JEJU UPRISING DISTORTIONS CONTINUE

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A large-scale commemoration ceremony for the April 3rd Jeju Uprising victims took place yesterday for the first time in three years. Although it has been 75 years since the incident occurred, the way it is being perceived varies significantly. During yesterday's ceremony, a group that has the same name as the 'Seobuk Youth Association', which had aggressively suppressed the April 3rd Jeju Uprising, attempted to hold a rally, causing clashes with local residents. People Power Party Supreme Council member Tae Yong-ho who claimed that the uprising was triggered by orders from North Korea, expressed no intention to apologize. The bereaved families appealed for an end to the ideological offensive on the incident.

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In front of Peace Park dedicated to the remembrance of the April 3rd Jeju Uprising, residents of the island block protesters opposing the purpose of the ceremony, paying respect to the victims of the 1948 uprising. They are members of the Seobuk Youth Association, the same name as the ultra-right organization that violently quelled civilian demonstrators during the Jeju April 3rd Uprising, following the nation's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. The confrontation ended, as the association members left the scene. But it added to the sufferings of the uprising victims' families attending the memorial ceremony. Placards labelling and condemning the Jeju Uprising as a communist riot hung across the island until last week. The provincial government reviewed relevant laws and began removing them. However, those putting up the placards, including the Our Republican Party, protested and pledged to bring criminal charges against the removal. People Power Party Supreme Council member Tae Yong-ho virtually refused to apologize for his remarks that the Jeju Uprising started with North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's order. The lawmaker also rejected calls to withdraw his other remark that the uprising was masterminded by the Workers' Party of South Korea.

[Soundbite] Tae Yong-ho(PPP Supreme Council member) : "I don't understand why I should apologize. I made the remarks with intention to relieve their pain."

Hurt by a series of attempts to distort and defame the Jeju Uprising, victims' families called for an end to an ideological offensive.

[Soundbite] Kim Chang-beom(Chair, Association for the bereaved families 4.3 victims) : "We are suffering from deep pain and unrelenting distress even before our wounds are healed. The Jeju Uprising is not about confrontation between progressive and conservative groups. It is about violation of human rights."

A 2003 government report confirmed that the state's use of excessive force led to the Jeju April 3 Uprising. The number of victims is estimated to be up to 30,000. A special bill designed to punish those spreading false information about the Jeju Uprising is now pending at parliament.