Our monthly demonstration. petition:234

                                         FOUNDATION OF JAPANESE HONORARY DEBTS
                                                                                           NGO,STATUS ROSTER

His Excellency, Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan

The Hague, 13 May 2014
Petition: 234
Subject: Meaningful formal apology by Japan for its wartime atrocities.

Excellency,
The Netherlands remember their war dead on May 4th. Each year it is a very moving moment when the King and Queen lay their wreath in remembrance, thus paying their respect to all Dutch who died during World War Two and during peace keeping missions. It is also the moment to reflect on how Japan remembers World War Two. In particular how Japan has dealt with the atrocities by its Imperial Army, its poor apology to the victims and their next of kin and Japan's disregard of world opinion.

Prime Minister,
The Kono statement and the Murayama statement are limited apologies as they deny Japan's liability for the consequences of the Imperial Army's violations of human rights. They do not involve the victims and their next of kin in a gesture of penance. The actions of current Japanese politicians demonstrate time and again that the apologies are not made sincerely by the Japanese nation and continue to haunt Japan. The suggested revision of the constitution proves that the Japanese apologies in their present form cannot be taken seriously. Formal government apologies have to be meaningful and state the facts in order to be acceptable now and in the future. It is essential that Japan issues a meaningful apology in which:
     -     Japan acknowledges the wartime atrocities by its Imperial Army,
     -     Japan accepts responsibility for these atrocities,
     -     Japan sincerely apologizes and incorporates the surviving victims and their
            next of kin in formulating the apology,
     -     Japan promises that its military nor any other government body in future
           are involved in atrocities and other violations of human rights,
     -     Japan offers concrete reparations to the victims and their next of kin,
     -     Japan formally remembers in wartime ceremonies the atrocities,
            involves the victims and their next of kin and educates its people
            on the importance to remember the past for a better future,
     -     Japan's apology is by an act of Parliament, in which it accepts both legally
            and morally liability to the victims and their next of kin and penalizes denial
            of  the atrocities by politicians.


Prime Minister,
We are not alone in requesting Japan to apologize for its wartime atrocities. In formulating our request we made use of the concept of apology by Calvin Hancock for Toronto ALPHA, Association for learning and preserving the history of World War Two in Asia.

We require a personal acknowledgement of the receipt of this petition.

On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts,

J.F.Wagtendonk,
President

==============================================================

The following is an article I read while in The Netherlands. It was written in the newspaper Haarlems Dagblad on April 26,2014. I will translate it as best as I can.

                                                 
                  American president wants a solution about the affair of the 'comfort women'

                                                  OBAMA IS ANGRY WITH JAPAN

From our reporter:

Seoul * The American president Barack Obama called upon Japan in strong words to get to a solution about the 'comfort women', foreign women who during World War Two were forced by the Japanese Military to work in brothels as sex slaves. He likes to have this business once and for all solved.
This was a terrible and injustice of the human rights", he said during a visit to the South Korean capital city Seoul. The matter of comfort women clouds the relation ship between Japan and South Korea. But also women from other countries like, The Netherlands, the Philippines and China, were victims of this terrible crime from the Imperial Army. They also are fighting for decades for recognition and excuses and compensation from the Japanese government. According to Obama the victims have the right' to be heard and have the right to be respected'."We have to come to an accurate picture from what has happened during that time", said President Obama. The Japanese prime minister Shinzo ABE has accepted the past, according to Obama and has agreed to recognize this 'honestly and sincerely'. "My hope is that we can come to an honest conclusion to bring these tensions from the past to an end and work on the future and the possibility for peace and prosperity for all nations."
The American president met during the top nuclear meeting in The Hague the government leaders of both Asian countries for the first time since their line of duty. They already had discussed earlier this month about the question of the 'comfort women'.
==========================================================

The Foundationof Japanese Honorary Debts was established in 1990 with the purpose of looking after the interests of the Netherlands-Dutch-citizens who, during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), were victims of the Imperial Japanese military during World War Two.

The Dutch citizens were interned in concentration camps, families were split up and men, women and children put in separate camps. No communication was allowed, smuggling of messages was impossible; if caught it cost your life, in the best case you were brutally tortured. Many men were transported overseas and forced to do slavery work on railroads (e.g. Birma railroad) the mines or do coolie work in harbors. War time conventions were violated despite acceptance of these conventions by Japan.

Those Dutch left outside the camps on racial grounds were terrorized and disallowed to work for a living.

All were subjected to organised terror by the military, including enforced sex slavery and other forms of slavery, torture, intimidation, harsh disciplines, systematic starvation and denial of medicine. Many died and the ones who survived cannot forget their ordeal. Many continue to live with traumas and other health problems.  Still now, more than 68 years after the end of this war people come forward with their personal stories, the memories that still haunt them.

