I refer to the international news which pertains to South Korea’s sharp demand to Japan to compensate their ‘comfort women’. This concerns the unceasing plight and continuing fight of those sexually enslaved and sadistically abused women with regard to their persistent struggle for justice, acknowledgement and due compensation!
This piece is in solidarity to their worthy cause and legitimate demand for apology!
I implore and beseech them to keep the flames of the crusade alive!
The struggle of these women does not simply entail financial or monetary compensation. That is just a tiny link in this whole series of chain of events.
To put this matter in its proper historical perspective, this continuing battle primordially centers on a demand for justice and due recognition.
Japan cannot evade historical responsibility neither can it deny complicity to all these horrible and supra horrendous dehumanization and blatant exploitation in such an organized, large-scale and systematic manner.
It is but just and moral for the Japanese government to accept the truth, admit the massive havoc that they wreaked and their incomparable barbarism, bear the responsibility, sincerely apologize to all those ‘comfort women’ and finally to pay for damages and/or allocate a corresponding compensation.
The Japanese people and its government cannot forever live in lies, denial, evasion and worst; historical falsification!
This is in-line with the precise analysis of the director of Asian studies at Temple University of Tokyo, Jeff Kingston:
"Historical grievances in Korea do not depend on who is in charge in Japan. They simmer on and on until every once in a while they boil over. Tokyo is living in a dream world if it believes that these matters are resolved and not worth addressing.”
They must do the right thing and that is to sincerely apologize, openly confess and unequivocally admit all responsibility for their war time animality, barbarity, inhumanity and atrocity!
As lucidly reported by the Guardian, “Anger of wartime sex slaves haunts Japan and South Korea”, October 18th, by Justin McCurry:
Earlier this week, South Korea repeated its demand that Japan acknowledge its use of former sex slaves and compensate them. "Japan's legal responsibility has not been settled," the country's deputy chief envoy to the UN, Shin Dong-ik, told a UN committee. "Those acts were a crime against humanity."
Until such time that the Japanese government and so as its people is not doing the right thing, the just decision and the honorable thing to do --- them they will never ever wash their historical crimes and they will forever be haunted and hounded by the dark ghosts of the bloody past! Their future will never be glorious or triumphant!
To all ‘comfort women’ from Korea, China, the Philippines and other countries; I admonish you all to keep up the faith, continue the struggle and never ever give up for your heavenly cause to exact justice and demand due recognition!
I applaud you all for your unwavering resolve!
Now, whether Japan admit its sins or not, issue the sincere and true apology or not is already beyond the domain of this historical case of exceptional importance.
For all intents and purposes, this quest has already assumed its central aim; because this struggle is a struggle for humanity and dignity. This is a noble crusade in reclaiming their honor.
May I remind the Japanese authorities that there is no Statute of Limitations for Crimes Against Humanity and that Command Responsibility is an accepted principle by international and local jurisprudence.
The Japanese government with a quiet acquiescence and partial conspiracy with its people may deny, even lie; but fear not, because history is neither blind nor myopic. There is no iota of doubt that the international community of nations, reason and history herself is on your side.
I am so certain about this and there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind.
We will win in the end, because the truth can never ever be defeated --- even by a thousand lies…
In the immortal words of Emile Zola:
If you deny the truth and bury it underground; it will but grow and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it burst through, it will destroy everything on its way!
Jose Mario Dolor De Vega
October 21, 2012