A Letter For Hon. Antonio V. Cuenco

May 21, 2008

Hon. Antonio V. Cuenco
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs
House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa

Re: Schedule for "Ratification/Re-voting" of HRN 124


Dear Rep. Cuenco,

On behalf of the members and "comfort women" survivors of the Lolas Kampanyera organization and other survivor groups, I would like to request your kind office to please set a definite date or schedule for the "ratification" of HRN 124 especially because the June 13 recess date for the 14th Congress Session is nearing.

In the interest of justice and concern for the welfare and rights of the Filipino "comfort women" survivors who are victims of military sexual slavery, a World War II war crime by Japan, we urge your committee to please set the re-voting process at the soonest time possible. The Lola's health situation is worsening by the day, some are dying or have passed away. We hope that the committee will act with kind consideration of their situation. The victims, as well as the human rights community both here and abroad, are all waiting for the committee's action on HRN 124 which was passed last March 11 but which was returned for "re-voting".


Thank you for your kind attention.

With my best regards,

Ms. Nelia Sancho
National Coordinator
Lolas Kampanyera Survivors Organization
President, Buhay Foundation for Women and the Girl Child (BFWGC)
Regional Coordinator, Asian Women Human Rights Council (AWHRC)
Philippines Coordinator, International Solidarity Council for Legal Redress (ISCR)

A Letter From Ellen van der Ploeg

Nederland 14 April 2008

Dear Friends,

From the Netherlands, I am following what is happening in the Philippines. I know you are working hard to have the Philippine Congress accept a motion calling up Japan to be honest with us former Comfort Women, but also to be honest towards their own young generation.

Japan cannot continue lying and denying the past.

I do not hate the Japanese but, they should be honest about their past.

I do wish all of you courage and power to start the action in your Congress and Senate and have your Congress and Senate adopt unanimously a motion calling upon Japan to conduct itself a civilized nation.

The USA, Canada, The Netherlands and the European Union have already accepted a motion.
It is great that you have the strength to talk to your members of Congress.

I do wish you strength and courage in the coming weeks.

Kind regards,

Ellen van de Ploeg
Netherlands
Former Comfor Woman in the Former Dutch East Indies
Member of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts

JUSTICE WITH HEALING

"Justice with Healing"
An Anthology of Narratives of the Lolas Kampanyera Survivors of WWII Japanese Military Sexual Slavery in the Philippines

Editor:

Ms. Nelia R. Sancho


Researchers/ Writers:

Ms. Natalie Kaye L. Ganipis
Ms. Anna Louise S. Liao


Photo Credits:

Mr. Luis Alvina, Jr.
Mr. Karlo "AK" Liao
Mr. Inaba (CFR-Tokyo)

Book Reviewer:

Ms. Mariquit Soriano

Layout and Print by Paperchase Printing Services

Cover design by Ms. Sophia Flor P. Garduce

Cover photo by Mr. Luis Alvina, Jr.


Copyright 2007

Published by:

The Lolas Para sa Kapayapaan at Kumpensasyon (Filipino Grandmas Campaigning for Peace and Compensation), an organization of survivors of wartime sexual slavery by Japan and

Buhay Foundation for Women and the Girl Child- Support Program for Lolas Kampanyera- and the Asian Women Human Rights Council

Php 450 (Philippines)
EU 9.00 (Europe)
US$10.00

plus shipping and handling to be determined by the carrier/
if within the Philippines contact us for pick-up

send your orders to:

lolaskampanyeras@gmail.com or send us a personal message

JUSTICE WITH HEALING

JUSTICE WITH HEALING

A Book Review

By: Mariquit E. Soriano

That it would take Nelia Sancho to put together an anthology on the Lolas Kampanyera. Survivors of the World War II Japanese Military Sexual Slavery in the Philippines is a sublime manifestation of Nelia’s fourteen-year immersion into their flight for justice. Together with the Asian Women Human Rights Council (AWHRC), Nelia took on the battle and lent support to the Philippines as well as international campaign for justice for the so- called “comfort women.”

There are two books published by the AWHRC to record the stories of Lila Pilipina Lolas (i.e. War Crimes Against Asian Women – The Case of Filipino Comfort Women, Book 1 and 2). Another book was published by the non-government organization ASCENT on the second group of survivors called the Malaya Lolas. It is estimated that there are 350 – 400 Filipina survivors of sexual slavery documented since 1992 through the various organizations supporting the plight of the Filipino “comfort women” victims of Japanese military wartime sexual atrocities.

Justice with Healing is the first of two books culminating seven years of research and interviews focusing on this third group of Lolas Kampanyera para sa Kapayapaan at Kompensansyon whose stories have not been published until now. The book documents their wartime sexual ordeal in the Japanese garrisons during World War II which the Japanese government seems to omit as a historical fact.

Twenty-three Lolas Kampanyera in Justice with Healing record the gripping details of how they were forcibly taken from their hiding places, dragged, and thrown into rooms in garrisons. They were invariably battered until their bodies were sore and raped by Japanese soldiers one after another. Lola Pacita Alcarazen recounts that one day a Japanese soldier ordered her to give him a bath. After doing so, she was brought back inside a dark room in the garrison along with three soldiers. “My hands and feet were held by the soldiers who were waiting for their turn.”

