Japanese cyclist-activists retrace Death March

ANGELES CITY — Japanese activists arrived in the country last Tuesday to participate anew in the "Peace Cycle," a cycling event that will retrace the infamous Death March from Mariveles, Bataan to Camp O’Donnel in Capas, Tarlac during World War II.

The annual cycling event will again demand reparations by the Japanese government for Filipino "comfort women" and other victims of hostilities by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War, and protest the alleged lopsided trade agreements between Japan and the Philippines.

Ichiro Hirata, spokesman of Peace Cycle 2005, said this year’s theme is "Retracing the Death March 60 Years After: A Time of Healing and Action Toward World Peace."

The activity is supported by local groups, including the Kilusang Para sa Pambansang Demokratiko (KPD).

"This year’s activity seeks not only to remember the atrocities of the last world war, but also to campaign for peace and for (reparations) for the lingering sufferings of the survivors of that war," said Susumu Omori, spokesman of the Santama Peace Cycle-Japan Network which is also joining the Peace Cycle.

The Peace Cycle kicks off today at kilometer post zero where the Death March started in Mariveles, Bataan, winding through San Fernando, Pampanga and ending at Camp O’Donnel in Capas, Tarlac on April 3. The actual Death March though started on April 9, 1942.

Filipino women from Mapanique in Candaba, Pampanga, mostly in their 70s and 80s, organized themselves into a group called Malaya Lolas (Free Grandmothers).

They claim to have been used as "comfort women" by Japanese soldiers during the war and have long demanded reparations from the Japanese government.

On March 8 last year, about 60 Malaya Lolas members trooped to the Supreme Court to ask the tribunal to declare crimes against humanity the "rape and torture" they suffered in the hands of Japanese soldiers during the war.

The elderly women also asked the Supreme Court to order the Philippine government to demand a formal apology from Japan and seek reparations for them.

In a statement, the Peace Cycle organizers said, "More than 500,000 Asian women became victims of enforced prostitution for the Japanese Imperial Army. They became part of army logistics and would join the troops when they moved to other territories or countries. By the end of World War II, less than 30 percent or 150,000 women survived the ordeal. Many died through poison, suicide and mass killings. Others found themselves in foreign lands — shamed and shunned by society."

Apart from seeking reparations for Malaya Lolas and other "victims" of the Japanese war hostilities, organizers of Peace Cycle have also expressed opposition to the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement. — With Evelyn Macairan