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Japan asked to apologize for wartime crimes at IPU forum
April 6, 2005
Manila - A South Korean parliamentarian attending at the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) 112th conference here Wednesday asked Japan to officially apologize
for various crimes it committed during World War II, including recruiting
200,000 Asian women as "comfort women" for Japanese imperial troops.
At the open forum following the IPU panel discussion on violence against women
and children in armed conflict situations on Wednesday, Hye Hoon Lee, member of
the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, spoke for the other countries
Japanese forces had brutally occupied during WWII.
She asked for an apology and compensation for the "pain, suffering, and
humiliation" their people suffered.
Lee, deputy floor leader of the Grand National Party, said Japan must abide by
international laws requiring legal and financial responsibility for war crimes
committed during WWII.
"After listening to the heartbreaking stories of women and children raped and
killed in many conflict situations around the world now, I want to remind you
of the 200,000 sex slaves used by Japanese forces during WWII. These so-called
comfort women from Korea, China, and the Philippines seek compensation and
apology from the Japanese government," she said.
Lee said that in contrast to the post-war actions of Germany, Japan had not
paid war damages to its victims.
"These are grave human rights violations, and they must not happen again. Just
compensation and sincere apology will prevent them from happening again," she
said.
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The
end of apology
2-17-2005
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