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Korean American CBO Fights Red-Baiting for Anti-War Stance
6/7/03
A red baiting campaign in New York City has targeted Nodutdol, a community development organization in Queens, and other Korean American groups, who have organized activities against US wars. If you feel you'd like to support them, the forms etc to do so are at the bottom. Forms and checks can be mailed to Nodutdol 37-48 61st street, Woodside NY 11377. For tax deductible contributions, check can be made out to Asian American Federation with Nodutdol in the memo. The following is a public letter from Nodutdol.
Friends and Community members:
The "War on Terror" has resulted already in a terrible loss of life,
and now we are faced with threat of a renewed conflict on the Korean peninsula
- a conflict, military experts say, which would result in the death of millions.
At the same time, Americans have seen their civil liberties and jobs
at home disappear, and thousands of immigrants are being threatened with
deportation - despite the lack of any connection to terrorism.
It is therefore more important than ever that we ensure that the democratic
rights and freedoms which form the core of American life be protected - and
that we support those community groups and individuals who are working for
the betterment of our communities. And despite the fear and tension that are
understandable right now, what we must not do is succumb to 1950's McCarthy-like
attacks and red-baiting.
Right now, a Queens community group is under such attack. Nodutdol, a Korean
American community group, has been the target of a series of slanderous articles
in the Korea Times, a local Korean American newspaper.
In mid-March, out of the blue, the Korea Times falsely reported that Nodutdol
was "Pro-North Korea" and "Anti-American". The newspaper's
allegations led the Korean American Association of New York to suddenly cancel
a public event sponsored by numerous groups, including the Asian American Studies
Program at Hunter College and the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program at
New York University. Just as troubling was the role of the South Korean consulate
in this matter, which reportedly pressured the Korean American Association
to cancel the event. Since then, in a series of articles, the Korea Times has
essentially been warning Korean Americans not to do or say anything that questions
American government policies. The Korea Times has equated democratic free speech
with "Anti Americanism", and in effect, attempting to silence the
Korean community. This anachronistic behavior seems to come out of history
books - the 1950's McCarthy period in American history and the 1970-80's military
dictatorship in South Korean history. The theme of the Korea Times articles
has been simple: if a Korean American questions American government policy,
this will result in Americans becoming anti-Korean.
