Groups mark international day for victims of Japanese wartime military sexual slavery

August 14, 2018

Various groups held a ceremony marking the International Day in Memory of Victims of Japanese wartime sexual slavery marked by the lighting of 73 candles at the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran.

“Today, we commemorate the International Day in Memory of Victims of Japanese wartime military sexual slavery by reminding the Japanese government of its obligation to render justice to women victims of their wartime crimes in the Philippines and other Asian countries," said Lila Pilipina-Gabriela in a statement.

"We also reiterate our calls on the Philippine government to officially support  the fight for justice of our Filipino ‘Comfort Women’ by delinking Japanese official development assistance from our right to remember and to erect memorials in our own territory, ” it added.

The event was organized by the #Flowers4Lolas Campaign, a gathering of various groups supporting the ‘Comfort Women’ campaign for justice, and includes Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas of Gabriela and  Teresita Ang-See, lead convenor for the campaign.

The #Flowers4Lolas Campaign invoked the recommendations of the United Nations CERD (Committee Against Racial Discrimination) for government of Japan to  “conclude investigations on violations of the rights of Comfort Women by the Japanese military, bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations, and pursue a comprehensive, impartial and lasting resolution to the issue of Comfort Women, including expressions of sincere apology and the provision of adequate reparation to all surviving Comfort Women or to their families.”

Lila Pilipina called on the Philippine government to pursue an independent foreign policy in the light of the US-Japanese strategic military alliance in Asia, and the Chinese incursion into Philippine territorial waters.

“It is the government’s responsibility to uphold the nation’s sovereignty and to ensure that history does not repeat itself -  that the sexual slavery of Filipino women by a foreign aggressor does not happen again,” the group noted.

The commemoration was part of an international action that includes  ‘Comfort Women’ groups and their supporters in South Korea, Japan  and China.

A parallel picket protest and live art  was held  by GABRIELA-Panay and the SAMAKA-KA (Samahan ng Mag-aaral at Kabataan - Kababaihan) in front of the old Iloilo Provincial Jail in Iloilo City where a former ‘comfort station’  still exists. DMS