                                                   
GENERAL ASSEMBLY


HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Twenty-fourth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development

Written statement' submitted by the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts, a non-governmental organization on the roster

The secretary-General has received the following statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.
                                                                                                           [ 18 August 2013 ]


*This statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-governmental organization(s).

                                                  HAUNTING MEMORIES

One of these stories is an eye witness report of a then 14 year old boy who had only just moved into Women's Hospital camp Solo on the island of Java, together with his mother, his two older sisters of 15 and 18 and his younger brother of 10.

His story is about Japanese officers who, as announced several weeks beforehand, came to collect 30 Dutch girls from Camp Solo in 1943.

In his own words written down in 2013 at the age of 86.

Quote:"Led by a young female doctor, Dr.Engels, thirty girls had soiled themselves and some had inflicted small injuries to themselves, such as little wounds on their lips. These would fester and looked very unappealing. At the time, I didn't understand it. These girls looked terrible and reeked immensely. Hair was no longer cut and there was no more bathing. Dresses were torn and smeared. Rags were bound around legs and the girls were taught how to limp and squint.

Once in a while there was some giggling because of these smelly, dirty disguises, but in the hearts of the girls and their mothers was great fear and grief because no one knew what the Japanese were planning. It was clear however that, once the Japanese had made their choice, those girls would have to go with them. Tes, working in a hospital, getting an education and all kinds of other promises were made, but behind the scenes there was silent grief and great uncertainty.

And so the day arrived. Several girls had fallen ill because of all the misery and fear. There was vomitting and crying..

In my thoughts I saw my sisters standing there. What would happen to them? No one knew. There they were. Five senior Japanese officers, in full uniform with high hats, imperial samurai swords, gold stripes and shiny leather boots. There were they, on the steps of the hospital, our Camp building, in Solo. Everyone in the camp had to be present on the forecourt. About 1800 women and children were already waiting for an hour. It was dead quiet. My little 10 year old brother was sitting on the ground playing with sand and stones. My mother cried softly.

First a long story in Japanese translated by a Javanese interpreter in Malay: the beloved, benevolent and divine Japanese emperor Hirohito was pleased that 30 girls from the Women's camp were allowed to study in Japan, or would be trained as nurses, and could then go to work in various hospitals.

[In reality, girls, once selected in this manner, were forced to prostitution in brothels run by the military, as 'Comfort Women' for the Japanese forces.]
A spacious place in front of the steps of the building was kept free for the girls. There they would stand in a long line. Somewhere elase the girls must have been standing at the ready. But they didn't show up.

And then this happened.

The Japanese officers became restless: First murmurings, then profanities. They were not used to this. Our camp director, Mrs.Smith, was called forward. It took a while. Doctor Engels, a female doctor and the only doctor in the Women's camp, the one that had 'prepared' the girls, walked along with Mrs. Smith, onto the steps of the terrace. When asked where the girls were, the camp director told the interpreter in Malay that the girls were too young and were needed in the Camp. Doctor Engels continued that the girls were sick and weakened because there was not enough food in the camp. She added that the girls could not leave because they had to take care of their sick mothers and the smaller children.

Doctor Engels immediately got a hard slap in the face from a Japanese officer. She almost fell to the ground and just managed to prevent the man from hitting her with his sheathed sword by grabbing the sacred Japanese sabre. This caused her and the samurai to topple over backwards onto the floor. We knew what this would mean. This was a deadly sin to the Japanese. A holy Samurai was not to be touched by anyone, most certainly not by a woman!

Then all the officers went mad. Doctor Engels was kicked till she bled and beaten up completely, until she stopped moving. She was then dragged away to the hallway behind the terrace. We heard her screaming in agony a few times, and then there was silence. I remember that Doctor Engels lived another few days, but then died from her injuries.

She had had the courage to say NO and the died for the sake of the lives of 30 Dutch camp girls. All women and children present on the forecourt flew in all directions in a panic, back to their rooms and to the barracks, in desperate fear of what could happen now.

The Japanese officers retreated and got in their cars and left without having seen the girls.

A second attempt to pick up the girls failed to materialize and why......we do not know. Probably because soon the 'Military Command' of the women's camps was transferred to a Japanese Citizen Authority or Board.As far as I know there was never any retaliation, except that we received no food that day and all of the about 200 boys aged 10 to 18 were taken to the Boys Camp7 in Ambarawa 100 kilometers away in the week after the uprising."  End of quote.

Memories like these still haunt the victims of the Japanese concentration camps.

On behalf of these victims the board of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts continues to seek moral recognition and justice. The Japanese government, due to international pressure, will ultimately have to acknowledge that they have a moral duty towards the Dutch from the former Netherlands East Indies. The Japanese government claims that as a nation they "fight" for peace and justice, taking its responsibilities in the international bodies seriously, playing significant roles in human rights, conflict mediation and peace keeping forces. Before claiming this position however Japan must consider its past and rectify their wrongdoings.

