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world news Diahuebs 25 augustus 2022

Past S. Korean gov’ts blamed for abuses, deaths at facility

(AP) — South Korea’s the conditions at current mission official who oversees
Truth and Reconciliation welfare facilities around the the Brothers inquiry, said he
Commission has found country and swiftly ratify the wouldn’t hesitate to define
the country’s past military United Nations convention Brothers as a state crime.
governments responsible against enforced disappear-
for atrocities committed ances. The commission’s report was
at Brothers Home, a state- based on an examination of a
funded “vagrants’ facility” The commission “confirmed broad range of evidence, in-
where thousands were en- that the direct and indirect cluding documents from po-
slaved and abused from exercise of government au- lice, prosecutors and courts,
the 1960s to 1980s. thority resulted in the forced and Brothers’ own files,
confinement of people such as intake documents
The landmark report on deemed as vagrants at Broth- and death certificates. It also
Wednesday came 35 years af- ers Home and caused serious found records that suggest
ter a prosecutor first exposed violations of human rights, the facility abusively admin- They often allowed Brothers recommendations the com-
the horrors at the facility including forced labor, phys- istered psychiatric drugs to employees, who toured the mission makes to the govern-
in the southern port city of ical assault, cruel treatment, control inmates. city in trucks, to do the kid- ment aren’t binding but said
Busan and details an attempt- deaths and disappearances,” napping themselves. its findings could be used as
ed cover-up of incriminat- Jeung said in a news confer- The commission said the evidence for survivors if they
ing evidence that would have ence at the commission’s of- violence and abuse at Broth- Brothers, run by late owner pursue lawsuits for dam-
confirmed a state-sponsored fice in Seoul. ers were even worse than Park In-keun and his family, ages against the government
crime. previously known. It said its also embezzled the wages of or any remaining Brothers
“The state has ignored pleas examination of records so far thousands of inmates who stakeholders. The commis-
The commission’s chairper- (by inmates) to correct the point to at least 657 deaths at were forced into slave labor, sion did not directly recom-
son, Jung Geun-sik, urged human rights violations at Brothers, which was higher which involved construc- mend the pursuit of criminal
South Korea’s current gov- Brothers Home, had knowl- than the previously known tion work both offsite and charges.
ernment to issue a formal edge of the problems but did tally of 513 between 1975 at Brothers, as well as work
apology to survivors and ex- not act to resolve them, and and 1986 documented in the in factories making clothing, The commission’s report was
plore ways to ease their suf- attempted to distort and min- facility’s records. ballpoint pens and fishing based on its investigation into
fering as he announced the imize the scale of the abuses hooks. the cases of 191 individuals,
initial results of its investiga- after the Brothers Home The commission also con- who were among 544 Broth-
tion into Brothers, including incident became known in firmed that Busan police So far, no one has been held ers survivors who have so far
extreme cases of forced labor, 1987, preventing proper le- randomly seized people off accountable for hundreds of filed applications. The com-
violence and deaths. gal handling (of the abuses) the streets to send them deaths, rapes and beatings at mission plans to produce
based on facts,” he said. to Brothers, regardless of Brothers. more reports as it continues
The commission also called whether they had easily iden- its investigations.
for the government to review Lee Jae-seung, a senior com- tifiable homes or families. Jung acknowledged that the

Italy’s natural gas storage is 80% full as prices hit record

(AP) — Italy’s push to atic seaside town of Rimini His comments come as Rus- current prices “are presum-
rapidly reduce its depen- that Italy has reduced its re- “Our goal of diversifying sia’s war in Ukraine has ably the ones that market
dence on Russian natural liance on Russian natural gas from Russian gas was fun- driven natural gas prices to participants are already look-
gas has made the coun- from 40% last year to half damental to giving citizens record highs, fueling infla- ing toward,” he said.
try less vulnerable to an that by finding new sources and businesses greater cer- tion worldwide. Moscow has
interruption of supplies, in countries from Algeria to tainly about the stability of reduced gas flows to Euro- “And that probably reflects
Premier Mario Draghi Azerbaijan. The fuel is used supplies,” said Draghi, who pean countries as they try to the shortage we are in,” Gra-
said Wednesday, noting to heat and cool homes, gen- resigned last month after key bolster their reserves for the ichen added. “We’ll need to
that gas storage is 80% full erate electricity and run fac- right-wing parties yanked winter heating season, and see how we respond to that
ahead of winter and on tories. support for his unity govern- fears are rising that deliveries appropriately.”
track to hit 90% by Octo- ment. could be cut off completely.
ber. Italy could be completely in- That could lead to ration- In Italy, Draghi again urged
dependent of Russia by fall He remains in office until ing by companies and push an European cap on natural
Draghi told an annual sum- 2024 if it installs two new re- a new government can be countries into recession. gas prices, which has faced
mertime festival in the Adri- gasification plants, he added. formed following Sept. 25 resistance among other EU
parliamentary elections. Germany said Tuesday that member states. He told the
its gas storage is 80% full but audience in Rimini that fears
Public resistance is growing warned that Russia’s plan to Russia would cut off sup-
to one of the planned off- halt flows through the Nord plies in reprisal for any price
shore regasification plants Stream 1 pipeline for three cap were realized nonethe-
near the industrial port city days next week “could tem- less this summer in periodic
of Piombino, in Tuscany, and porarily dampen” the effort. shutoffs to countries like
how plans proceed will be a Germany, which at the same
key indicator of whether par- Patrick Graichen, Germany’s time continued to pay “exor-
ties that win the Sept. 25 vote deputy economy and energy bitant prices.”
intend to continue Draghi’s minister, said Wednesday that
path of reducing reliance on he believes gas markets are al- The prime minister also re-
Russian energy. ready pricing in the possibil- peated his calls that the price
ity that Nord Stream 1 won’t of electricity generated by
Taking a swipe at right-wing reopen. Russia’s state-con- renewable energy no longer
parties that advocate sover- trolled energy giant Gazprom be tied to the higher price of
eignty, Draghi said energy said the scheduled downtime natural gas.
reliance on “a country that from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 was
never stopped pursuing its for “routine maintenance.” “This relationship doesn’t
imperial past is the exact op- make sense anymore,” he
posite of sovereignty.” If gas doesn’t flow again said.
through the pipeline, then