Only twelve years old then, Lola Clara Dividina Dolor, tells of her own horror as a Japanese soldier would ball his fists to hit her in the abdomen and strike her with his rifle before thrusting himself on her. Then a second and third one would take their turns. Many times she would think of escaping until she witnessed a girl who attempted to flee. “They tossed and jabbed her in midair…”

While most Lolas Kamapanyera survived the stigma of sexual atrocities done them by the Japanese soldiers, a few still are brazenly ridiculed by their own relatives and townsfolk who brand them as “whores to the Japanese military men.” The Organization to which these third group of some 135 Lola “comfort women” belong, has made inroads by creating a community where the Lolas have constant bonding activities and fellowship as they deepen their support for one another. They’ve been transformed from a “victim” image to one who is empowered to articulate the call for unequivocal apology as well as legal compensation from the Japanese government.

Up in arms in a campaign for reparations, the Lolas cannot relent in their struggle to make the Japanese government accountable for its past war crimes. A loud and resounding statement Justice with Healing, depicts a solidarity cry of women in their late and failing age, who want their stories told and their cause heard. Their individual narrations and the historic pictorial documentation of places used by the Japanese military in World War II as garrison sites and “comfort stations” also serve to refute distortions of facts found in books absolving Japanese soldiers of any wrongdoing.

When reading Justice with Healing, feel each Lola’s pain and suffering in the hands of the Japanese perpetrators. Read from their narratives, that despite the passage of time and no matter how hard they try to forget and heal from the wartime atrocities, they open to you their lifelong scar and admit it has never been easy to elude the emotional and mental damage of the trauma. There always seems to be that insidious effect and an unanswered question, “how do they live with the recurring memories of a gruesome past – of the hideous experience of torment, anguish and indignation?”

As Lola Excelsa Delgado Apolinario puts it, “… make the Japanese government acknowledge their mistake and allow them to honorably make reparations with their victims for their army’s wrongful acts.” This sums up the objectives of movement work for justice and healing of the part Lolas Kampanyera Survivors Organization, of which Justice with Healing is a part. Not only that these stories are seen in the context of “retrieving memory” of the violence caused by wars on women but also inevitably when speaking of promoting world peace, in the context of a worldwide campaign to end violence against women in all its forms.

Justice with Healing purports to be a story of women’s resistance and survival. Beyond that, the book carries surviving Lolas Kampanyera to a path of hope in an alternative space in the horizon where their voices challenge us to think, to connect and dare a dream.

CANADA HOUSE OF COMMONS MOTION 291

Lola Fidencia David Lobbying in Canada
with supporters, friends and organizers (Canada)

“Comfort Women” Motion

That, in the opinion in this House

i. During its wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands, from the 1930s through the duration of World War II, the Imperial Armed Forces of Japan officially commissioned the acquisition of young women for the sole purpose of sexual servitude, who become know as ‘comfort women’; and

ii. That some Japanese public officials have recently expressed a regrettable desire to dilute or rescind the 1993 statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohie Kono on the ‘comfort women’, which expressed the Government’s sincere apologies and remorse for their ordeal; and

iii. That Japan has made progress since 1945 in recognizing and atoning for its past actions, and for many decades has been a major contributor to international peace, security, and development, including through the United Nations; and

iv. That the Canada-Japan alliance continues to be based on shared vital interest and values in the Asia-Pacific region, including the preservation and promotion of political and economic freedoms, support for the human rights and democratic institutions, and the securing of prosperity for the people of both countries and the international community; and

v. That the Government of Canada should therefore encourage the Government of Japan to abandon any statement which devalues the expression of regret from the Kono Statement of 1993; to clearly and publicly refute any claims that the sexual enslavement and trafficking of the ‘comfort women’ for the Japanese Imperial Forces never occurred; to take full responsibility for the involvement of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the system of forced prostitution, including through a formal and sincere apology expressed in the Diet to all those who were victims; and continue to address those affected in spirit of reconciliation.

Proceedings related to the issue of “comfort women” in the House of Commons Debate on November 28, 2007 ended in the motion being unanimously agreed to.

RESULOTION OF COMFORT WOMEN

THE EUROPIAN PARLIAMENT,

- having regard to the 200^th anniversary of the abolition to the slave trade in the 2007,

- having regard to the convention for the Suppression of the traffic in Women and Children (1921), of which Japan is a signatory,

- having regard to Forced Labour Convention No. 29 (1930), ratified by Japan,

- having regard to United Nation Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and security (2000),

- having regard to the report by Gay McDougall, UN special Rapporteur on Systematic Rape, Sexual Slavery and Slave-like Practices during Armed Conflict (22 June 1998),

- having regard to the conclusions and recommendation of the 38^th session of the UN Committee Against Torture (9-10 May 2007),

- having regard to the report of a Study of Dutch Government Documents on the Forced Prostitution of Dutch Women in the Dutch East Indies During the Japanese Occupation, The Hague (2004),

- having regard to the resolution of the America Congress, adopted on 30 July 2007, and of the Canada Parliament, adopted on 29 November 2007,

- having regard to Rule 115 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the government of Japan, during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s until the end of World War II, officially commissioned the acquisition of young women, who became known to the World as ianfu or ‘comfort women’, for the sole purpose of sexual servitude to its imperial Armed Forces,