The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts requests the Human Rights Council to ensure that at last, after 68 years, Japan recognizes the facts and settles the damage by compensating the victims.
==============================================================

                                                              some camp drawings:

Boys have to go to separate camps, mothers crying saying goodbye.

These were heart wrenching scenes.Would they ever see their kids again? How cruel to take boys only just 10 years old from their mothers.

Our monthly demonstration. petition 233.

                        
                                        FOUNDATION OF JAPANESE HONORARY DEBTS
                                                                                                  NGO,Status Roster

His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan

The Hague, 8 April 2014
Petition: 233
Subject: Murayama and Kono statements uphold!


Excellency,
Just prior to the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, the Japanese government wisely announced that they would continue to adhere to the apologies for wartime behavior made by past Japanese cabinets in 1993 and 1995. On behalf of the members of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts we are relieved that Japan will uphold the Murayama and Kono statements and, by implication, no longer put in doubt Japan's responsibility for the World War Two atrocities by the the Imperial Army.

Prime Minister,
During the Nuclear Security Summit in the Hague you visited the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam. A war memorial of a Dutch girl, famous for her diary, murdered in the Holocaust. You faced the historical facts in a humble manner. You said that you would like to pass on the lessons and facts of history to the next generation. We assume that you will do likewise in Japan. You are obliged to educate your people to recognize that Japan's Imperial Army also attempted genocide to the same extent as the Holocaust. Many of the Dutch children of Anne Frank's age in the Dutch East Indies did not survive the war. Those who survived remember and feel their sufferings at the hand of the Japanese military and their agents every day. It is time that you acknowledge those historic facts as well, as an Honorary Debt of Japan, to the world in general, and to the Dutch in particular.

The Anne Frank House and her diaries are monuments of war. Amongst others the Germans continue to visit the museum and are humbled and ashamed, despite their Wiedergutmachung. Your visit should have been in shame as Japan has not made its Wiedergutmachung to the Dutch who survived, nor did you attempt to open up Japans World War Two military history to the people of Japan. The Japanese educational textbooks ignore the facts and give false impressions. There are even attempts to destroy copies of Anne Frnak diaries in Japanese libraries, and yet you visited the Anne Frank Museum.

Prime Minister,
In your discussion with Prime Minister Rutte you indicated that the doors for dialogue are always open. You also stated that Japan will continue programs to cure the emotional pain of the Dutch people who were detained and mistreated by the now defunct Imperial Army. We would highly appreciate an immediate date to meet to open the dialogue on curing the emotional pain and conclude this issue, on mutually acceptable terms. An annual trip for 20 of the remaining 60.0000 Dutch victims of Japanese terror does not cure many. Acknowledgement with appropriate atonement will be a better cure.

We require a personal acknowledgemnet of the receipt of this petition.

On behalf of the Foundation of Honorary Debts.

J.F. Wagtendonk
President.

================================================================

We are all there, on the left Sietske my sister, Thea, Carla. Pic. taken by Ruud.

Hanging up the banners.

Carla my sister in law busy hanging the banners.

It was windy that day and not easy to hang the banners.

When we were hanging  the banners and I saw the writing on it again, it made me want to cry.Why do we have to do this every month? When is Japan going to admit they committed these atrocities. It surprises me every time that Japan shows no respect. Its unbelievable that they show no remorse. We will not ever  forgive those who gave the orders to maltreat and gave the order to kill us all in order to hide the war crimes of the Japanese military.
I am thinking a lot of my mother and her sister, how they were raped by these beasts who called themselves soldiers. It is sad that they had to live the rest of their lives with these horrible memories. How they must have suffered at the hands of the Japanese military and their agents.How my mother tried to erase all these horrible  memories from what was in my head.She kept saying that I suffered from bad nightmares and telling me all the time that things like that do not happen in real life.For my mother and her sister it was a nightmare.As long as I live I will write about Japan's past, until maybe one day they will recognize their past wrong doings during World War Two. I will not rest until they admit that my mother and her sister, and so many girls and women were forcefully abused by their officers in a church (of all places) during our captivity in a concentration camp in Moentilan.That day will be the day that my mother and her sister will rest in peace.

As usual the curtains close when we arrive.

We were happy to be able to participate on this day in The Netherlands at the demonstration in The Hague. At twelve o'clock we arrived in front of the Japanese Embassy. As soon as the Japanese noticed we had arrived for our monthly demonstration the curtains closed. It seems like they still do not like to face the facts, 'the facts of history'. It is very easy to close your eyes and curtains for the reality which occurred so many years ago.Japan thinks that one day it will just disappear and forgotten.

On the left General Bouman, 91 years old.

