AP News, February 20th, 2007
Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary has written a protest song about a Japanese schoolgirl abducted by North Korean agents in 1977.
Stookey, 69, sang "Song for Megumi" _ the title track of his new album _ at a performance Tuesday attended by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Megumi Yokota's parents, Shigeru and Sakie Yokota.
Some of the lyrics are in Japanese. "Anata wa doko? (Where are you?)," Stookey sang at the performance, televised by public broadcaster NHK.
North Korea shocked Japan in 2002 by admitting it had abducted 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and '80s to train spies. The communist regime allowed five to return home later that year, saying the others, including Megumi, were dead.
But Japan has demanded proof, saying more of its citizens may have been taken by Pyongyang. Tokyo has also refused to give energy aid to the impoverished regime until the issue is cleared up.
"I hope that maybe the world community, as they learn of this issue, will put pressure on governments not to abuse human rights _ that they must accomplish their goals in other ways," Stookey told The Associated Press.
Stookey said he plans to donate profits from his four-track album to efforts to resolve the abduction issue.
Peter, Paul & Mary, which also includes Peter Yarrow and Mary Travers, recorded covers of a number of protest songs in the 1960s, including "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," but are perhaps best known for "Puff the Magic Dragon."
