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| North Korea puts on show of military might for heir apparent – and the world Kim Jong-il smiles and claps alongside son as troops and tanks parade in front of live TV audience and international mediaThe ground shook as thousands of boots slammed on to the road in unison. Martial tunes blared; bayonets glinted; the tanks' diesel fumes choked the air.Today saw the largest military parade that North Korea has ever witnessed: a blend of sheer force and razzmatazz. But the real show was not down on Kim Il-sung Plaza but up on the viewing rostrum, where the country's leader, Kim Jong-il, and his heir apparent, Kim Jong-un, stood watching.For most of the spectators, who swivelled as one to cheer and applaud the two Kims' arrival, this was the first sighting of the young general – a man who, until two weeks ago, had never been acknowledged by state media. Unusually, the event was broadcast live, giving the country's 24 million inhabitants a chance to see their leader-in-waiting at last."Kim Jong-un has the love of all the Korean people," declared Kim Chong-il, a media officer from the Foreign Affairs ministry."No words can describe our excitement [at seeing him]," added civilian participant Cho Song-bok, through an official translator. It was hard to imagine anyone professing anything short of total loyalty to Kim or his father.The crowd chanted "Kim Jong-il! Protect him to the death!" and "Kim Jong-il! Unite to support him!" as the 68-year-old leader smiled, clapped and saluted troops.His absence at the last military parade in 2008 was linked to reports of a stroke. Today he stood throughout the 90-minute event, before slowly walking the length of the building to wave from each corner. He leant heavily on the balcony rail as he went.Beneath him, female spectators were bright in their traditional gowns while men bore two, three or even four columns of enormous medals on their jackets alongside the Kim Il-sung pins worn by every North Korean. The country's founder is still revered and his image has been central to his son's rule and establishing his grandson as the next leader.The Kim family and the military are the pillars of the state. Although the parade officially marked the 65th anniversary of the Korean Workers' party, its scale and focus suggested it owed more to cementing Kim Jong-un's position and the country's songun ("military first") policy. Ri Yong-ho, chief of the army's general staff, stood between father and son.As many as 20,000 soldiers, sailors and air force pilots took part. Women with identical black bobs and khaki-skirted uniforms bore machine guns; sailors marched in blazingly white jackets. Armed officers guarded lorries loaded with rocket launchers and enormous missiles that underlined international concerns about the country's military stance.The North has come under increasing international pressure with the imposition of sanctions following a second nuclear test and missile firings last year and the sinking of a South Korean warship this spring. Pyongyang denies involvement in that incident and says it is defending itself against US aggression.The country is one of the world's most tightly controlled, and had never before allowed so many international media to visit at once.Kim So-hye, of the foreign ministry, said: "A lot of people from outside of Korea came here and we meant for them to see [the celebrations] because you don't know a lot of things about Korea and probably might have some misunderstandings and wrong impressions about our country."Where outsiders usually focus on weapons programmes and food shortages, the authorities want to project colour, joy and harmony."I think our might of single-hearted unity around the headquarters of revolution is demonstrated to the full through the ceremony today," said Kim Song-yon, another participant. "As we have the young general, I think the future of our Korea is very bright and I think we are very much honoured."The celebrations continued into the night, with 10,000 dancers flooding the square for the mass dance – a sequined extravaganza crossing Busby Berkeley with socialist realism.They leapt up and down waving plastic flowers as fireworks exploded over the plaza. Cheering erupted from the speakers: the father and son had reappeared.An all-female orchestra in white meringue frocks played popular tunes, while men dressed as ostriches ran in circles in tribute to the country's animal husbandry.Images of prosperity and progress unfolded across giant screens. A harvester rolling through the fields gave way to one of the country's two computing rooms for students. Above, lasers raked the sky; beneath, men in glittering jumpsuits gyrated with girls in tight orange tops and matching vinyl miniskirts. Children dressed in silver unitards bore antennae on their heads. The theme: modern technology.Down the length of the Juche tower ran the message: "How glad President Kim Il-sung would be if he could see this reality."But it is his inexperienced grandson who must find a way to sustain this extravagant vision of plenty and the magic of his name.North KoreaKim Jong-ilTania Braniganguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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Time for the Cuban travel ban to go | Stephen Wilkinson The US has stalled over moves to end the nonsensical travel ban on Cuba. But with reform afoot in Havana, the time is ripeOf all the misguided policies that the US has towards Cuba, perhaps the most nonsensical, counterproductive and downright hypocritical is the travel ban. Cuba is the only country in the world that Americans cannot visit. Under the current restrictions, brought in by George W Bush, only Cuban-Americans and, through a complex licensing regime, a few businessmen, journalists, students and academics can travel to Cuba. Because tourism is not allowed, 99% of their compatriots just can't go. Quite why the citizens of what is supposed to be the bastion of freedom should be not be free to travel wherever they choose is a question that not even the supreme court has adequately addressed. It's a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and makes the US call for human rights in Cuba ring very hollow. The US is the only nation in the world with a Cuba travel ban. If it believes it appropriate to ban Americans from visiting nations that have a deplorable human rights record then why doesn't the US declare dozens of other countries off limits? Americans are free to visit China and Saudi Arabia, as well as Iran, Syria and North Korea – so why not Cuba?According to opinion polls, most Americans and, indeed, even Cuban-Americans are now in favour of ending the travel ban and the overwhelming majority of Cubans I have known – of all political stripes, including dissidents – have wanted the US travel ban ended, too.So you'd think it a no-brainer. But you'd be wrong.As this summer opened, it looked as though the United States was going to have a new policy. Two bills were making steady progress through congress, either of which would effectively remove the ban on US tourists from visiting Cuba. In addition, it was widely rumoured that the White House was, in any case, preparing to relax the licensing restrictions on non-tourist travel and allow more academics, journalists, religious groups and businessmen to visit the island. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers the ban, was instructed to draw up new regulations and it was widely leaked to the press in August that Obama was about to make an announcement that would return the situation to that which pertained at the time of the Clinton presidency.But then, as the midterm elections approached, both these initiatives were stalled through the vehement opposition of the strongly anti-Castro US Senator Robert Menendez and a group of other leading Democrats who were nervous that any change in the policy would damage their re-election prospects. Sources in Washington have told me that, in September, Menendez visited Obama and made a deal – that he should wait until after the elections to announce the change.If that is true, he shouldn't wait any longer. As soon as the elections are over, the White House should take the opportunity to ease the ban. The move is long overdue: 18 months ago, when he relaxed the restrictions on Cuba-Americans visiting their families, Barack Obama said he could not do any more to ease the embargo until Cuba made improvements in human rights and moved towards a free-market system. Since then, Raúl Castro has agreed to release some 56 political prisoners and has started a reform process that will create an internal market in goods and services, in which an estimated half million self-employed entrepreneurs will eventually participate. President Obama should now reciprocate and keep his side of the bargain. Removing the travel ban is by far the easiest and least controversial thing he could do. For Americans and for Cuba, it's time to go.CubaUnited StatesObama administrationUnited StatesUS CongressUS supreme courtStephen Wilkinsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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