 General Benjamin Bouman has written numerous books. One of his books is called "From Three colors to Red and White". (Means the three colored flag, Red, White and Blue from The Dutch East Indies was changed into two colors into the Indonesian flag Red and White. The color blue was cut off). General Bouman fought first in Holland and was fighting alongside the Americans on the Waal in Rotterdam. Later he went with the Americans to the Dutch East Indies to help fight the Japanese.. It was very interesting to listen to him. He has some tales to tell.We are very fortunate to have met General B. Bouman. Thank you for telling us some of your stories. We are sure you have many of them.

J.F. van Wagtendonk. our president from Foundation of J.H.D.

He lost several of his family during that horrible time, when Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies. He has some heart wrenching stories to tell. Thank you for being our president and all the work you have done over the years for our Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.

Here we are singing The Captives' Hymn.

Today was a historic day for the demonstration, as two Japanese Journalists were present . This Newspaper is being made out as being Anti Nationalist. Our president J.F. van Wagtendonk , secretary Brigitte van Halder and Jose Adriaansen-Smit were interviewed for an half hour and were asked if they could continue this interview on Wednesday April 9, for another couple of hours. We will hear more about this interview at the next yearly meeting from The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts, which will be held
May 20.

We are not getting younger.

But as long as we can and able to walk we will be at the demonstration every second Tuesday of the month in The Hague. We will remind Japan of their past, as long as we live. Many of us have since passed away, hoping to hear  that Japan fully recognize their wrong doings during WW2.


STATEMENTS UN

Japan must remember its past. 
March 17th

On March 14, 2014 Mrs. Jose Adriaansen-Smit, read the following statement during the 25th session of The Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL,

                                   JAPAN MUST REMEMBER ITS PAST

Mr. President,

Japan must remember its past. It must honor the victims who survived the Japanese occupation of the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War Two.

The surviving victims, who are in their seventies and eighties now, were children then. As children they had to endure the evil of the Japanese military occupation.They know and painfully feel their past. They know how it was to endure hunger, maltreatment, enslavement and to be forced to see the humiliation of their mothers, sisters and brothers. They cannot forget the deliberate barbaric treatment they had to endure at the hands of the Japanese military and their agents. The traumatic experience of slave labor, no matter how young they were, is still with them. They know how it feels not knowing what happened to their fathers, who were kept in separate captivity.

Of the surviving victims many suffered from incurable disorders. All cannot forget their ordeal and continue to live with traumas and other health problems.

It cannot be a surprise to you that we do not respect and cannot forgive those who gave the orders to maltreat them and ultimately ordered to kill them all in order to hide the war crimes of the Japanese military.

The Japanese leaders of the war period lost all respect for humanity. The present leaders must accept that and must not try to rewrite history. There is not and there never will be honor in glorifying the Japanese military behavior during World War Two. It would be honorable for the present leaders of Japan to admit and not to glorify the past.

Every year more of these victims, including Comfort Women, die of old age. This does not mean that their pain and their stories will be forgotten. It is up to the next generations to use their voices until the Japanese government listens and accepts the moral commitment from art.14 (a) of the San Francisco Peace treaty:"It is recognized that Japan should pay reparations for the damage and sufferings caused by it during the war."

On behalf of all the surviving victims of Japanese military terror, children then, the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts demands acknowledgement from the Japanese authorities of the gross violations of human rights and seeks redress for the damage done to the individual victims still alive or their next of kin for those who passed away.

                         Some pictures taken after the capitulation of Japan.

Behind barbwire.

Lucky to be alive.

Not many pictures exist from after the capitulation of Japan. But these photographs are a reminder how the victims looked like when the war with Japan was finally over. It was shocking how the victims looked like, it was not to describe. They looked like walking skeletons, men, women and children alike.

Our monthly demonstration in The Hague.petition # 232

                                             FOUNDATION OF JAPANESE HONORARY DEBTS
                                                                                             NGO,STATUS ROSTER


His excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan


The Hague, 11 March 2014
Petition: 232
Subject: Review of the 1993 Kono statement.


Excellency,
The world is astounded by your government's decision  to consider the so called Kono statement of 1993. According to your chief Cabinet Secretary evidence given by "comfort women" is to be re-examined.Much of the information given has been verified by many and proven to be correct. Whilst considering the evidence it is opportune also to consider the evidence taken by the 1946-1949 Temporal Military Tribunal of Batavia. 356 Japanese military and their civilian agents serving in Netherlands East Indies during its occupation were accused of war crimes. Of the accused 59 (more than 20%) were sentenced to death and subsequently executed. Only 27 (less than 10%) were acquitted.

