Our man in Pyongyang goes native
In a manner that would have George Orwell spinning in his grave, Hughes describes election day in the totalitarian state as if it were a festival of democracy. Forget the Axis of Evil, forget labour camps, secret police, a nation nearly reduced to starvation only a few years ago. No, it's a veritable Butlins here in the DPRK.
The weather was "warm and sunny for the elections of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly", Hughes gushes.
"There was a very festive atmosphere throughout the city. Many people were walking to or from the polling stations, or thronging the parks to have picnics or just stroll. Most of the ladies were dressed in the colourful traditional hanguk pokshik and the men in their best suits. Outside the central polling stations there were bands playing and people dancing and singing to entertain the queues of voters waiting patiently to select their representatives in the country's unicameral legislature. The booths selling drinks and snacks were very popular with the crowds and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The list of successful candidates was published on Monday."
Here comes my favourite bit.
"There was a reported turn-out of over 99% of the voters and all the candidates, including Kim Jong Il, were elected with 100% approval." Funny that, anyone would think this was a police state in which those who admit to not voting are carted off for re-education.
"In a few weeks time the Supreme People's Assembly will open for business which will include voting for the Chairman of the National Defence Committee (presently Kim Jong Il), and drawing up the budget for the coming financial year.
"The city has returned to normal since the weekend, and people are going about their business much as they usually do. However, the sunny weather and warmer temperatures have encouraged the parks and roadside verges to begin turning green again after the long winter. During the afternoons, long columns of schoolchildren can be seen marching through the streets in their blue uniforms with red neckerchiefs, carrying red banners and flags that encourage the people to launch a "general offensive in response to the Party's call to make a historic leap on all fronts, and sounding the advance for opening the gate to a strong, powerful and prosperous nation in 2012, the centenary of the birth of the Great Eternal Leader Kim Il Sung. The children sing songs and chant slogans as they either walk gaily hand in hand, or march solemnly by."
"Gaily, hand in hand"??? As I said, extraordinary stuff - and all paid for by you the taxpayer.
At first I thought it was a spoof, but it 'aint. Thankfully the public are wising up. One commenter asks "Is this meant to be some sort of insight from someone who works for the UK Govt, or is this just a press release from the North Korea news agency?"
UPDATE: Someone at the FCO must have had a word since his original post. Hughes is then forced to admit that the reason for 100 per cent approval is that, er, there was only one candidate, for example.
But in true FCO tradition, he doesn't seem too apologetic.
"Some people have commented that my entry last week made North Korea sound idyllic, and read like a press release issued by the North Korea news agency. I do not apologise for portraying Pyongyang as a normal city because in many ways it is. The people in this city have lives that are normal to them and they celebrate the coming of spring in the same way that people do all over the world."
He says his post was "not intended as political commentary, rather it was an opportunity to show that Pyongyang is not an dark and evil place populated by demons, but a city inhabited by human beings who make the best of their lives in spite of the difficulties they face on a daily basis."
So that's OK then.
Maybe Hughes should read this account of the attempted escape of prisoners from a North Korean gulag. Or even this most recent testimony, from only last month, suggesting that children orphaned by the Communist-inspired famine are now being rounded up into those same gulags.
