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27-Jun-2002

South Korean government closed down antimilitarist website

by: Caroline Lauer

South Korea: Website Base21 reported that the South Korean government ordered the closure of the antimilitarist website on the grounds that the website denied the importance and the role of the military service, while damaging state institutions.

In fact, on 31 May 2002, the government body - the Information & Communications Ethics Committee (ICEC) - sent an email to the managers of the Anti-Military Service Movement website notifying them that their website was to be closed down for two months.

According to Base21, the ICEC stated: “This website denies the legitimacy of the entire South Korean military system, and therefore it denies the presence of the state, the government, and the constitution. There is also the strong possibility that this harmful information will reach a majority of people and mislead them.”
As the managers of Anti-Military Service Movement decided to ignore the order because they considered it to be unfair, the ICEC demanded that the Internet Data Center block the server of Link Free, the domain forwarding company of the Anti-Military Service Movement website. As a result, on 1 June Link Free removed the Anti-Military Service Movement website www.non-servian.org. In response, the managers of the anti-military movement launched a temporary site at http://dopehead.net/non-servian/.

The Joint Committee Against Government Internet Censorship and the Coalition for Realising the Rights of Conscientious Objectors and Developing Selective Service condemned the ICEC action, arguing that according to a UN resolution passed in 1998 conscientious objection is a basic human right that is supported by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 18).

The Joint Committee requested that the ICEC withdraw its order to shut down the Anti-Military Service Movement website. It also demanded that the ICEC stop censoring the internet and respect freedoms of thought and expression. Finally, the Joint Committee asked the Korean government to abolish any law oppressing conscientious objectors.

The Anti-Military Service Movement has now found a new domain forwarding company in the name of the Korean Progressive Network (Jinbonet) and is currently operating as usual on http://www.www.non-servian.org..

Source: Base21