A "Statue of Peace" already born amid the controversies between Japan and South Korea. It was inaugurated this morning on the Colombo seafront in Stintino , the first in Italy, the second in Europe after Germany.

The ceremony was held near the lighthouse, a touching moment that not even the contrasts between the two peoples could obscure. The bronze sculpture was donated by the "Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan" Foundation as a symbol of those women (about 200 thousand between the ages of 13 and 20) who were forced during the Second World War to prostitute themselves to brighten the days of the Japanese soldiers.

The mayor of Stintino, Rita Vallebella , wanted to commemorate the victims of the atrocities perpetrated in the years between 1932 and 1945, to raise public awareness of women's rights globally. But the affair to which the monument refers is a still open wound between South Korea and Japan.

For this reason, last Thursday, the Japanese ambassador Suzuki presented himself at the Municipality of Stintino for a meeting with the mayor, with the aim of inviting her to postpone the inauguration of the Statue of Peace, in which there appears a writing that would accuse Japan of not having recognized those crimes and not having made compensation to the families of the women victims of violence . This version, however, was rejected by the Land of the Rising Sun which, instead, declares the opposite, stating that it has recognized those crimes and above all that it has already activated the procedures for recognizing the compensation payments.

«I am ready to ascertain this with the Korean ambassador, because I want to know Seoul's official position, considering that I have an interest in the news being given correctly. But I believe that at the center of this day are women and the violence committed against them in times of war and the Korean victims that we are celebrating at this moment represent all women in the world, including those who are now suffering violence, such as Ukrainian citizens , Palestinians and Africans".

The “Statue of Peace” depicts a young Korean woman sitting in a chair, with another empty chair next to her.

Present at the ceremony were, in addition to the first citizen of Stintino, Na Young Lee, the sociology professor of Seoul University and president of the foundation that donated the statue, the mayor of Erula, Marianna Fusco, the deputy mayor of the municipality of Sennori, Elena Cornalis , the Environment Councilor of Porto Torres, Massimiliano Ledda, the regional Labor Councilor, Desirè Manca, the mayor of Fonni, president of Anci Sardinia, Daniela Falcone.

Also present were the regional authorities for the protection of children's and adolescents' rights: Simona Corongiu, regional representative of the Authority for Rights and Equal Opportunities, Speranza Piredda, president of the association against women's violence. And again: the network association of women lawyers from Sassari for the defense of women's rights, Gabriella Bartoletti, president of Inner Wheel of Sassari Castello, Daniela Guadalupi of the Aid Foundation for research into rare diseases, Carla Puligheddu, guarantor of women's rights Childhood and adolescence, the Three Women of Sardinia Coordination and Anna Soro, equal opportunities lawyer of the Bar Council in Sardinia.

© Riproduzione riservata