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China-Japan-Koreas
Norks Ban Nationals in Libya from Returning Home
2011-10-27
And for the same reason that Stalin always imprisoned Soviet POWs when they returned home...
Having seen some corner of the outside world, and eaten its food, they cannot be turned loose among the inmates to trade recipes?
North Korea has reportedly banned its nationals in Libya from returning home fearing they may spread news about the freedom the North African country achieved after eight-month-long pro-democracy protests.

Citing an unnamed source, Yonhap news agency said that Pyongyang ordered about 200 of its nationals in the civil-war-ravaged country to not come home out of apparent concern that they could push for a similar uprising.
There's always Mauritania...
The source added that he believes the North is refusing to recognize Libya's National Transitional Council as the legitimate government.

The North Korean regime has tightened control of information since the so-called "Arab Spring" began and is strictly monitoring the use of computers, cell phones and memory sticks.
Posted by:Steve White

#3  They no longer have to go back to North Korea and eat grass and tree bark but are free to now live in the west?

I would consider that to be a nice gift.
Posted by: Speamble Wittlesbach8094   2011-10-27 19:34  

#2  Haven't the "Norks" done this sort of thing in the past. I seem to recall this happening a few years ago. No Arab spring here.
Posted by: Dale   2011-10-27 11:36  

#1  For "imprisoned", read "executed". There is a notorious story in which Stalin took a map of Europe, and penciled a line from north to south, ordering that anyone who had crossed that line "might" have been "exposed" to anti-Soviet influences, so on their return should be isolated and eliminated.

At the end of the war, there was a minor mutiny in the US Army, because when Soviet POWs were repatriated by US MPs, they were taken just out of sight and machine gunned. So the MPs refused to turn over any more.

The Soviets were ready, and their ambassador in Washington immediately issued a harsh and threatening demand that their POWs be returned immediately, and Washington, not knowing any better, sent a directive to continue. But the MPs refused the orders, until word got back to Washington about what was happening.

In the end, ignoring angry protests from Moscow, the US kept over 100,000 Soviet POWs, who were made citizens of western European nations.

The chaos after the war was pretty ridiculous. Some Wehrmacht support units were just told to remove all their insignia, but keep their rank and continue to do what they were doing, some of them lasting well into the 1980s as semi-private contractors for NATO and the Bundeswehr.

Eisenhower was much later criticized for mistreatment of many German POWs who were kept imprisoned for quite some time, but not well taken care of, after the end of hostilities. They were just ignored in the confusion.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-10-27 10:33  

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