B. whereas historians conclude that over 100 000 women were enslaved,

C. whereas the ‘comfort women’ system included gang rape, forced abortions, humiliation, and sexual violence resulting in mutilation, death or eventual suicide, in one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20^th century,

D. whereas the dozens of ‘comfort women’ cases brought before Japanese courts have all ended in the dismissal of plaintiffs claims for compensation, despite involvement, and the state’s responsibility,

E. whereas most of the victims of the ‘comfort women’ system have passed away, and the remaining survivors are 80 or more years of age;

F. whereas over the past years numerous high-ranking members and official of the Japanese Government have made apologetic statements on the ‘comfort women’ system while some Japanese officials have recently expressed a regrettable desire to dilute or rescind those statements,

G. whereas the full extent of the sexual slavery system has never been fully disclosed by the government of Japan and some new required reading used in Japanese schools try to minimise the tragedy of the ‘comfort women’ and other Japanese war crimes during World War II,

H. whereas the mandate of the Asia Women’s Fund a government-initiated private foundation whose aim was the implementation of programs and project to compensate for the abuse and suffering of the ‘comfort women’, came to an end on 31 March 2007,

1. Welcomes the excellent relationship between the European Union and Japan based on the mutually shared values of a multi-party democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights,

2. Expresses its solidarity with the women who were victims of the ‘comfort women’ system through the duration of World War II;

3. Welcomes the statements by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono in 1993 and by prime minister. Tomichi Murayama in 1994 on ‘comfort women’, as well as the Japanese parliament’s resolution of 1995 to 2005 expressing apologies for wartime victims, including victims of the ‘comfort women’ system;

4. Welcome the Japanese Government’s initiative to establich, in the now-dissolved Asia Women’s Fund, a largely government-funded private foundation, which distributed some atonement money’ to several hundred ‘comfort women’, but considers that this humanitarian initiative cannot satisfy the victims’ claim of legal recognition and reparation under public international law, as stated by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Gay McDougall, in her 1998 report;

5. Calls on the Japanese Government formally to acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical and legal responsibility, in a clear and unequivocal manner, for its Imperial Armed Force’s coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as ‘comfort women’, during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Island from the 1930s until the end of World War II;

6. Calls on the Japanese Government to implement effective administrative mechanisms to provide reparations to all surviving victims of the ‘comfort women’ system and the families of its deceased victims;

7. Calls on the Japanese National Assembly (Diet) to take legal measures to remove existing obstacles to obtaining reparations before Japanese courts; in particular, the right of individuals to claim reparations against the government should be expressly recognized in national law, and cases for reparations for the survivors of sexual slavery, as a crime under international law, should be prioritized, taking into account the age of the survivors;

8. Calls on the government of Japan to refute publicly any claims that the subjugation and enslavement of ‘comfort women’ never occurred;

9. Encourage the Japanese people and Government to take further steps to recognize the full history of their nation, as is the moral duty of all countries, and to foster awareness in Japan of its actions in the 1920s and 1940s, including in relation to ‘comfort women’; calls on the government of Japan to educate current and future generation about those events;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Japanese Government and Parliament, the UN Human Right Council, the governments of the ASEAN states, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of South Korea, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and Timor-Leste, and to the Council, the Commission and the Member States.

Unanimous Motion accepted by the Dutch Parliament on Comfort Women

08.11.2007 – Motion by Van Baalen and Co. on the subject of the comfort women

The House, having heard the debate,

Considering that Japan is a strategic partner in Asia, with whom the Netherlands has been maintaining relations for 400 years, 150 years of which diplomatic relations by 2008, and with whom our country wants to shape a common future;

Taking the view that Japan should publicly take full responsibility, without any reserve, for the system of forced prostitution as operated in the years before and during the Second World War, and for the suffering thus caused to the so-called comfort women and about which no doubts can and should be raised;

Observing that the Japanese government, by means of the so-called Kono statement from 1993, has acknowledge the fate of the comfort women, has expressed their regret towards the victims and has accepted responsibility with this statement, but at the same time observing that the Japanese government and Japanese members of parliament have, on various occasions, distanced themselves from this, as in shown by the statement by the then prime minister Shinzo Abe last March which were later retracted, and by the advertisement of members of the Japanese House of Representative in the Washington Post earlier this year on the same subject;

Having read the letter which the chairman of the Japanese House of Representatives wrote on 7 November last in reply to the letter of the chairman of the House of 26 June last about the advertisement in the Washington Post and in which he distances himself from said advertisement;

Considering that certain teaching materials in Japanese schools do insufficient justice to the acknowledgement of the Japanese war crimes, among them the treatment of the comfort women;

Considering that Japan, via the Asian Women’s fund, has offered forms of compensation to the former comfort women, partly financed by public funds, but that this compensation was granted by a private organization;

Entreats the government to urgently ask the government of Japan to abandon any statement which devalues the expression of regret from 1993 and to take full responsibility for the involvement of the Japanese army in the system of forced prostitution;

Entreats the government to urgently ask the government of Japan to make an additional gesture by offering the comfort women still alive today some form of direct moral and financial compensation respectively for the suffering caused;

Entreats the government to urgently ask the government of Japan to encourage that all teaching materials in Japanese schools provide a factual picture of the Japanese role in the Second World War, including the fate of the comfort women;

And proceeds to the order of the day.

