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WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives Monday
rebuked US ally Japan and called for an apology for the sexual
slavery inflicted by its wartime military on 200,000 Asian
‘comfort women.’
In a resolution passed by a voice
vote, lawmakers called on the Tokyo government to make an
“unambiguous apology” for the coercion of women into army
brothels during the 1930s and World War II.
The Japanese government has
insisted it has already apologized for the treatment of the women
and given no sign that it intends to do so again.
Backers of the resolution
immediately hailed it as sending an important message to Japan about
the need to make further amends on an episode that still scars,
generations after the war.
House of Representatives speaker
Nancy Pelosi said the House made a “strong statement in support of
human rights.
“More than 50 years later, the
Japanese government has still not issued a clear apology to the
‘comfort women.’” she said.
“This is disappointing because
Japan is a critical ally of the United States and a leading
international voice on issues such as global warming and assistance
to the poorest people in the world.”
“Although the violence against
the ‘comfort women’ occurred many years ago, their wounds have
yet to heal.”
Amnesty International said the
vote showed that justice was long overdue for the comfort women,
only a few hundred of whom are still alive.
“This resolution also sends a
powerful message to the survivors, who have combated a lifetime of
hardship and stigma, and who still bear the terrible scars from the
sexual slavery—that their plight is not forgotten.” said Dr.
Purna Sen, Amnesty’s Asia-Pacific Program Director.
The measure says the
“government of Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize, and
accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner
for its Imperial Armed Force’s coercion of young women into sexual
slavery, known to the world as ‘comfort women.’”
It calls on the Japanese prime
minister to make a public apology, urges the government to refute
any claims that the episode never happened and wants future
generations to be told of “this horrible crime.”
Earlier this month, Japanese
conservative activists protested the House measure, saying the women
were not slaves but just making money in a business practice.
Lawmakers, academics and
journalists gave the US Embassy in Tokyo a protest letter saying
they were “surprised and shocked” by pressure from US lawmakers
for a fresh apology to so-called comfort women.
--AFP
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