"On May 9, Marzuki received a medal of merit at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and amidst a number of Japanese government top officials," Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masafumi Ishii said, at a celebration night for the former Indonesian attorney general at the ambassadors private residence, here on Friday.
The ambassador stated that the medal of merit was bestowed upon Marzuki for his active role in encouraging the exercise of human rights and strongly opposing crimes against humanity in North Korea.
"During his term in office as UN rapporteur for human rights, Marzuki also frequently visited Japan to listen to stories from the relatives of people abducted by the North Korean government," he stated.
Marzuki has contributed a lot to the UN in formulating a resolution on North Korea, particularly with regard to the number of human rights violations in the country, he noted.
"Human rights violation in North Korea cannot be viewed optimistically, but I believe that through the efforts made by him and the international community, we can encourage improvement (in the exercise of human rights in North Korea) in the future," he explained.
Marzuki remarked that he appreciated the Japanese government for the medal of merit, which he said is for the International Amnesty and the Human Rights Watch (HRW), which have actively supervised human rights situation in North Korea.
"The award reflects the recognition of pain and sufferings of Japanese citizens abducted by the North Korean government," he revealed.
Nearly 10 years ago, North Korea abducted Megumi Yokota, a 10-year-old Japanese girl, while she was on her way home from school, he pointed out.
"I cannot imagine how the powerless girl felt and so did her family," he noted.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