Van Baalen Wilders Van der Staaij

Van Gennip Peters Thieme

Van Dam Voordewind Verdonk

Van Bommel Pechtold

United States House of Representatives House Resolution 121

HRES 121 EH

H. Res. 121

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

July 30, 2007.

Whereas the Government of Japan, during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II, officially commissioned the acquisition of young women for the sole purpose of sexual servitude to its Imperial Armed Forces, who became known to the world as ianfu or `comfort women' ;

Whereas the `comfort women' system of forced military prostitution by the Government of Japan, considered unprecedented in its cruelty and magnitude, included gang rape, forced abortions, humiliation, and sexual violence resulting in mutilation, death, or eventual suicide in one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century;

Whereas some new textbooks used in Japanese schools seek to downplay the `comfort women' tragedy and other Japanese war crimes during World War II;

Whereas Japanese public and private officials have recently expressed a desire to dilute or rescind the 1993 statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the `comfort women' , which expressed the Government's sincere apologies and remorse for their ordeal;

Whereas the Government of Japan did sign the 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children and supported the 2000 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women , Peace, and Security which recognized the unique impact on women of armed conflict;

Whereas the House of Representatives commends Japan's efforts to promote human security, human rights, democratic values, and rule of law, as well as for being a supporter of Security Council Resolution 1325;

Whereas the United States-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of United States security interests in Asia and the Pacific and is fundamental to regional stability and prosperity;

Whereas, despite the changes in the post-cold war strategic landscape, the United States-Japan alliance continues to be based on shared vital interests and values in the Asia-Pacific region, including the preservation and promotion of political and economic freedoms, support for human rights and democratic institutions, and the securing of prosperity for the people of both countries and the international community;

Whereas the House of Representatives commends those Japanese officials and private citizens whose hard work and compassion resulted in the establishment in 1995 of Japan's private Asian Women's Fund;

Whereas the Asian Women's Fund has raised $5,700,000 to extend `atonement' from the Japanese people to the comfort women ; and

Whereas the mandate of the Asian Women's Fund, a government-initiated and largely government-funded private foundation whose purpose was the carrying out of programs and projects with the aim of atonement for the maltreatment and suffering of the `comfort women' , came to an end on March 31, 2007, and the Fund has been disbanded as of that date: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government of Japan--

1. should formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces' coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as `comfort women' , during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II;
2. would help to resolve recurring questions about the sincerity and status of prior statements if the Prime Minister of Japan were to make such an apology as a public statement in his official capacity;
3. should clearly and publicly refute any claims that the sexual enslavement and trafficking of the `comfort women' for the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces never occurred; and
4. should educate current and future generations about this horrible crime while following the recommendations of the international community with respect to the `comfort women' .

WWII FILIPINA SURVIVORS OF JAPANESE SEX SLAVERY SYSTEM APPEAL FOR ENDORSEMENT OF HOUSE AND SENATE BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

By Natalie Kaye Ganipis

Manila, January 30, 2008 – In a press briefing at Kape Tasyo in Anonas, QC on Wednesday, former “comfort women,” who are now grandmothers or lolas forced into sexual slavery as young girls in military-run brothels and garrisons of the Japanese in WWII, bid Filipino solons to back house bills tabled in the senate and congress supporting their call for Japan to officially apologize and provide legal reparations to them.

The briefing was facilitated by the Lolas Kampanyera WWII “Comfort Women” Survivors’ Organization with the support of Buhay Foundation for Women and the Girl Child and the Asian Women Human Rights Council – Manila Secretariat headed by Nelia Sancho as national coordinator.

The distress call from the former comfort women victim organization came strong again after first – world countries such as the U.S., Canada and the European Union successively recognized the merits of the victims’ claim for justice and adopted resolutions in their parliaments to urge Japan to fully settle its legal and moral obligation to the victims.

Following the international clamor caused by a comment from former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe denying any evidence that Japan was involved in the coercion of many young girls in WWII to serve sex to their soldiers, the U.S representatives in July 2007 voted for the adoption of U.S. House Resolution 121 which called for Japan to officially redress and apologize to the women who were victimized by their so-called “comfort women” system. It was voted favorably with only 2 dissenting votes.

The success of HR 121 in the U.S. sparked similar legislations in other countries. A similar motion on the subject of the comfort women was unanimously passed by the Dutch parliament on November 8, 2007. Motion 291 of the Canadian Parliament, authored by MP Olivia Chow, was likewise adopted unanimously on November 29, 2007. The European Union also condemned Japan for its actions against comfort women in a resolution that they unanimously voted for last December 13, 2007.

Lolas Kampanyera representatives were invited to the U.S., Canada and EU to provide live testimonies and help lobby for the passage of said motions.

On the home front, many resolutions were submitted in the upper and lower house of the Philippine legislature since 1993. Although none were passed to this date, the Lolas Kampanyera hopes that Filipino senators and representatives will be joining the U.S., EU, Canada and the international community in urging Japan to own up to its responsibilities to the comfort women.

The Lolas Kampanyera is geared to strengthen its campaign in the Senate and Batasan as sessions open this month. They will join other comfort women groups and supporting organizations in order to convince solons that the Philippines as a state is ready to defend the rights and interest of its own citizens.

House Resolution 124, House Bill 1136, Senate Resolution 50 and Senate Bill 765, all currently pending in the House and Senate committees on foreign affairs and women, respectively, are yet to see some action in the 14^th congress.

