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| A Filipina, who claims to be a victim of sexual abuse by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, holds a placard as she joins a demonstration to commemorate the end of the war near the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila, Aug. 14. According to a statement from the protesters, they are saddened that 74 years after the war's end Japan still refuses to atone for its wartime atrocities. EPA |
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| Narcisa Claveria, 91, center, and Estelita Dy, 89, bottom left, who claim to be victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery, join protesters in a rally near the Presidential Palace in Manila to mark the 74th anniversary of the end of the war, Aug. 14. AP |
By Jung Min-ho
Victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery and human rights activists in the Philippines called on the Japanese government Wednesday to apologize for its atrocities during World War II.
According to Kyodo news agency, Filipinas, who say they were sexually exploited by Japanese soldiers, made the demand in Manila during a rally to commemorate the end of the war 74 years ago.
"I wanted nighttime to never come because then we would be raped by different Japanese men," Narcisa Claveria, 91, who claimed to be one of the victims, was quoted as saying at the rally staged near the presidential compound. "When we would refuse, they would hit us with the tool they used to hit horses. They would also burn us with cigarettes."
She reportedly said she was just 13 or 14 years old when she was forced to work in brothels for the Japanese Imperial Army, together with her sisters and other women.
"We have not received justice and we are all dying," Estelita Dy, 89, said. "I hope that the president hears this. And if he will think about helping us, then he would need to speak to the Japanese government."
There are an estimated 1,000 Filipinas who were believed to have been sexually exploited by Japanese soldiers during Japan's occupation of the country (1941-45).
Lila Pilipina, a group of surviving victims and advocates, criticized the Japanese government's efforts to "silence" the victims' voices.
"Many of (the victims) have since passed away without seeing the real justice they have long fought for," Lila Pilipina executive director Sharon Cabusao-Silva was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
There are reportedly more than 200 Filipinas who came out in the 1990s to tell their stories. Many have now died and surviving victims are mostly in their 80s and 90s.
