Release International
Media call: Funeral procession for freedom and petition at NK embassy, Jan 20 - Photo - interview opportunity |
| Jan 18 2012 |
Release International will be staging a funeral procession for freedom in North Korea outside the country’s embassy in London on Jan 20. There will be a prayer vigil, readings from the words of North Korean defectors, and interview and picture opportunities. Release will be handing in a 48,000-signature petition calling for religious freedom.
What will happen
Release will be staging a funeral procession outside the North Korean Embassy on January 20. The procession signifies the death of freedom in North Korea under the previous leadership.
Release will then stage a prayer vigil for religious freedom in North Korea and hand in a petition. Then, from a coffin, white balloons will then be released representing the potential for hope and a new beginning under the nation’s new leader Kim Jong-un.
Release CEO Andy Dipper will then present a copy of the petition to 10 Downing Street, calling on the British government to press for religious freedom. ‘With the country’s new, young leader,’ he says, ‘now is the time for change.’
Visuals and audio
Visuals will include supporters in black mourning the death of freedom. One will be dressed as the grim reaper. A drum will accompany the procession, and there will be and prayers for the future of North Korea. A clear message to Kim Jong-un will be read out stating the changes that must take place under his leadership if North Korea is to be seen as a respecter of human rights.
Where and when
The procession will gather at ActonTown tube station at 10.30am. At 10.45am it will make its way slowly to the Embassy at 73 Gunnersbury Avenue, W5 4LP. The prayer vigil will commence outside the Embassy at 11am. The 48,000-signature petition will be handed in at midday, and the vigil will conclude with the release of balloons at 12.15pm.
Why
‘North Korea has to change,’ says Release CEO Andy Dipper. ‘And with the change of leadership comes opportunity. North Korea has been among the worst persecutors of Christians in the world. It practises a form of emperor worship, and sees people with religious beliefs as disloyal to the leadership and a potential threat.
‘Christians are among those held in prison camps, which have been likened to concentration camps. Thousands more live out their faith in secret to avoid detection by the authorities. With the country’s new, young leader, now is the time for change.’
The event is the culmination of the year-long One Day campaign, calling for an end to religious oppression in North Korea.
Through its international network of missions Release International serves persecuted Christians in 30 countries around the world by supporting pastors and Christian prisoners and their families; supplying Christian literature and Bibles, and working for justice.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITOR
The action plan for Jan 20 is as follows:
10:30 Gather at Acton Town Tube station
10:45 Funeral procession to march to embassy
11:00 Welcome address by Andy Dipper, Release CEO
Bible reading: Psalm 46
Explanation of general situation and key areas for concern (Release spokesman)
a) lack of freedom to be Christian
b) concentration camps
Reading of defector Lydia’s testimony
Reading of defector Mr Kim’s testimony
(Or giving of live testimony by NK defector)
Prayer in pairs
c) China/2012 (Release spokesman)
Prayer for Kim Jong Un and NK authorities (directed at embassy) (Release spokesman)
12:00 All: pray for petition success as Andy Dipper takes petition into embassy
12:05 All: Lord’s Prayer followed by:
Release of balloons as symbol of all of those imprisoned in NK for their faith in Christ and the hope that One Day there will be religious freedom.
12:10 Andy Dipper to give brief update and close
12:15 Disperse
The text of the Release petition is as follows:
To the Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, London
We, the undersigned, wish to express our gravest concern and disappointment regarding the DPRK government’s failure to safeguard the interests and protect the human rights of North Korean Christians.
Freed from exploitation and oppression by the DPRK constitution, Christians in North Korea are now under further oppression by the North Korean government itself.
North Korean Christians are loyal to their country and only wish the religious freedom to worship.
For this desire, they are detained, brutally tortured and removed from society; they spend years in work camps, and are forced to flee the country that they love to avoid this terrible persecution and oppression by the government. Given a chance to practise their faith freely, North Korean Christians would work to support North Korean society and unity.
We urge the government of North Korea to uphold its duty under the DPRK constitution to represent the interests of all Korean people and allow North Korean citizens to worship freely without threat of persecution.
For a country profile of North Korea and news stories from that nation, including accounts from refugees, please click here
For further information, please contact or Release International on 01689 823491, or by email at info@releaseinternational.org
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