Open Letter to Kim Jong-Il

Dear Dear Leader,

The purpose of this letter is to serve as testimony in the upcoming trial of Laura Ling and Euna Lee.

I am not sure if you are allowing objective character witness reports into your tribunal, but if you are, please accept this letter as one voice among the thousands of people who would be honored to speak out to proclaim the innocence of these two human beings.

I don’t know the details of what transpired near your border on March 17th, but I do know Laura Ling.

I have worked with Laura at Current TV on and off for the past five years. We are not close friends or relatives, but colleagues. She has helped me produce various packages that I produced for Current TV from several countries.

I know Laura mostly as a soft, yet assertive voice on the other end of the telephone line, guiding me through the structure of a story, or through the finer points of editing.

I met her only once in person, and she was kind enough to invite me out for a wonderful Mexican lunch when I visited Current TV headquarters in San Francisco a couple years ago.

Laura is a very talented and energetic producer, and someone with a great eye for television. She has done incredible work all over the world, most recently covering the drug wars in Mexico.

As with any great journalist, Laura liked to push the boundaries of what is possible, but she also understood the risks inherent in this line of work.

I remember a specific conversation I had with her when I was covering the Israel-Lebanon War in 2006. She warned me to be careful and make sure to wear my flak jacket. Before we hung up, she said that no story is worth risking your life for.

Truer words have never been spoken.

I know Laura never meant to risk her life for this story. But fate has intervened, and suddenly you have two young lives to account for, one in each palm.

I implore you to put politics aside when making this decision. Think about the loss of one of your family members, perhaps your dear son, and how that would hurt you. Don't think of them as representatives of the United States. They were not on a political or diplomatic mission. They are two human beings who made a mistake. These women are nothing more and nothing less than loving wives, daughters, sisters, and Euna, a mother to a four year old girl.


Laura and Euna may have indeed trespassed onto your sovereign territory, and if that’s the case, then I am sure they are deeply apologetic. The entire world, possibly yourself included, knows these women don’t deserve to spend the prime of their lives in prison. Human beings are not pawns in a chess game.


You have charged Laura Ling and Euna Lee with hostile acts against your regime. I ask you, Dear Leader, to look into the eyes of those two girls pictured below. Are they really a threat to you and your regime?

Let this tribunal teach them and other potential trespassers a lesson. You have shown that you have the power and the will to punish these women severely. Now please do the right thing and release these women back to their petrified families as soon as possible.


Keeping them imprisoned is the ultimate sign of weakness. If you give them their lives back, you will benefit from the great power that is yielded through justice. The open hand of mercy is infinitely stronger than the closed fist of rage.


Sincerely,


Jaron Gilinsky

Journalist