Indian Catholic (http://www.indiancatholic.in)
Religious leaders show solidarity with former 'comfort women', 4 December 2009
SEOUL: Asian religious leaders have voiced support for former "comfort women" by joining a weekly rally calling on Japan to make an official apology for its war-time atrocities.
"As a Japanese, I feel shame and guilt seeing these 'grandmothers' still protesting on the street. I strongly urge the Japanese government to make an official apology and compensate them," Father Paul Kazuyoshi Okura told the protesters.
The secretary-general of the Committee for Justice and Peace in Tokyo archdiocese said that on his return to Japan, he will step up efforts to persuade his government to meet their demands.
Father Okura was among some 40 religious leaders from around Asia who joined 70 protesters in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Dec. 2.
The rally, the 894th since the weekly protests started on Jan. 8, 1992, was organized by the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.
The rallies started just before a visit by then Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa in 1992. Since then, they have been held every Wednesday.
The Asian religious leaders, who participated in the rally, were attending the "Second Asia Inter-religious Conference on Article 9 of the Japanese Peace Constitution in Seoul" from Dec. 1-4. They came from countries and territories including the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The conference sought the preservation of Article 9 in Japan's constitution that prevents the nation from ever going to war again. Concern is mounting over moves by conservatives in Japan to try and repeal the article.
Religions represented at the conference included Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Won-Buddhism, a Korean indigenous religion.
Gil Won-ok, 82, one of four former "comfort women" at the rally, told participants that about 90 of the original 234 Korean women who had identified themselves as "comfort women" are still alive, and that Japan should address their grievances before they all died.
In tears she said, "Many Koreans hailed our nation's liberation from Japan in 1945, but we hid ourselves because we had the scars of being sex slaves on us."
Bishop Deogracias Iniguez of Kalookan, the Philippines, expressed his solidarity with the victims, noting that many women in his country also suffered the same fate during the war.
"These Koreans have protested almost 900 weeks, which surprises me. This should have been finished a long time ago," he said. "If the new Japanese government makes an official apology, then the women's wounds can begin to heal and real forgiveness can be made."
According to historical records, about 200,000 young Korean women were forced to serve Japanese troops as "comfort women" or sex slaves during World War II. China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also had women who were forced into becoming "comfort women."
Despite an apology made to Korea's national assembly by Miyazawa in 1992, Japan has denied official responsibility over the use of women as sex slaves during wartime.
Courtesy : UACN
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