Prime Minister,
Among the cases considered by the Tribunal was the so-called Semarang compulsory prostitution case. Officers of the Japanese army and their Japanese civilian agents were convicted for removing, under force and threat, young European girls and women from concentration camps, These girls and women were coerced into prostitution for Japanese officers. The victims made sworn statements that they were not volunteers, but were abused and forced by camp commanders, systematically raped and forced into sexual slavery for Japanese officers in specially organized "clubs".
The Tribunal punished the Japanese offenders severely including the death penalty and long prison sentences.

Prime Minister,
It would have been more courageous if you had taken the opportunity of the revision to personally announce that you would bring the "revised" Kono statement to the Diet for approval. Then you should widen the scope of the apology to include the brutal and unacceptable and unlawful behaviour of the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces in the occupied territories of South East Asia during World War Two. Failing to do so will continue to question the sincerity of Japan in recognizing its past and apologizing for its war crimes. It will worsen Japan's global moral standing, Japan must accept responsibility and face up to its past. It must make good what it had failed to do so far, for the survivors and the next of kin. An obvious and weak willed attempt to undermine the victims of your country's military will only add to Japan's further shame.

We would welcome an acknowledgement of the receipt of this petition by you personally.

On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts,

J.F.van Wagtendonk
President.


================================================================


 This article I read on the website : www.powtaiwan.org/
                                                                 
Japan's Democracy At Risk-Japan under the new ABE regime. 

For the past many months we have featured articles on the homepage regarding the sweeping changes taking place in Japan under the new LDP government of Shinzo Abe and his Right Wing extremists.

We have shown from reports and studies, first hand news accounts and references, how the Abe government wants to return to the extreme Right Wing policies of former times, how they want the so-called apologies made by the former prime ministers and renounce the previous stand on the :Comfort Women", now saying that that they were simply prostitutes and that they were necessary and that they were not coerced or forced by the Japanese military to perform services for the troops. They want to re-write Japan's pacifist constitution in order to make it possible for Japan to wage war again, and more alarmingly, they want to limit or abolish human rights and freedoms, so they can persecute those who differ with their opinion or who want to peacefully gather in protests. If one looks back at the history of the 20th Century, one can clearly see that these were also the polocies adopted and propagated by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis when they came to power 80 years ago in 1933!

 

THE NOOSE TIGHTENS ON JAPAN'S DEMOCRACY -March 11,2014
Japan's new secrecy law will gag the media and limit Freedom of the Press...... 

Read the ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL report at-

http/www.japanfocus.org/-Lawrence-Repeta/40867utm_source=March+10%2C=2014& utm_campaign+China%27s+Connectivity+Revolution&utm_medium=email

Amongst us their will always be dictators like Hitler. Its sad but it seems like many of us forgot the past. I recently was in The Netherlands and one of my family members said: 'People should let go of the past , and forget.' This person is one of many people who are not interesting in history and mankind's history. These are the people who will  be condemned to repeat the past. Its very sad that they forgot how many died for them, so they are able to live in peace.These are the people who should see the thousands and thousands of crosses all over the world, with fallen soldiers who gave their life.These soldiers were not able to live their life to the fullest. They died for their country, fighting evil.Those who survived the war, had to live their lives with the terrible atrocities they had seen, with their buddies dying in their arms. Its something we should never forget, and should always be remembered and taught to our children. They should not have died in vain.

                                                           LEST WE FORGET!                                                                              

Our monthly demonstration in The Hague

                         
                                                        FOUNDATION OF JAPANESE HONORARY DEBTS
                                                                                                         NGO, STATUS ROSTER
                                                                                   

His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan


The Hague, 11 February 2014
Petition: 231
Subject: What it means to know your past!


Excellency,
We, children then but now in our eighties and seventies, had to endure the evil of the Japanese military occupation of Dutch East Indies during World War Two. We know and painfully feel our past. We know how it was to endure hunger, maltreatment, enslavement and to be forced to see the humiliation of our mothers, sisters and brothers. We know how it feels not knowing what happened to our fathers,kept in separate captivity. It cannot be a surprise to you that we do not respect and cannot forgive those who gave the orders to maltreat us and ultimately the order to kill us all in order to hide the war crimes of the Japanese military.

Prime Minister,
We cannot understand that the children and grandchildren of those who issued the orders for war crimes are not ashamed of their parents. We cannot understand that these same people are being glorified and that their war crimes are honored. It is sickening to deny their evil past and have no compassion for those who suffered so badly. There is ample proof of the direct involvement by the Japanese military in coercing women into sexual slavery, which did untold emotional and physical damage. There is ample proof that Japanese military ignored behavioral conventions, were instructed to maltreat us all and conduct war crimes on a large scale. There is also concrete proof that the Japanese military were instructed at the end of the war to kill all captives to hide the war crimes which they knew would be uncovered.