Lolas and supporters believe that by sponsoring or backing resolutions and bills in support of comfort women, responsible legislators in the Philippine senate and congress are looking after their own citizens, Filipinas who were grossly violated mostly as minors during WWII.

On the other hand, it will also give Japan the opportunity to honorably correct any blunders in their history and earn them the respect of the international community.

In the same event, the book “Justice with Healing – An Anthology of Narratives of the Lolas Kampanyera Survivors of WWII Japanese Military Sexual Slavery in the Philippines” published by the Lolas Kampanyera in September 2007 was introduced as a tool to educate the public on the gripping true stories of the Filipina sex slavery victims during Japan’s occupation of the Philippines; and show why there is really a need for this part of history to be corrected.

RESOLUTION ON THE COMFORT WOMEN BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Passed on December 13, 2007 

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in 2007,

- having regard to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in 

Women and Children (1921), of which Japan is a signatory, 

- having regard to Forced Labour Convention No. 29 (1930), ratified by 

Japan,

- having regard to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on

 Women,Peace and Security (2000),

- having regard to the report by Gay McDougall, UN Special Rapporteur on Systematic Rape, Sexual Slavery and Slave-like Practices during Armed Conflict (22 June 1998), 

- having regard to the conclusions and recommendations of the 38th

 session of the UN Committee Against Torture (9-10 May 2007), 

- having regard to the Report of a Study of Dutch Government Documents on the Forced Prostitution of Dutch Women in the Dutch East Indies During the Japanese Occupation, The Hague (2004), 

- having regard to the resolutions of the American Congress, adopted on

 30 July 2007, and of the Canadian Parliament, adopted on 29 November 2007,

- having regard to Rule 115 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the government of Japan, during its colonial and wartime 

occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s until the end

of World War II, officially commissioned the acquisition of young women,who became known to the world as  jugun ianfu or ˜comfort women”, for the sole purpose of sexual servitude to its Imperial Armed Forces,

B. whereas historians conclude that over 100,000 women were enslaved, 

C. whereas the ˜comfort women” system included gang rape, forced

abortions, humiliation, and sexual violence resulting in mutilation, death or eventual suicide, in one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century, 

D. whereas the dozens of ˜comfort women” cases brought before Japanese

courts have all ended in the dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims for

compensation, despite court judgments acknowledging the Imperial Armed Forces’  direct and indirect involvement, and the state’s responsibility,

E. whereas most of the victims of the ˜comfort women” system have

passed away, and the remaining survivors are 80 or more years of age;

F. whereas over the past years numerous high-ranking members and officials of the Japanese Government have made apologetic statements on the ˜comfort women” system, while some Japanese officials have recently expressed a regrettable desire to dilute or rescind those statements,

G. whereas the full extent of the sexual slavery system has never been

fully disclosed by the government of Japan and some new required readings used in Japanese schools try to minimise the tragedy of the ˜comfort women” and other Japanese war crimes during World War II,

H. whereas the mandate of the Asian Women’s Fund, a government-initiated private foundation whose aim was the implementation of programs and projects to compensate for the abuse and suffering of the ˜comfort women”, came to an end on 31 March 2007, 

1. Welcomes the excellent relationship between the European Union and

Japan based on the mutually shared values of a multi-party democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights;

2.Expresses its solidarity with the women who were victims of the

˜comfort women” system through the duration of World War II;

3.Welcomes the statements by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono in 1993

and by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in 1994 on ˜comfort women”, as

well as the Japanese parliament’s resolutions of 1995 and 2005     expressing apologies for wartime victims, including victims of the ˜comfort women” system;

4.Welcomes the Japanese Government’s initiative to establish, in 1995,

the now-dissolved Asian Women’s Fund, a largely government-funded private foundation, which distributed some ˜atonement money” to several

hundred ˜comfort women”, but considers that this humanitarian initiative cannot satisfy the victims” claims of legal recognition and reparation under public international law, as stated by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Gay McDougall, in her 1998 report;

5. Calls on the Japanese Government formally to acknowledge, apologize,

and accept historical and legal responsibility, in a clear and unequivocal manner, for its Imperial Armed Force’s coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as ˜comfort women”, during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s until the end of World War II; 

6. Calls on the Japanese Government to implement effective administrative mechanisms to provide reparations to all surviving victims of the˜comfort women” system and the families of its deceased victims;

7. Calls on the Japanese National Assembly (Diet) to take legal measures to remove existing obstacles to obtaining reparations before Japanese courts; in particular, the right of individuals to claim reparations against the government should be expressly recognized in national law, and cases for reparations for the survivors of sexual slavery, as a crime under international law, should be prioritized, taking into account the age of the survivors;

8. Calls on the government of Japan to refute publicly any claims that the subjugation and enslavement of ˜comfort women” never occurred;

9.Encourages the Japanese people and government to take further steps to recognize the full history of their nation, as is the moral duty of all countries, and to foster awareness in Japan of its actions in the 1930s and 1940s, including in relation to ˜comfort women”; calls on the 

government of Japan to educate current and future generations about

those events;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Japanese 

Government and Parliament, the UN Human Rights Council, the governments

of the ASEAN states, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the

Republic of South Korea, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and

Timor-Leste, and to the Council, the Commission and the Member States.

