“Deny historical facts like the Japanese government”
German activist criticizes South Korea’s far right
Members of the Berlin Human Rights Citizens’ Group, such as the “Berlin Women’s Association,” “Grandmothers Against the Far Right,” and “The Council of Brave Women,” are forever in Berlin against the expeditionary demonstrations of the Korean right-wing forces. Demonstration for survival // Hangyore Shimbun
At 10 am on Sunday 26th, there was a small commotion in front of the “Statue of Peace Girl” in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. The German citizen group “Korea Council”, which led and protected the construction of the statue of a girl, responded to the fact that the “comfort woman fraud clearing solidarity” from South Korea held a rally requesting the removal of the statue of a girl. I embarked on a demo. As the two demonstrators faced each other across a five-meter road, the Germans stood in the front row of the demonstrators who criticized South Korea’s far right.
Those who participated in the protests on the same day were the “Berlin Women’s Association” (a gathering of Japanese women living in Berlin) and “Grandmothers who oppose the far right” who have organized demonstrations in Germany to inform the Japanese military “comfort women” issue. , “Council of brave women” and other activists of human rights and civic groups. Every time the Korean far-right demonstrators shouted, “The comfort woman is a lie,” they raised a placard saying “History should not be denied” and a photo of the victim of the comfort woman, Park Young-shim. Some Japanese participated in the demonstration with their friends with a placard saying, “The voice denying war crimes must disappear.”
The screams of the Korean far-right demonstrators rang across the road, saying, “You are guilty of great sin. You are blaspheming the Republic of Korea.” Each time, Angelica Kruger, 65, an activist of the “grandmothers who oppose the far right” in the Berlin area, made a gesture to stop by hand. Kruger, who has been working against the extreme right network and war crimes, said, “They tell us to fly from South Korea and remove the girl statue, just like the Japanese government, but as a citizen living in Berlin, I We hope that the image of the girl will remain here as a symbol of peace that informs of sexual violence and war crimes that must never be repeated. “
On the 26th of this month, in front of the statue of a girl in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, the comfort woman fraud clearing solidarity to which Lee Woo-yeon, the representative of the Korean Mothers’ Unit, Kim Byeong-heon, and the director of the Korean History Textbook Institute belong is a peaceful girl. Demonstrating the removal of the statue // Hankyoreh Newspaper
The statue of a girl, which was set up in the Mitte district of Berlin in 2020, was in danger of being removed several times due to protests by the Japanese government. It is highly likely that it will be a memorial to Berlin with a “plan”. John Engelmann (25), who studied at the Korean Department of the Free University of Berlin and learned about the comfort women issue, said, “The comfort women issue is not a special historical case in Korea. Germans make it universal. I see it as a human rights issue. The actions of South Korean extreme right demonstrators who deny historical facts in public are difficult to understand. “
While the German police and others were dispatched to watch over the rally, the comfort women fraud clearing solidarity, which consisted of four members including the Korean mother unit of Ju Oksun, relayed the demonstration on YouTube and solicited sponsorship. It is said that they filed a meeting twice a day in front of the statue of the girl until the 30th.
Berlin / Nam Eun-ju Correspondent (Inquiries japan@hani.co.kr)
Translation HJ