Dear Editor:
I would strongly discourage the push to raise statues for all and every incident of the past that we find offensive. The memorial now there is legitimate in that it was in appreciation of those Canadians who fought for the the freedoms of those Koreans during their civil war. This particular event re: the comfort women of the Second World War was not something the Japanese people are particularly proud of, obviously, but there comes a time to move on. If this is to be some kind of memorial to all women, against the viciousness of all men, then I must insist that a memorial be built in the park in order to shame all non-Christians because of the mass murder of Armenian Christians, Greek Orthodox and Nestorians at the hands of Turkish Muslims! These people were beaten, shot or starved to death, and numbered (by the best estimates) from 2.5 million to 4.5 million, before, during and after the First World War. As they say, "They came and went, and are not, and come no more anew."
If it is OK to shame innocent Japanese, and men, then surely it follows that present-day Muslims should be included for what happened 100 years ago (and, indeed, continues to this day in some areas of the world).
Larry Bennett, Burnaby