RESOLUTION ON THE COMFORT WOMEN BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Lolas Kampanyera Denounces Japan’s Hand on HRN 124 Re-vote

That House Resolution No. 124 has to go back and be voted on again in the committee level after being declared approved by foreign affairs committee chair, Rep. Antonio Cuenco, is regrettable.

In a hearing last March 11, 2008 at Batasan, HRN 124, a resolution to urge Japan to officially apologize and legally compensate its victims of large-scale forced sexual slavery in WWII, was unanimously adopted by the house committee. The arguments in favor of the aging victims were meritorious enough that there was no reason for the committee to decide otherwise against the resolution.

And yet, this small victory cannot be savored by the elderly Filipino comfort women despite their 15 years of campaigning in the congress. All because a Japanese diplomat decided to meddle with our legislative proceedings. First Secretary Yoshihisa Ishikawa has no business questioning house committee measures.

But it is no surprise that Japan will attempt such antics. They have counter campaigned against the comfort women Lolas in the last 15 years; they have lobbied against the resolutions that were eventually adopted by the parliament of Netherlands, the European Union and Canada; and they did some nasty stunts in Washington to impede the progress of U.S. House Resolution 121 in the U.S.

Lobbyists of HR 121 in the U.S. lament that the promotion to block the resolution favoring the comfort women by Japan was very strong that their campaign was made very challenging.

When The Lolas Kampanyera representatives attended the World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery in Los Angeles, California in October 2007, U.S. HR 121 groups exposed the hurdles thrown at them by agents of the Japanese government. Lobbyists for Japan, they said, have even resorted to paying for full-page ads in the Post and other papers just to win over dissenting votes on U.S. HR 121.

But just like in the U.S., Netherlands, E.U. and Canada where recent resolutions were subsequently adopted, our HRN 124 pending in the Philippine congress is just experiencing a temporary setback but will eventually be adopted. After all, it is being questioned by the Japanese based on a technicality and no longer on its substance or significance.

The Lolas Kampanyera comfort women survivors’ organization have actually gone overseas to the U.S., Netherlands, E.U. and Canada to get the foreign resolutions going. It will not do differently on the home front until HRN 124 has been passed all the way.

The adoption of a resolution to urge the offending state (Japan) should have been easier for the Philippines considering the subject of mass violation of human rights was done to our very own adolescent girls during WWII. Besides, the international community already legislatively denounced Japan’s inability to face its obligations and do the honorable thing – express sincere apology to the individuals it violated.

For our lawmakers, it should just be a matter of echoing the foreign resolutions to protect the interest of our fellow Filipinos who were enslaved and dishonored by Japanese troops.

The Lolas Kampanyera trusts that all 55 of the foreign committee members in the house feel strongly against such human rights abuse on their own citizens, especially that the offending party still does not show remorse over its misdeeds and is hoping to get away with it.

Hopefully, at least 12 of these solons will make their ‘sense of responsibility’ known by making their votes counted such that a quorum is ensured and the resolution will be passed in the committee level based mainly on its due merit.

With what happened, it has been made clearer to us that Japan’s unofficial apology remains just a lip service and feigning real regrets. As such, Japan should not be allowed to evade legal responsibility to its victims through a state compensation system. This intervention of the Japanese Embassy in congress proceedings only affirms that the government of Japan is insincere in its efforts to own up to its responsibility to the comfort women Lolas. -- 04.10.2008

HOUSE RESOLUTION No._____124

Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

QUEZON City, Metro Manila

­FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular session

HOUSE RESOLUTION No._____124

Introduced by Gabriela Women’s Party Representatives LIZA LARGOZA-MAZA

And LUZVIMINDA ILAGAN, Rep. EDUARDO C. ZIALCITA, Bayan Muna

Representatives SATUR C. OCAMPO and TEODORO A. CASINO, and ANAK PAWIS Representatives CRISPIN BELTRAN

RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT URGES THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN TO FORMALLY ACKNOWLEDGE, APOLOGIZE AND ACCEPTS ITS RESPONSIBILITY OVER THE SEXUAL SLAVERY OF YOUNG WOMAN COMMONLY KNOWN AS COMFORT WOMEN BY THE JAPANESE IMPERIAL ARMY DURING WORLD WAR II AND PROVIDE COMPENSATION TO THE VICTIMS IN THE LIGHT OF ADOPTION BY THE U.S HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF HOUSE RESOLUTION 121 WHICH STATE THAT JAPAN SHOULD FORMALLY ACKNOWLEDGE, APOLOGIZE AND ACCEPT HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN CLEAR AND UNEQUIVOCAL MANNER OVER ITS ARMED FORCE’S COERCION OF YOUNG WOMAN INTO SEXUAL SLAVERY DURING ITS COLONIAL AND WARTIME OCCUPATION OF ASIA, AND IN THE LIGHT OF THE LEGISLATIVE INTIANITIVES IN THE HOUSE OF COUNCILORS OF JAPAN SEEKING APOLOGY, COMPENSATIONAND IMMEDIATE RESOLUTION OF ISSUE CONCERING COMFORT WOMEN

WHEREAS, the recognition of human rights is a valuable tenet in the 1987 Philippine Constitution which state: “the State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights” (Article II, Section II);

WHEREAS, it has been more than a decade since the World War II comfort women started clamoring for an official apology and legal redress from the government of Japan for the unimaginable suffering they experienced in the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army;

