hankyoreh

A member of the German group Grannies against the Right gives a speech protesting far-right violence and memorializing the victims of the comfort women system at a Statue of Peace erected in Berlin on Feb. 19, 2021. (Han Ju-yeon/The Hankyoreh)

The mayor of Berlin vowed to resolve the conflict over a statue in the German city commemorating victims of Japan’s “comfort women” system of sexual slavery, emphasizing the importance of “change” during a meeting with the foreign minister of Japan. German civic groups have decried the city leader’s comments as insinuating that the statue could be removed.  

The city of Berlin issued a press release on Thursday stating that Mayor Kai Wegner stated that it is “important to make changes” on the issue of the statue’s standing in the city while speaking with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa during a visit to Tokyo. Wegner reportedly “held out the prospect of a solution to the controversial comfort women monument in Berlin,” according to the release. 

Wegner was in Japan to mark the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Berlin and Tokyo.
 
During the discussion, the Berlin mayor said he was in favor of monuments that called for the end of violence against women, but that such representation should not be “one-sided.” He mentioned that he was in contact with all parties involved, including the district and the federal government, and announced that he would also include the Japanese ambassador to Germany in the talks concerning the statue.
 
Korea Verband, a civic group representing Koreans and those of Korean descent living in Germany, interpreted Wegner’s comments about “change” as implying an intention to remove the statue, a move they denounced as “unilaterally bowing to pressure from the Japanese government.”

In a commentary issued on the matter on Saturday, the civic group wrote, “Contrary to his statement, Kai Wegner is not in conversation with us, the people who erected the Statue of Peace. We would be happy to take part in the exchange if it is offered to us.”
 
“The district alone has jurisdiction over the Statue of Peace,” the organization stated. It also called for a discussion with the mayor in which they would “also like to discuss the pressure from the Japanese government on district politics and the state government of Berlin.”
 
In response to the claim that the statue symbolizes a “one-sided representation,” the organization argued that the Statue of Peace is a “universal monument against sexual violence in conflict regions.”
 
Korea Verband invited Wegner to visit their Museum of Comfort Women to see for himself the various perspectives on the representation of sexual violence in war and engage in the association’s educational work. The group added that it will hold a vigil on June 19 at the statue in Berlin, to which they have invited civil society organizations for an overnight discussion on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
 
The Japanese government has been calling for the removal of all statues dedicated to the victims of imperial Japan’s sexual slavery system around the world, stating that they symbolize South Korea’s skewed view of history.
 
While the Berlin Statue of Peace was ordered to be removed by the local Mitte District Office shortly after its installation in October 2020, the order was put on hold after Korea Verband applied for an injunction.

During Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Japan in April 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed “regret” over the statue’s continued installation, and requested that it be removed. A Statue of Peace erected at the University of Kassel in central Germany in March of last year was surreptitiously removed, fueling outrage by students and community organizations.  

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]