Thursday was the last day of Occupy City Hall by LGBT Human Rights Activists. Rainbow Action released a statement on Thursday (in English) about their success and also about the shortcomings in Mayor Park's apology.
Occupy City Hall successfully achieved their demand for a conversation and an apology from the mayor, but there is a long way to go. From the statement:
On the fifth day of the sit-in, Mayor Park finally agreed to a conversation, albeit a private one, with the Rainbow Sit-in Protesters, which had been one of our demands from the start. During the dialogue with six representatives from LGBT activist groups and civil NGOs, he apologized. The mayor apologized thus: “It is my responsibility and fault” and “I am sorry for the emotional pain that you have suffered and will make whatever statements that you demand.” He made it clear that “This is an occasion for me to offer comfort for the emotional pain that you have suffered and to apologize to you” and, “regardless of any misunderstanding or statement, no citizen will be subjected to discrimination or disadvantage.” He also said, “I will search for practical ways of resolving the difficulties that you suffer from.”
In his public account of the dialogue, however, the mayor only vaguely said that he felt “deep regret for having provided the grounds for the sit-in.” His apology is neither adequate nor satisfying. Furthermore, he did not ratify the Charter that citizens declared on December 10. For these reasons, our demands and fight must continue. We will continue to demand the metropolitan government of Seoul to ratify and enforce the Charter. We will also demand the city government, as a public organ, to embrace the principle of human rights and to respond to hate-mongering groups accordingly. As he said during the private dialogue, the mayor met with the relevant officials and ordered them to “take genuine measures,” and these officials will meet with LGBT activist groups to discuss and to establish plans for such measures. Though belated, it is good that the mayor has acknowledged and apologized for his faults. The government of Seoul must establish and implement plans to guarantee the human rights of sexual minorities and to prevent hate crime. Furthermore, this case involving the mayor and our sit-in must stand as a testament and a reminder that government officials, elected or otherwise, must never again break the principle not to discriminate against citizens including LGBT people.
Although the occupation of City Hall has ended, the fight for LGBT rights is far from over. LGBT organizations will continue to push for the enactment of a Human Rights Charter and societal recognition of same-sex couples. I'll continue to do my part by providing information in English ^^
Occupy City Hall successfully achieved their demand for a conversation and an apology from the mayor, but there is a long way to go. From the statement:
On the fifth day of the sit-in, Mayor Park finally agreed to a conversation, albeit a private one, with the Rainbow Sit-in Protesters, which had been one of our demands from the start. During the dialogue with six representatives from LGBT activist groups and civil NGOs, he apologized. The mayor apologized thus: “It is my responsibility and fault” and “I am sorry for the emotional pain that you have suffered and will make whatever statements that you demand.” He made it clear that “This is an occasion for me to offer comfort for the emotional pain that you have suffered and to apologize to you” and, “regardless of any misunderstanding or statement, no citizen will be subjected to discrimination or disadvantage.” He also said, “I will search for practical ways of resolving the difficulties that you suffer from.”
In his public account of the dialogue, however, the mayor only vaguely said that he felt “deep regret for having provided the grounds for the sit-in.” His apology is neither adequate nor satisfying. Furthermore, he did not ratify the Charter that citizens declared on December 10. For these reasons, our demands and fight must continue. We will continue to demand the metropolitan government of Seoul to ratify and enforce the Charter. We will also demand the city government, as a public organ, to embrace the principle of human rights and to respond to hate-mongering groups accordingly. As he said during the private dialogue, the mayor met with the relevant officials and ordered them to “take genuine measures,” and these officials will meet with LGBT activist groups to discuss and to establish plans for such measures. Though belated, it is good that the mayor has acknowledged and apologized for his faults. The government of Seoul must establish and implement plans to guarantee the human rights of sexual minorities and to prevent hate crime. Furthermore, this case involving the mayor and our sit-in must stand as a testament and a reminder that government officials, elected or otherwise, must never again break the principle not to discriminate against citizens including LGBT people.
Although the occupation of City Hall has ended, the fight for LGBT rights is far from over. LGBT organizations will continue to push for the enactment of a Human Rights Charter and societal recognition of same-sex couples. I'll continue to do my part by providing information in English ^^
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