His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan
The Hague, 13 November 2018
Petition: 288
Subject: `Few survivors are able to tell their true stories` Wim Kan
Excellency,
The San Francisco Peace Treaty denied a solatium to the individual Dutch victims of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies during 1941-1945. The Japanese and Dutch governments maintain that with the Yoshida-Stikker protocol it was agreed that the individual rights to compensate the Dutch from the Dutch East Indies were resolved. The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts disagrees with this point of view. The Japanese military war crimes inflicted illegal harm and considerable damage to the Dutch: violating the individual human rights. The rights to a solatium do not expire! This “Burden of Obligation”, as mentioned in our previous petition, has been confirmed by the recent Republic of Korea Supreme Court ruling.
Prime Minister,
Despite the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea the Supreme Court of Korea issued a ruling that runs counter to that treaty, resolving individual claims “completely and finally”. The ruling is based on the view that the 1965 agreement does not cover the issue of compensating individual victims. Similar to the Yoshida- Stikker protocol in which the Japanese war crimes were not addressed. In the court case of individual Dutch victims the lower Japanese Courts (Tokyo District Court and Tokyo Appellate Court) concluded that the Japanese Military violated The Hague Convention of 1907 (the human rights of the Dutch citizens) during the occupation of the Dutch East Indies. Both the Japanese government as well as the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts lodged against the judgement of the Appellate Court a cassation with the Japanese Supreme Court. The Japanese Supreme Court did not consider the rulings by the lower courts as they dismissed the cassation on administrative grounds.
Prime Minister,
In the caption of this petition we quote a statement made by a famous Dutch cabaret performer Wim Kan. The essence of that statement is very much alive and the reason why the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts continues its activities to seek acknowledgement and compensation.
We follow the developments in the Republic of Korea and would like to discuss the implications.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President
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