WHEREAS, the Japanese government recognized the issue concerning comfort women as a social problem only in June 1990;

WHEREAS, after realizing the importance of the matter, the Japanese government proceeded to conduct a research, after which, it admitted its involvement in the sexual slavery case expressed its remorse for the matter of comfort women and apologized for it in August 1993;

WHEREAS, Japanese public and private officials have recently expressed their desire to retract or water down its 1993 statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the “comfort women”. The 1993 statement of Secretary Kono expressed the sincere apologies of the government of Japan for the ordeal of the women victims of military sexual slavery by the Japan Imperial Army;

WHEREAS, the Japanese government claimed that it had no obligation to provide compensation for the victims since the matter was already settled when the San Francisco Treaty and other bilateral treaties were signed;

WHEREAS, the UN Report of Miss Radhika Coomaraswamy, the then Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, to the Commission of Human Rights in 1996 urged the Japanese to compensate the former comfort women while Miss Gay McDougal’s UN Report in 1998 severely criticized the Japanese the Japanese government in its handling of the cases of the comfort women and strongly recommended that Japan raise the issue of compensation to the state-level;

WHEREAS, the Japanese government’s response to the mounting international pressure was the creation of the Asian Women’s Fund (AWF) which connected “sympathy money” from the Japanese citizens, thereby evading its legal responsibilities as a state in addressing the cases of the comfort women. The Asian Women’s Fund has raised US $5,700,000 to extend “atonement” from the Japanese people to the comfort women. The said fund ended on March 31, 2007 and the fund was to be disbanded on the date;

WHEREAS, in April 1998, the South Korean government issued an announcement in which it insisted that the Japanese government should answer its liabilities in the state level, even as the South Korean government decided to give the former comfort women approximately 3 million yen of monetary support;

WHEREAS, the Taiwanese government took similar measures by conferring 2 million yen for the former comfort women to substitute for AWF’s money while seeking a state level compensation and apology from the Japanese government;

WHEREAS, a bill entitled “Promotion of Resolution for Issues Concerning Victims of Wartime Sexual Coercion Act” was introduced to the House of Councilors in Japan, jointly by the Democratic Party of Japan, Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party, and independent senators last June 9, 2003. The same bill was filed last March 21 and November 14, 2001 and January 21, 2003. However, the House of Councilors failed to adopt said bill.

WHEREAS, the main objective of the bill filed at the Japanese House of Councilors was to take immediate steps to restore the dignity and honor of women victims of wartime sexual slavery of the Japanese Imperial Army during the World War II. It aimed to provide the necessary fundamental grounds for the resolution of the issue concerning the victims of wartime sexual coercion that will improve the relationship of the people of the concerned nations and will enable Japan to occupy an honored place in the international community;

WHEREAS, the bill indicated measures to restore the honor which includes the announcement of the Japanese government of a apology for the violation and dignity of the victims of wartime sexual slavery and the implementation of necessary means to immediately restore their honor, including monetary compensation;

WHEREAS, the same measure will again be filed at the House of Councilors of Japan;

WHEREAS, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea had already approved their resolution recommending the Japanese Diet to consider and enact the bill on the promotion for the resolution of issues concerning victims of wartime sexual coercion;

WHEREAS, the U.S House of representatives, on July 31, 2007, approved its House Resolution 121 expressing the sense of the House of Representative that the Government of Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and in equivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Force’s coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as “comfort women” during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II;

WHEREAS, the government of Japan is a signatory to the 1921 International convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children and supported the 2000 United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 on Women, Peace and security which recognized the unique impact of armed conflict on woman;

WHEREAS, by following the step of the U.S House of Representative in passing Resolution No. 121, the Philippine government is demonstrating its earnest interest to help the Filipino comfort women achieve the justice they deserve and reclaim their dignity and that of the Filipino people;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES express its sense that the Philippine government urges the government of Japan to formally acknowledge, apologize and accept its responsibility over the sexual slavery of young women commonly known as comfort women by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II and provide compensation to the victims in the light of the adoption by the U.S. House of Representative of House Representative 121 which states that Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility in clear and unequivocal manner over its armed force’s coercion of young women into sexual slavery during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia, and in the light of the legislative initiatives in the House of Councilors of Japan seeking apology, compensation and immediate resolution of issues concerning comfort women

Adopted

LIZA LAZADA MAZA LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN

EDUARDO C. ZIACITA

SATUR C. OCAMPO TEODORO A. CASINO

CRISPIN B. BELTRAN

House Committee Approves Filipino Comfort Women Resolution 124

March 11, 2008, Tuesday – The Philippines’ House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved today HRN 124, a resolution expressing the sense of the Philippine House of Representatives and to back the Filipino comfort women’s demand to seek for official apology and legal reparation from Japan for its crimes on many adolescent Filipinas during WWII.

Upon adjournment of the hearing earlier conducted by the house foreign affairs committee, cheers and applause resounded in the Batasan’s RMV Conference Room 14 as committee chairman Hon. Antonio Cuenco, who presided the hearing, pronounced the committee’s blessings to the resolution on comfort women. Representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs(DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also gave their favorable positions to the pending resolution. Just before the conclusion of the proceedings of the committee hearing, each one was asked by the committee chair if they hold any objection to the resolution being tabled to which all three agencies replied in the negative.

