ID :
200475
Wed, 08/10/2011 - 17:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/200475
The shortlink copeid
Philippine wartime rape victims reiterate plea for justice
MANILA, Aug. 10 Kyodo - Two groups of elderly women who claimed to have been raped by Japanese soldiers in the Philippines during World War II reiterated their demand for justice Wednesday, the 66th anniversary of Japan's defeat in the Philippines.
Eight members of Malaya Lolas (''Free Grandmothers'') held a rally near the presidential palace in Manila and urged President Benigno Aquino III to support their campaign, while eight women from the La Lila Filipina group gathered outside the Japanese Embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs to press their demand for an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government.
''We are here to air our plea and ask help from President Aquino in demanding justice from the Japanese government. We demand legal compensation, especially that most of our remaining members are now bedridden and sick,'' said Malaya Lolas President Isabelita Vinuya, who is 79.
Malaya Lolas, established in 1997, groups some 90 victims of mass rape by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army in Mapaniqui village in Pampanga province, north of Manila.
The group's demand for an apology and compensation from the Japanese government covers not just the so-called ''comfort women'' but also the entire community, which, it says, suffered torture and massacre at the hands of Japanese soldiers.
''The comfort women in Korea are supported by their government, unlike us here. Several presidents have come and gone, and we have repeatedly asked that they represent us. But our leaders have always put a premium on our country's friendship with Japan over our country's dignity,'' Vinuya said.
Before his first visit to Japan as president late last year, Aquino instructed then incoming Philippine ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez to study a ''compromise'' on the demands of the war victims ''that is acceptable to all parties.''
While calling the comfort women's concerns ''legitimate,'' Aquino expressed fear that the ''very good relations'' between the Philippines and Japan since after the war might be put at stake.
On compensation, Aquino pointed to the possibility that the Philippine Congress may ''authorize expenditures'' of such nature.
La Lila Filipina President Richilda Extremadura said Aquino has yet to deliver on both pledges.
The two organizations have rejected apologies made by Japanese officials over the years on grounds that they do not come with an admission of the crime that was committed.
Payment made through the Asian Women's Fund, a Japanese government-initiated private relief foundation, was also rejected by some comfort women, saying it did not directly come from the government.
Last year, Malaya Lolas suffered a blow after the Philippine Supreme Court rejected their petition to hold officials from the executive branch liable for not espousing their claims.
What it awaits now is the passage of a bill in Japan that will grant legal compensation to all victims of Japanese abuses during the war.
Vinuya recounted to Kyodo News how, at age 14, hundreds of Japanese soldiers stormed Mapaniqui village on Nov. 23, 1944, on suspicion that it was a haven of Filipino spies against the Japanese.
She said after being forced to carry away belongings stolen from the community by the soldiers, all of the girls and women were brought to a house in a neighboring province and raped by the soldiers.
She said the village's men were rounded up and taken to a local school, where the soldiers brutally tortured them and killed them by burning down the school.
While saying the harrowing experience remains fresh in her mind to this day, Vinuya admits that she has no more hard feelings against the Japanese people.
''I am not angry with the Japanese people now because they did not commit that crime. In fact, I appreciate the help I get from some Japanese people I know. My demand is just directed toward their government,'' Vinuya said.
Virginia Pinlac, chairman of Unity of Women for Freedom-Philippines, which supports Malaya Lolas, said Wednesday's mobilization rally is in unison with similar activities in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Germany.
A letter formalizing the demand of Malaya Lolas was also sent by Pinlac's group to Aquino last Monday.
''We ask him to engage in the fight of the Filipino comfort women and other victims of Japanese military violence. This should be along his (governance theme of) straight or right path,'' Pinlac said.
Eight members of Malaya Lolas (''Free Grandmothers'') held a rally near the presidential palace in Manila and urged President Benigno Aquino III to support their campaign, while eight women from the La Lila Filipina group gathered outside the Japanese Embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs to press their demand for an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government.
''We are here to air our plea and ask help from President Aquino in demanding justice from the Japanese government. We demand legal compensation, especially that most of our remaining members are now bedridden and sick,'' said Malaya Lolas President Isabelita Vinuya, who is 79.
Malaya Lolas, established in 1997, groups some 90 victims of mass rape by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army in Mapaniqui village in Pampanga province, north of Manila.
The group's demand for an apology and compensation from the Japanese government covers not just the so-called ''comfort women'' but also the entire community, which, it says, suffered torture and massacre at the hands of Japanese soldiers.
''The comfort women in Korea are supported by their government, unlike us here. Several presidents have come and gone, and we have repeatedly asked that they represent us. But our leaders have always put a premium on our country's friendship with Japan over our country's dignity,'' Vinuya said.
Before his first visit to Japan as president late last year, Aquino instructed then incoming Philippine ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez to study a ''compromise'' on the demands of the war victims ''that is acceptable to all parties.''
While calling the comfort women's concerns ''legitimate,'' Aquino expressed fear that the ''very good relations'' between the Philippines and Japan since after the war might be put at stake.
On compensation, Aquino pointed to the possibility that the Philippine Congress may ''authorize expenditures'' of such nature.
La Lila Filipina President Richilda Extremadura said Aquino has yet to deliver on both pledges.
The two organizations have rejected apologies made by Japanese officials over the years on grounds that they do not come with an admission of the crime that was committed.
Payment made through the Asian Women's Fund, a Japanese government-initiated private relief foundation, was also rejected by some comfort women, saying it did not directly come from the government.
Last year, Malaya Lolas suffered a blow after the Philippine Supreme Court rejected their petition to hold officials from the executive branch liable for not espousing their claims.
What it awaits now is the passage of a bill in Japan that will grant legal compensation to all victims of Japanese abuses during the war.
Vinuya recounted to Kyodo News how, at age 14, hundreds of Japanese soldiers stormed Mapaniqui village on Nov. 23, 1944, on suspicion that it was a haven of Filipino spies against the Japanese.
She said after being forced to carry away belongings stolen from the community by the soldiers, all of the girls and women were brought to a house in a neighboring province and raped by the soldiers.
She said the village's men were rounded up and taken to a local school, where the soldiers brutally tortured them and killed them by burning down the school.
While saying the harrowing experience remains fresh in her mind to this day, Vinuya admits that she has no more hard feelings against the Japanese people.
''I am not angry with the Japanese people now because they did not commit that crime. In fact, I appreciate the help I get from some Japanese people I know. My demand is just directed toward their government,'' Vinuya said.
Virginia Pinlac, chairman of Unity of Women for Freedom-Philippines, which supports Malaya Lolas, said Wednesday's mobilization rally is in unison with similar activities in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Germany.
A letter formalizing the demand of Malaya Lolas was also sent by Pinlac's group to Aquino last Monday.
''We ask him to engage in the fight of the Filipino comfort women and other victims of Japanese military violence. This should be along his (governance theme of) straight or right path,'' Pinlac said.