Prime Minister,
The Japanese leaders of the war period lost all respect for humanity. The present leaders must accept that and must not try to rewrite history. There is and there will never be honor in glorifying the Japanese military behavior during World War Two. It would be honorable for the present leaders of Japan to admit it and not to glorify the past. The good people of Japan must be informed about the past. We believe that they will appreciate honesty, and honor and accept the moral commitment stemming from art. 14 (a) of the San Francisco Peace Treaty: "It is recognized that Japan should pay reparations for the damage and sufferings caused by it during the war." Educate the people of Japan and communicate to them the truth. Stop ignoring the past and above all be honest in knowing your past.

We would welcome an acknowledgement of the receipt of this petition by you personally.

On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts,

J.F. van Wagtendonk
President

================================================================

Just received by e-mail this no.231 petition which was handed over to the Japanese Embassy in The Hague. Every second Tuesday of the month a demonstration takes place and so far 231 petitions have been presented to the Prime Minister's of Japan.
I wonder does Japan really care about the past? Do they really like to make it right?  I really admire the people who every month travel some times for two hours by train to be able to attend this demonstration in The Hague. One such person is a lady I know very well and we ( my mother and I her sister and two children) had been in the same Japanese prison camp during the war. She is now 87 years young, she and her mother and two sisters were like us in Banjoebiroe 10.on the island of Java, Indonesia (formerly called The Dutch East Indies) Her father was murdered by the Kempetai, my father died a horrible death, building a railroad line through the jungle of Thailand as a Japanese POW slave laborer. The infamous Birma railroad line, where thousands died, worked, starved and beaten to death by the Japanese military.And she like me would like to live to hear a sincere apology and remorse for the death of so many innocent people from the Japanese government.But it seems that this government doesn't give a damn about their past.Japan fought a  most ruthless war, leading thousands and thousands to die a grisly death in the name of the Emperor of Japan, of greed and secrecy.The emperor of Japan their "God" appointed his brother Prins Yasuhito Chichibu to head a secret organization called "Kin no Yuri"("Golden Lily)  of gangsters, who plundered and looted and killed their own people to stash away the plundered treasure. What happened to the plundered treasure after 1945, it's really remarkable how Japan recovered so quickly after the war.Japan the Gold Warriors.Much of the stolen wealth was taken to Japan, some to pay for the war, but most to slate the greed of Japan's elite. The Emperor Hirohito and his brother Chichibu should have been recorded as the world's most ruthless and avaricious bandit's of all time. Instead they lived a pampered life, while the real victims of this terrible war  lived the rest of their lives with trauma's and nightmares to deal with.Trying to make a living again, with nobody to help them.

Read  the book from Sterling and Peggy Seagrave. "America's secret Recovery of "Yamashita's Gold".

Here we are with Elizabeth van Kampen at the demonstration.

On the left my dear friend Sheena Hartley from England, who will always attend the demonstration when we are there from Canada, Next is me (Thea), Elizabeth and my sister in law Carla Hoogendijk who every year drives us to The Hague.

After the petition is handed over we sing hymns.

We all meet at hotel Bel Air for lunch and discuss the daily event. Mr.J.F. van Wagtendonk and Brigitte Halder will inform us what happened at the Embassy. It's nice we are offered loempia's and some other Indonesian dishes.

Street view from Hotel Bel Air in The Hague.

Elizabeth enjoying her loempia.

 Memories indeed are there to be transmitted, its important that we share them for generations to come. If these memories are not shared, they will be forever lost. People often do not understand how 'breakable' a memory is.

One such person who knew how breakable our memory is... was Eisenhower. General Eisenhower warned us.

It is a matter of history that when the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead.

German girl overcome by grief of what she saw.

He did this because he said in words of this effect: 'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened"

Japan likes to rewrite history and  the UK debated whether to remove the Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offends' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. It is not removed yet.....However, this is frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it.

It is now more than 65 years after the Second  World War in Europe ended. In memory of the 6 millions Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians, and 1,900 catholic priests who were murdered, raped, burned, starved, beaten, experimented on and humiliated" while the German people looked the other way!

Victims of the holocaust.

Now more than ever, with Iran, amongst other, claiming the holocaust to be ' a myth ', it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets!! Like Japan is still denying their atrocities committed during World War Two.Japan just like their partners in crime( Germany and Italy), during World War Two, committed the same atrocities on the other side of the globe and still deny that it happened.Japan still denies that their military did nothing wrong to innocent women, children and civilians.What's wrong with these people? Are they such good liars?
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                                  The holocaust on the other side of the Globe

It's a shame that no photographs exist that show the atrocities in these concentration camps where Dutch women and children were starved,beaten, raped, experimented on, killed and humiliated.It took more than five weeks after the end of the war for the British troops to arrive and secure the camps. In the meantime the Japanese had destroyed all evidence.They even handed out the red cross food packages which they had denied us all those years.

During the war the Japanese guards did not allow any persons from out side these camps to come even close to these fences. If some body got caught being to close near these fences they would receive a severe beatings, even children were not immune from this they would be punished or their mothers.