HRN 124, or House Resolution No. 124 (Expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives that the Philippine Government Urges the Government of Japan To Formally Acknowledge, Apologize and Accept its Responsibility Over the Sexual Slavery of Young Women…) submitted in the 14^th congress, succeeds many other similar resolutions submitted in the house in the past 16 years.

The now aging victims who survived the Japanese military sexual slavery system who attended the hearing were emotional after the favorable pronouncement by the committee chairman, as this is the first resolution that was passed at the committee level throughout their many years of lobbying in the house.

In the last 7 months, countries such as the U.S., Canada, Netherlands, and the European Union have recently adopted resolutions in their parliaments in support of the “comfort women.” The Republic of Korea and the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan have long put into legislation their demand for redress from Japan. The adoption of HRN 124 by the Philippines’ congress will intensify the international pressure on Japan to address their legal responsibilities to the victims.

The said hearing was attended by the representatives of all the existing WW II survivor groups of Japanese wartime sexual atrocities, i.e. the Lila Pilipina Lolas, the Malaya Lolas and the Lolas Kampanyera. The said resolution was authored by Reps. Lisa Masa and Luz Ilagan of the Gabriela Women’s party list, and by Rep.Eduardo Zialcita of the district of Paranaque (Lakas party) and several other lawmakers. Atty. Harry Roque (UP Law professor), Ms. Mariquit Soriano, Nelia Sancho and Natalie Kaye Ganipis (supporters of the Lolas Kampanyera Organization and representatives of the Buhay Foundation for Women and the Asian Women Human Rights Council), Corazon Requiso (supporters of the Malaya Lolas and representative of the Kaisa Ka Women’s Group), Rechilda Extramadura (coordinator of the Lila Pilipina Lolas group) also gave their statements to endorse the tabled resolution on the comfort women issue.

The approved resolution will be presented at the plenary of the House of Representatives for approval as soon as it is subjected to “style” and submitted to the Committee on Rules for endorsement.

Main activities of our group

• Our group has undertaken initial research and investigation of some fifty victims/survivors. This research and documentation process is still ongoing and hopes to cover a total of 135 victims who haveapproached the AWHRC and the Buhay Foundationfrom 2000 to 2005 for documentation of their narratives. We hope that the organization can avail of funds so that the ongoing interviews and research work can be systematized and the results can be published to ensure recording of the survivors’ stories.
  
• The organization has undertaken initial counselling and therapy activities since founding year 2000. However, it was difficult to sustain it without a regular place to hold the activities. In July 2006, Lolas Kampanyera was finally able to find its own reception center and office with the support of both the AWHRC and the Buhay Foundation for Women and the Girl Child which rented a Lolas Place Center for Counseling and Psychosocial Activities.
  
• Our group undertakes regular lobbying activities with Philippine legislators for policies to support the Filipino comfort women. Since 2000, around ten resolutions and draft bills were the result of such efforts. On July 30, 2007, the US House of Representatives passed House Res. 121 introduced by Congressman Mike Honda, and got bipartisan support. The resolution calls for the government of Japan to formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces’ coercion of young women into sexual slavery during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of the war of World War II. The passage of the US resolution has galvanized concerned Philippine legislators to action by also introducing similar resolutions and bills in the 14th Congress session.
  
• In August of 2006, our group hosted and co-organized the 4th ISCR International Conference on Legal Redress which addressed WW II Crimes of Japan and Issues for Victims of Forced Labor and Military Sexual Slavery, attended by 120 participants from 9 countries.We also co-convened with Filipino Congressman Eduardo Zialcita the Filipino-Japanese Parliamentarians Forum on the same issues.
  
• Lolas Kampanyera, since its founding, has embarked on a program based on the guiding principle of “justice with healing” which aims that while we seek to mobilize and campaign for justice, we must also ensure the healing process of the survivors. This is done thru individual and collective counselling,and therapy sessions that nurture the self-worth of each victim whose psyches were damaged by the violent experience with the Japanese soldiers. A psychologist comes to Lolas Place - the center for therapy and collective bonding, to initiate psychosocial activities on a monthly basis, or as needed per individual survivor. Friends and supporters also come to do home visits to the Lolas, to show their care and solidarity.
• The organization aims to empower the Lolas in such a way that they now show the way to other women how to overcome the impact of violence. Lolas who
  spoke publicly and participated in the Courts of Women public hearings organized by AWHRC inspire other victims of violence and wars to bring themselves
  together as a community of women and assert their human rights to dignity, humanity, liberty, peace and compensation. The survivor victims of Lolas Kampanyera have become a rich resource for strength and courage and are often invited speakers, andtestifiers in national and international meetings.
• Lolas Kampanyera collaborates with the Asian Women Human Rights Council, whose regional office is in Bangalore, India, for the participation of Filipina survivors in Courts of Women On War Violence and Human Rights Impact held in South Africa in 2001 and
  2003 as well as other initiatives held at parallel NGO events in UN meetings. Since July 2006, we collaborated with the Buhay Foundation for Women for the project “Lolas Reception Center and Art Works Exhibition Place for Filipino Survivors of Japanese
  Military Sexual Slavery.”
• Lolas Kampanyera seeks for volunteers and donations to bring the mobile photo exhibition in various universities and schools in the Philippines, and to realize its various services and projects to strengthen its advocacy of the “comfort women” issue.