Objectors expected at council over comfort women statue plan

Strathfield councillors are expecting petitions from the Japanese community and pleas from Koreans and Chinese at a meeting tonight over a controversial plan to erect a statue in memory of comfort women.

The Japanese government has already described the statue plan as "misguided".

The statue, commemorating World War II women who were forced into sexual slavery, is an emotional issue in Strathfield, which has large Korean and Chinese communities.

While no final decision on its location has been taken, Strathfield has been mentioned in reports - which has led to 500 pro-forma protest letters being received at council's Homebush Road offices from Japese protestors.

Tonight, a petition is expected to be presented for the plan to be abandoned.  But council are also braced for strong calls for the statue to be placed in the town centre.

Sydney's Korean and Chinese communities have agreed to pay for it, and maintain it in honour of the 200,000 wlmen and girls forced into sexual servitude by Japanese soldiers during the war.

Strathfield deputy mayor Sang Ok has been at the forfront fo the campaign for a statue, maintaining according to reports that it would send a signal to Japan.

Council oficials, however, are concerned that any offensive or provocative langauge should not be allowed in public places.  The Japanese Embassy in Sydney told The Sydney Morning Herald:  ''Japan hopes that ethnic and racial minority groups in countries all over the world can coexist in peace, and believes that it is not appropriate for people of various ethnic or racial backgrounds to bring in their differences of opinion on this issue.

''The government of Japan understands that the issues of history should not be politicised or be turned into a diplomatic issue. However, on the other hand, while the details of the statue or inscription are not yet clear, Japan believes that the movement is due to a lack of understanding of our position and efforts towards comfort women, and is not compatible with Japan's position.''

The pro-forma letters appearing in Sydney at council and media outlets said: ''Recently, I have heard the news that Chinese and Korean communities in Australia have set up an Anti-Japanese War Crimes Alliance and that they are planning to erect a statue of 'comfort women' (prostitutes at the war) [sic] in Sydney and Strathfield.'' 

It went on to claim mother countries had done the same to women, and asked authorities to reject the statue plan.

The Friends of Comfort Women in Australia said they would suppose the erection of a statue to honour the comfort women.

The group believe the women have been forgotten and like the soldiers who died on the Sandakan Death March in World War II, a commemorative satue should be erected. 

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