 Some time at the end of  September a couple of photographs  were taken from Camp Banjoebiroe 10 in central Java, in the Dutch East Indies (now called Indonesia).

These photographs were taken by Lady Mountbatten, the wife of Lord Louise Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of South-East-Asia.

This is how they found the men weeks after the war was over.

With the Japanese guards vanished and allied troops or relief organizations yet to be on the scene, Banjoebiroe 10 was in a disorganized transition, although much better than under the Japanese. We were not fully free yet. Another danger was luring outside the camps. We were unsure what to do, where to go. Most of the women were still to weak and many were sick, like my mother.It took till the end of November 1945, when we finally were transported to safer places by truck.

Are we going to see our daddy again?

What will the future look like? Can we go to our homes, or what's left of it. Little we know. We had no homes to go back too. We only had the clothes we were wearing, so many question, where are our men are they still alive? Many of us had no daddy anymore and we were so desperate to see them again. What did we know, we were only children. We did not know anymore how our daddy's looked like, except for the older girls and boys. Only heart break was waiting for us, where we were going.
This is what makes me so mad, when I think about that time. While we had nothing to back too, our houses plundered by the Japanese, no money, no father waiting for us, the Japanese government were laying in their own beds, between crispy clean sheets and plenty of food to eat.The emperor of Japan with their government got away with murder and lived the rest of their lives a pampered life with no guilt feelings  and no remorse for all the atrocities they inflicted on innocent women and children.Our lives were shattered!
The perpetrators got away. It's very painful to think about our past. How brave our mothers were and what they endured. The Japanese military were evil and all in the name of the emperor Hirohito.

 All this evil man could do was riding around on his white horse and order the Japanese military to do his dirty work..Steal, plunder, loot and kill every body who stands in your way.
We would really like to hear from this government of Japan that they feel remorse and sorry about their past, but instead you Mr. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, you go and mourn ,honor, and glorify the behavior of your military from the past. They are nothing but war criminals. Shame on you!

Current Japanese may have been transformed and became truly peace-loving people. However, Japan has been a villain in East Asian history and Japan has failed to convince her neighbors and the world that they became a good neighbor. This mistrust is the root cause of current animosity in East Asia.

During the last 500 years, there were three major wars in East Asia.Three of these wars were initiated by Japan which tried to conquer Korea and China.
Japan refuses to recognize its depraved history of imperialist aggression, expansion and colonial domination.

Are we really leaving this hell!

Our monthly demonstration in The Hague.

                                    FOUNDATION OF JAPANESE HONORARY DEBTS
                                                                                    NGO, STATUS ROSTER


His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan


The Hague, 14 January 2014.
Petition: 230
Subject: Be honest about your past!


Excellency ,

The Board and members of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts wish you and your country a Happy New Year. Last year we congratulated you on the occasion of your election victory and your appointment as Prime Minister of Japan. Much of your intentions to create change in Japan you repeated in your present New Year's message. It is regrettable that these intentions appear to ignore Japan's past and do not take in account that Japan's future as a nation must first resolve that horrible past. Japan is part of the global community and must realize that its own well being is dependent on its international relations.

Prime Minister,
The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts is not a political entity. Its purpose is to care for the Dutch from the former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, and resolve the relationship with Japan stemming from the horrible period of Japanese military occupation of the Dutch East Indies during World War Two.It is remarkable that a spokesman from the German Chancellor Mrs. Angela Merkel made the point recently that Japan should deal "honestly" with its World War Two past. Your recent visit as Prime Minister to the Yasukuni Shrine angers many international institutions and countries.It demonstrates that in fact you do not care how the world reacts to these visits. It means too that your other intentions to revive Japan's standing in the world will not be improved. As so well demonstrated by Germany. We demand that you accept moral responsibility for the past. You must realize how the individual survivors suffered and what they lost as a result of the war which Japan started. Make Japan respectable again as a nation of conscience and principals and open an honest dialogue with our Foundation.

We would welcome an acknowledgement of the receipt of this petition by you personally.

On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts,


J.F.Wagtendonk
President

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The Hague.

History continued to be a large part of my life. Whenever WW2 is mentioned or there are memorial services held I think about my mother and her sister. I think about our time in these horrible Japanese concentration camps.Locked up for three and a half year, behind barbwire and high fences, terrorized by the Japanese military, starved to death, raped, and experimented on.I discover that there are large parts missing from the stories of World War Two.
Why is it when you ask people about the Holocaust they immediately relate it to the German's Nazi and the Jews in these horrible concentration camps.Nobody seems to know anything about the other holocaust which really started in 1931 with Japan invading China and Southeast Asia. It touches deep emotions inside of me, almost to the point that I become angry. How is it possible that Japan has never dealt with this legacy???

