Comfort women threaten suit against minister<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Almost 250 Yogyakarta World War II comfort women
\nhave threatened to sue Minister of Social Services Inten Suweno
\nfor accepting Rp 9 billion (US$3.7 million) of compensation from
\nJapan, their lawyer said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Budi Santoso, director of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute
\n(LBH), said yesterday the former jugun ianfu (comfort women) were
\nstill trying amicable ways to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n
Budi said he had written to Inten and related government
\nagencies earlier this month concerning the matter. The second
\ninquiry would be sent in mid-May.<\/p>\n
Budi said a lawsuit, representing 249 former comfort women in
\nthe area, would follow if Inten did not respond after three
\ninquiries. He said they planned to register the suit with the
\nCentral Jakarta District Court in May or June.<\/p>\n
He said the women would sue Inten for not paying them the
\nmoney, which the government would use instead to build homes for
\nthe elderly.<\/p>\n
Of the 249 women, four women have signed a token of approval.
\nBudi said this was sufficient as most of them, forced into
\nprostitution during the Japanese occupation between 1942 and
\n1945, are illiterate, in poor health and above the age of 70.<\/p>\n
He said he would like the problem resolved as soon as possible
\nbecause difficulties would arise when a comfort women dies, which
\nmakes proof of damage and accurate identification of the next of
\nkin almost impossible.<\/p>\n
He was puzzled at the Indonesian government's sudden
\ninvolvement in the matter. The government has never supported the
\nwomen's struggles over the last four years to seek apology and
\ncompensation from the Japanese government.<\/p>\n
"Most importantly, this matter has much to do with the women's
\nself-respect which was seriously compromised many years ago," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"The Japanese government has yet to apologize formally and
\ndirectly to the comfort women and provide them with compensation
\nas stipulated under the United Nations resolution on the Human
\nRights Commission issued in July 1996," Budi said.<\/p>\n
He said many Japanese have criticized the way the reparations
\nmoney has been collected. The money is derived from the
\ngovernment and taxpayers and channeled to the private group Asian
\nWomen's Fund which was established to accept donations from
\ngovernment officials.<\/p>\n
"The Japanese feel that the methods of raising reparations is
\na form of extortion by their government to shift the burden of
\nresponsibility to the public and treat the comfort women
\nsituation at arm's length," he said.<\/p>\n
Budi said he would like to know whether the Indonesian
\ngovernment has actually accepted the reparations.<\/p>\n
Budi called on the minister to consider and review her
\ndecision to accept the reparations from the Japanese government.<\/p>\n
Inten said Tuesday that it was the women's right to file a
\nlawsuit against her but insisted that the government has already
\ndecided on how to spend the money. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/comfort-women-threaten-suit-against-minister-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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