I have never heard of anything more disgusting and cowardly than the report about the “comfort woman” statue, newly installed on Roxas Boulevard, removed after a mere four months (“Removal of ‘comfort woman’ statue draws protest,” 4/29/18).
The fact that the National Historical Commission, the Manila government and Tulay Foundation initiated the installation of the statue makes it laudable indeed. But the report does not state if those organizations were consulted before the statue was removed. On whose orders, and why was it done in the dead of night? It reminds of the stealthy and nefarious way Ferdinand Marcos’ corpse was carted to Libingan ng mga Bayani not long ago.
The German death camps, like those in Auschwitz and Dachau, still stand in Europe to remind people of war crimes. Statues on comfort women exist in the United States and some other places as reminders of atrocities committed by Japan during World War II. But even though that country has acknowledged its past crimes, it still has not atoned properly on the matter of the forced prostitution of women in Asia.
Why is Manila behaving in such a pusillanimous manner? Or is it just carrying out orders from the Duterte administration to remove the statue, fearful of losing aid provided by Japan?
The admirable Teresita Ang See and her group need more supporters to display true patriotism in this country, something which too many of our officials cannot do. The demand to remove Marcos from Libingan ng mga Bayani failed. This time we should all demand that the statue be put back where it belongs.
ISABEL T. ESCODA,
Cebu City