designs without fear of agitating their citizens. One can
only commiserate with the North Koreans, kept ignorant of what goes on outside
their borders and bombarded with propaganda that extolls their leader despite
the desolate conditions they mistake for utopia.
Count it as a good thing that we Filipinos are able to speak out about our
hopes and dissatisfactions. We are aware—sometimes too aware—of what is wrong in
the government and in our society because we see through our leaders and know
where they are coming from.
Amid all the things that we find wrong, or lacking, in our country, our might
is that we can agree or disagree. So long as we do it fairly, no one will run
after us for doing so.
(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on
/2012/April/17)
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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