[ad_1]
Berlin City Girl’s Award “Awakens tension between Germany and Japan”
Decision suddenly demolished within 10 days of installation
Japan’s diplomatic authorities appear to have undergone a general offensive
The government’s position to improve relations between Korea and Japan is shameful
During the inauguration ceremony of the Girl of Peace in Berlin, Germany, on the 28th (local time) of last month, members of the German women’s group ‘Corage’ (Yonggi) are taking commemorative photos next to the statue of the girl . Hankyoreh Material Photo
As district officials ordered the “ Girl of Peace ” to be erected in a public place in Berlin late last month, we are concerned about the impact on the relationship between Korea and Japan, which rarely captures clues for improvement. On the 7th (local time), Mitte-gu, Berlin, sent an official letter to the Korea Council, a civic group related to Korea that oversaw the installation of the girl’s statue on the 14th. It is confirmed that the former authorities also They added that if they are not dismantled voluntarily, they will enforce the application and collect related expenses from the Korean Council. The Korean Council immediately issued a statement of protest, declaring that the decision was “a fundamental violation of freedom of art and expression” and demanded the withdrawal of the policy, but it is unclear whether it will be accepted. It appears that the reason the Berlin city authorities decided to dismantle the girl’s statue less than ten days after installation was due to the acceptance of general protests from the Japanese diplomatic authorities. In fact, in an official request for the removal of the girl’s statue, Mitegu noted that it “created a strained relationship between each region of Japan and Berlin.” I want to avoid taking one side of the debate. “This is an explanation to the effect that the statue of the girl was considered a politically neutral” work of art “and allowed a temporary installation for a year, but was later confirmed not to be. , and the decision to demolish it was unavoidable. The girl’s statue was not seen as a monument to the human rights of women raped through the Japanese military system of “comfort women”, but as a symbol of the historical conflict between Korea. and Japan. In this process, it is confirmed that there was a strong diplomatic offensive by the Japanese government. Minister Kato Katsunobu said on the 29th of last month, just after the fact that the statue of the girl was installed: “I will take action to approach various officials for the demolition and explain Japan’s position. “Later, Foreign Minister Toshimit Motegi divided the time into one day during his trip to Europe and held an unexpected 40-minute videoconference. coughing with German Chancellor Hays Mako. On the 6th, Foreign Minister Motegi asked if he was requesting the removal of the girl’s statue at that time, “We talked about that. After the division of East and West, Berlin was formed and it became a city of coexistence where many people came and went. I don’t think it is appropriate for such a statue to be installed in Berlin. ” During the Park Geun-hye administration, when the issue of comfort women was the biggest diplomatic problem between Korea and Japan, the Japanese government responded sensitively to this issue, citing ‘stopping the installation of a girl statue’ as the one largest mission of Japanese diplomatic missions abroad. As the Japanese government’s active diplomatic offensive, the girl’s statue was on the brink of demolition, and the Korean government’s position was embarrassed. President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory letter to new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on the 16th of last month, saying: “The door to dialogue is always open. I look forward to the positive response from Japan, ”showing a desire to improve relations between Korea and Japan, which made the worst of history worse. Perhaps that is why, in a regular briefing on the 8th, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim In-cheol was asked about pressure from the Japanese government to demolish the girl’s image and said: “Government involvement in artificial demolition this never helped solve the problem. While he criticized it as a measure that goes against the spirit of reflection, he maintained a reserved attitude that “it is not desirable for the government to engage diplomatically in the voluntary private sector movement.” An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 9th that the government’s position “will not come out today.” By Gil Yoon-hyung, Staff Reporter [email protected]
[ad_2]
