New ‘comfort women’ memorial opens in Manila, defying Japanese pressure
- There are an estimated 1,000 Filipino women who were believed to have been sexually abused by Japanese soldiers during the occupation
- President Rodrigo Duterte has said it is not the policy of the government to ‘antagonise other nations’
A new historical marker dedicated to Filipino “comfort women” was unveiled on Sunday at a church in Manila, over a year after a similar memorial in the capital was removed due apparently to Japanese pressure.
Local women’s groups Lila Pilipina and the Gabriela Women’s Party and non-government organisation Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran (Unity for Progress) unveiled the large granite monument with a metal plaque honouring “the victims of military sexual slavery and violence during the Second World War”.
Congresswoman Arlene Brosas of the Gabriela Women’s Party said she hopes the monument, located on the grounds of Baclaran Church, would serve as a reminder to people about the history of “comfort women”.
“Ever since our grandmothers opened up about their problem, the government has never given them a proper response,” Brosas said.
A bronze statue that was supposed to serve as the centrepiece of the monument went missing in recent days from the home of the artist who created it.
Teresita Ang-See, founding president of Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran,“ said the artist told the group only Thursday that the two-metre-high statue of a blindfolded Filipina was safely in his possession.