Germany started WW2 with the invasion of Poland in 1939.
Japan started WW2 with the aggression in Asia, which began with the invasion of Manchuria in 1931.

This was the holocaust of Asia- and the global upheaval that followed.
                                                                       1931-1945

Imperial Japan's military inflicted unbelievable violence against the human race.Many Asian people were brutally murdered. This was the holocaust of Asia. Hundreds of millions of people suffered at the hands of the Japanese military. Most of the casualties were innocent Civilians, innocent women, children and men. They were the result of terror, killings, biological weapons, malnutrition,maltreatment, forced labor, sickness and diseases. Many women and young girls were brutally raped and tortured and then killed.

Little understanding has been given to the hardship of Chinese people who suffered by the invasion of Japan
just like Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany.

Read the book of Werner Gruhl in which I read:
A typical example of the state of public knowledge is illustrated in an article in the Baltimore Sun on Sept. 1, 2000 entitled : "War to preserve civilized world won 55 years ago". It lists the World War Two dead of the Soviet Union, Poland, Germany, Japan, and the United States. It remarks on the death camps in Europe and the atomic bombs on Japan. Not a word or count is offered for other Asian War victims who perished in numbers approximating the extraordinary loss of life in Poland and the Soviet Union combined, and eight times the loss of Japanese lives.

The sad part is that of the worlds education all forms of communication about WW2, such as history, books, classroom work, museum exhibits, movies, and the news media, concentrate mainly on Europe and Nazi Germany's past. Imperial Japan's invasion of Asia, is hardly mentioned. Historically Americans have been primarily from Europe.
World War 2 from 1931-1945 was started in Asia by Japan and spread to Europe. The aim of Imperial Japan, fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany (the Axis partners) was to dominate the world.
We would have lost our freedom, which we all enjoyed, if the Axis had won the war.

Japan fought the war in Asia with help from her colonies, Formosa, Korea, while Germany with the help of her six Axis partners, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria(then part of Germany) and Finland.
The U.S and the Soviet Union provided the largest Allied military forces.The cruelest losses in history during WW2 were those killed defending the Soviet Union from Germany and those in China defending their country from Japan.

The Soviets and Chinese bore the greatest suffering.
I have read many books about history and have come to the conclusion that very few people of today have no idea how close we came to lose our Freedom.

The pain and tragedy of China is not to describe. The deaths in China was extensively and cruel.
We should get a better understanding about the feelings of the Chinese people.How is it possible that Japan is getting away with these murders and killings from the past. Never have they acknowledge their wrong doings.
Why do we as victims still have to demonstrate all over the world, for Japan to acknowledge their wrong doings?
Japan is angry that statues appear every where. Statues which portray the kidnapping of very young girls and using them in brothels for the pleasure of their military.We will keep reminding Japan as long as we can, until they finally will take the blame and admit their wrong doings during WW2.

This statue is in Manila.

This statue is in Korea

This statue is in New Yersey

This statue is in Glendale, the latest put there last summer.

 Japanese PM stirs up trouble with 'Comfort Women' Remark, and wants the statues removed. The more Japan is denying this issue, the more statues will appear all over the world.

We demand sincere apology , justice and compensation.

It has been a fact that women were never believed if they were raped. It was always the fault of the women. Women were afraid to come forward and men got away with it. Not nowadays anymore.Many girls and young women who survived this horrible ordeal being put in these brothels, where they had to serve sometimes twelve to thirty men a day, were scarred and traumatized for the rest of their lives.Their lives were ruined forever by this miserable regime, used as comfort women in these horror houses they call brothels.

My mother before the war.1939

My mother after the war.1946

My mother and her sister were raped by these horrible military men and were ashamed of it the rest of their lives.Only one of my mother's six sisters knew about what had happened to them in those horrible Japanese concentration camps on Java in the former Dutch East Indies and had promised never to tell anybody. In those days it was a very shameful thing, so automatically they never talked about it.Just get on with your life, and try to make the best of it.In those days there were no trauma centers, where you could get help.I am so grateful that my mother and her sister could comfort each other.
I only became aware of it when I was writing my book "I Thought You Should Know" when my mothers youngest sister told me about it in 2009, she was so upset that she broke her promise. She is 87 years old now, my mother passed away in 2003, her sister who was in the same concentration camp as my mother passed away in1991.How they have suffered in those Japanese concentration camps is beyond anybodies imagine.Only those who were there can understand. I and my cousins were very young. My cousins were six and three and I was 5 when we were finally freed from these tyrants.We survived but many never did come home, like my father and my cousins father. Tortured and killed by the Japanese military. Thanks to the A bombs, it saved many lives and gave us our freedom.
We ask Japan to come to terms with their past. Start your Nation with conscience principals and honesty in 2014.
                                                                     Lest we forget!