Singapore rejects 'comfort women' statue
2013-01-30 14:01
Singapore - Singapore said on Wednesday it has rejected
plans by South Korean activists to put up a statue in the city-state
commemorating women forced into sexual slavery by Japan during World War II.
The culture ministry denied claims by the Korean Council
for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery that there had been talks
about plans to put up such a statue.
"This is not accurate," the ministry told AFP
in a statement.
"There are no ongoing meetings or discussions
between the Singapore government and the Korean Council for the Women Drafted
for Military Sexual Slavery on this issue. Nor will we allow such a statue to
be erected in Singapore."
In Seoul last week the activists unveiled plans to put up
the statues - representing "comfort women" forced into Japanese military
brothels during the war - in a number of Asian countries starting with
Singapore.
They said they had held talks with Singapore authorities
and added that a delegation would be sent to the city-state to finalise the
plans.
The South Korean group was behind the bronze statue of a
young girl with a butterfly settled on her shoulder that was assembled in 2011
opposite the Japanese embassy in Seoul.
Other statues were also planned in China, Malaysia and
Indonesia, the group had said.
Historians say about 200 000 women from Korea, China, the
Philippines and other countries were drafted to work in Japanese army brothels
in Asia.
Singapore, which was then a British colony, was among
several Asian countries occupied by Japan during the war.
