dignity walk for comfort women

The international cry for justice continues... Tomorrow, April 26th at 12:30 pm, Amnesty International USA an 121 Coalition will gather in front of the White House to call upon Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to acknowledge the role of the Japanese government in organizing the enslavement and rape of 200,000 girls and women during World War II. Over the last few decades, Japanese officials have issued various ambiguous statements that fail to acknowledge the historical record. (There was, instead, a private compensation fund created for victims: Japan’s 'Atonement' to Former Sex Slaves Stirs Anger.) The government has never made a clear apology. And recently, Prime Minister Abe launched a campaign to deny that the government was directly involved.

On Thursday, April 26th, Prime Minister Abe will meet with President Bush at the White House: Historical Debate Follows Japanese Leader to U.S. Meanwhile, there will be a gathering in Lafayette Park to honor the courage and hear the testimony of Young See Lee, a survivor of a World War II Japanese military rape camp. Then at 1:00pm, the coalition will begin the "Dignity Walk," a silent, peaceful walk in front of the White House for the dignity of the comfort women, and girls and women everywhere who have suffered from rape, violence and human trafficking. This is a call to action, and they are calling on you to take part. For more information, contact:

121 Coalition
Annabel Park
annabelpark@mac.com
703-944-9661

Amnesty International USA
T. Kumar
202-544-0200, ext 224
tkumar@aiusa.org

121 Coalition
www.support121.org

Here's a short video by Eric Byler, featuring Yul Kwon and Jung Sook Park, to help publicize this issue and tomorrow's Walk: Dignity March April 26, 2007. There will also be a Diginity Walk taking place in San Francisco: Thursday, April 26th at 10:00am in front of hte Japanese Consulate Building. For more information on this very important cause, go here.