maart 2004 Japan court orders war payment A court in Japan has demanded that the government pay more than $800,000 to a group of Chinese people who were forced to work in Japan during World War II. Japanese judges rarely spring surprises, but this afternoon in the Niigata District Court, Judge Noriyoshi Katano broke ranks with his colleagues and awarded compensation to the group of Chinese, who were forced to work in the city during WWII. It is the first time a court has ordered the government to pay compensation for abuses committed by Japan against people in other Asian countries during the war. The plaintiffs - 10 survivors and two family members of workers who have since died - said they were taken to northern Japan in 1944 and forced to work at a port under harsh conditions. The government has always refused claims for compensation, arguing they were settled in peace agreements signed with the countries it occupied. Eleven other cases brought by victims of forced labour in different courts have been rejected over the past two years, with judges citing a 10-year statute of limitations for civil suits. But Judge Katano argued that the 10-year time limit could not apply to what amounted to a serious violation of human rights. Dozens of other compensation cases have been brought against the Japanese government for abuses during WWII. All have been rejected by the courts. The government insists all issues of compensation were resolved when it signed peace agreements with its Asian neighbours. It has at times offered financial assistance to victims but does not want to admit liability for what Japanese forces did 60 years ago. The government is likely to appeal against this verdict and, given the past record of other judges, it will probably be successful. Persbericht van de BBC - 26 maart 2004 Helaas, dit is niet voor ons bestemd, want... Om alvast alle verwachtingen de kop in te drukken, moet ik u mededelen, dat China geen ondertekenaar was van het Vredesverdrag van San Fransisco van 1951, waar de Japanse staat zich in ons en alle andere gevallen op beroept. Dit blijkt uit het volgende citaat uit de uitspraak van de rechtbank in Tokyo: “In other words, individual rights of the Allied Forces and their citizens seeking compensation were re-nounced by the Allied Forces themselves and the substantial rights to claim compensation lapsed at the same time.” Het is in ieder geval voor de Chinezen een goed bericht. Waarschijnlijk zal het een precedent scheppen, want er zijn heel wat Chinese slachtoffers van Japan die nog in leven zijn, danwel hun nabestaanden... denk maar aan de "Rape of Nanking" in 1937. Voor ons en de geallieerde lotgenoten zal er nooit een yen los komen uit Japan. De Nederlandse Staat heeft onze grondwettelijke rechten verkwanseld, alhoewel ze zelf nooit de aansprakelijkheid ervoor heeft geaccepteerd en nageleefd. Lilian Sluijter, Algemeen Secretaris SVJ