Korean fishing access In Kiribati in doubt

Journalists of any kind sel dom make it to Kiribati so it was a little strange when early in January an entire crew of Korean reporters showed up on Tarawa.

They told the Kiribati authorities they were entering the country to cover the trial later in the week of Korean Sam Jong Kim, captain of the Honduras flagged near new fishing boat Jasmine 9.

It had been arrested on June 22 last year and charged with entering Kiribati territorial and fishing illegally.

Kim was locked up on the basic prison on Betio while the mainly Sri Lankan and Indian crew were bunking down ashore.

On the evening of February 18 the Korean journalists, led by a “Mr Lee” went aboard Jasmine 9, then under guard by Police Constable Kauriri Arawatau and a special constable.

A meal was cooked up and Mr Lee invited Arawatau and the constable below to join in. At about the stage coffee was served, three of the men in the room sud denly locked the door and Arawatau realised the ship was underway.

In the struggle that followed Arawatau was handcuffed with his own cuffs while the special constable man aged to break through the door and, out of sight of the others, leapt overboard to safety. Arawatau said he did not know his colleague had gotten away and throughout the entire voyage he believed his friend had been murdered. „ He was hauled up onto the deck asj the ship headed out of the lagoon and! chained to the rail.

“I was very afraid that they would do* something to me,” he said “I believed they were going to kill me and I did not know what was hap

pening...

“I could see the lights of Kiribati! going away and was very sad.”

Kiribati has a patrol boat, Teanoai. It| was moored nearby with empty fuel

tanks. It took most of the evening for its Australian led crew to find somebody to authorise a top-up.

By that time Jasmine 9, a new ship capa ble of over 20 knots, was well away.

Next day, without the attendant Korean media corps, the Kiribati High Court con vened under Chief Justice Richard Lussick He convicted captain Sam Jong Kim and fined him A$ 120,000 or two years impris onment. Lussick said also that if Jasmine 9 was “apprehended again” it would be seized and forfeited to the Kiribati govern ment.

The owners, Venus Marines Ltd of Korea, have however refused to pay the fine. The mystery Mr Lee even told Arawatau they would never pay it as it was all the captain’s fault.

Now Kim is in the Betio prison making blanket boxes which he sells locally for around Asl6o. The Police Commissioner refused Pacific Islands Monthly’s request for an interview with the captain but speak ing through the fence Kim said he was healthy. He declined to discussanything else about the case.

The crew are still on Betio, reduced to

begging for help from the locals - none of them are all that well off anyway.

Back at sea the equally luckless Arawatau was heading towards Korea.

Later in the voyage he said Lee told him not to worry and that he would be taken care of.

“All along on the way to Korea I believed they were going to finish me.”

He only relaxed when he saw a Korean patrol boat come and meet them off Pusan where he was taken ashore.

“I was glad that I was going to get back to Kiribati.”

Mr Lee was arrested in Korea and Arawatau was put up in a hotel, given meals and eventually flown home.

Korea has, however, done little over the

kidnap and Kiribati is increasingly getting

fed up with Seoul. Last year, the patrol boat hailed a Korean boat, Dongwon No

617 which was fishing, entirely legally,

near Kanton Island. But instead of stop ping, the boat powered up and tried to out run the patrol boat which then opened fire, killing a Vietnamese crewman. It turned out the captain was drunk.

Korea gave a series of undertakings to Kiribati over the Jasmine 9 incident, including returning the boat, but has steadfastly broken every undertaking.

With tuna fishing access negotiations up for renewal, Seoul is suddenly find ing its aggressive behaviour coming back to haunt it.

In late May, President Teburoro Tito ordered a formal inquiry into the Jasmine 9.

“The Jasmine 9 case has affected rela tions between the government of South Korea and that of Kiribati and relations are likely to worsen if the former does not fulfil its part of the understanding reached between the two sides follow ing the incident,” a government state ment says.

“Cabinet has also indicated that the fishing access for Korean i vessels in Kiribati waters may also be affected.” ■

Jailed South Korean sea captain Sam Jong Kim posses lime in the Betio jail making blanket boxes