News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: UK Ex-POWs Win Settlement

Date: November 09, 2000

Same story in each, different info -

British WWII POWs to Be Compensated
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
   
LONDON -- Thousands of British servicemen held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II will receive payments of $15,000 each, the government announced Tuesday, decades after the soldiers first began seeking compensation for their suffering.
   
The landmark payment plan -- announced by Defense Minister Lewis Moonie four days before Remembrance Day, honoring military veterans -- will cover up to 16,700 ex-prisoners, including camp survivors and their widows.
   
Successive British governments had resisted paying the ex-POWs compensation, not wanting to open the door to other such claims. But Moonie said the "unique circumstances of their captivity" warranted an exception.
   
Noting that more than 12,400 of the 50,016 British service personnel reported captured by the Japanese had perished, Moonie said the prisoners' experiences were "often so appalling that . . . it has remained with them for the rest of their lives."
   
During the war, Japan made slave laborers of Allied POWs in Asia, forcing them to work under hellish conditions in jungles, mines and shipyards. Beatings, starvation and executions were common.
   
At Japanese camps, the POW death rate was 27 percent, compared to a 4 percent rate in Allied camps.
   
"We've said before that the country owes a debt of honor to them," Moonie told the House of Commons to cheers. "Clearly no financial sum can be adequate compensation. . . . This is a token, an ex gratia payment, which I hope will at least go some way to relieving the distress that they have suffered."
   
Prime Minister Tony Blair told veterans' representatives: "This is, for me and my generation and those younger, just one small but significant way in which we can say to you, 'Thank you for your courage and thank you for what you did.' "
   
Sydney Tavender, 82, who served with a Gurkha regiment on the Malay peninsula, said he was pleased but called the payments long overdue.
   
"Too many people have died who would have benefited."
   
Steve Cairns, 82, an army veteran enslaved for 3 1/2 years building the notorious Burma Railway, said he "shed a tear or two. There are so many people who have died."
   
Legal efforts by the ex-POWs to win compensation from Japan were unsuccessful. In 1998, a Tokyo court rejected their demands, saying all war compensation issues were settled by postwar treaties.
   
During a 1998 visit by Blair to Japan, then-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced reconciliation measures including a $1.3 million scholarship program for grandchildren of British POWs.
   
Former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama also apologized in 1995.

Britons held as POWs by Japan to get $15,000
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
By AUDREY WOODS The Associated Press

LONDON -- Thousands of British servicemen held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II will receive payments of $15,000 each, the government announced Tuesday, decades after the soldiers first began seeking compensation for their suffering.

The landmark payment plan -- announced by Defense Minister Lewis Moonie four days before Remembrance Day, honoring military veterans -- will cover up to 16,700 former prisoners, including camp survivors and their widows.

Successive British governments had resisted paying the former POWs compensation, not wanting to open the door to other such claims. But Moonie said the "unique circumstances of their captivity" warranted an exception.

Noting that more than 12,400 of the 50,016 British service personnel reported captured by the Japanese had perished, Moonie said the prisoners' experiences were "often so appalling that it has remained with them for the rest of their lives."

During the war, Japan made slave laborers of Allied POWs in Asia, forcing them to work under hellish conditions in jungles, mines, and shipyards. Beatings, starvation, and executions were common.

At Japanese camps, the POW death rate was 27 percent, compared with a 4 percent rate in Allied camps.

"We've said before that the country owes a debt of honor to them," Moonie told the House of Commons to cheers.

Prime Minister Tony Blair told veterans' representatives at a news conference: "This is, for me and my generation and those younger, just one small but significant way in which we can say to you, 'Thank you for your courage and thank you for what you did.' "

WWII POWs compensated
By AUDREY WOODS, Associated Press writer

LONDON - Thousands of British servicemen held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II will receive payments of $15,000 each, the government announced Tuesday, decades after the soldiers first began seeking compensation for their suffering.

The landmark payment plan ó announced by Defense Minister Lewis Moonie four days before Remembrance Day, honoring military veterans ó will cover up to 16,700 ex-prisoners, including camp survivors and their widows.

Successive British governments had resisted paying the ex-POWs compensation, not wanting to open the door to other such claims. But Moonie said the ìunique circumstances of their captivityî warranted an exception.

Noting that more than 12,400 of the 50,016 British service personnel reported captured by the Japanese had perished, Moonie said the prisonersí experiences were ìoften so appalling that ... it has remained with them for the rest of their lives.î

During the war, Japan made slave laborers of Allied POWs in Asia, forcing them to work under hellish conditions in jungles, mines and shipyards. Beatings, starvation and executions were common.

At Japanese camps, the POW death rate was 27 percent, compared to a 4 percent rate in Allied camps.

ìWeíve said before that the country owes a debt of honor to them,î Moonie told the House of Commons to cheers. ìClearly no financial sum can be adequate compensation... . This is a token, an ex gratia payment, which I hope will at least go some way to relieving the distress that they have suffered.î

Prime Minister Tony Blair told veteransí representatives at a news conference: ìThis is, for me and my generation and those younger, just one small but significant way in which we can say to you, ëThank you for your courage and thank you for what you did."

U.K. to pay soldiers held by Japanese in WWII
Long-sought token of thanks justified by awful conditions
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
By AUDREY WOODS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON -- Thousands of British servicemen held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II will receive payments of $15,000 each, the government announced yesterday, decades after the soldiers first sought compensation for their suffering.

The landmark payment plan -- announced by Defense Minister Lewis Moonie four days before Remembrance Day, honoring military veterans -- will cover up to 16,700 ex-prisoners, including camp survivors and their widows.

Successive British governments had resisted paying the ex-POWs compensation, not wanting to open the door to other such claims. But Moonie said the "unique circumstances of their captivity" warranted an exception.

Noting that more than 12,400 of the 50,016 British service personnel reported captured by the Japanese had perished, Moonie said the prisoners' experiences were "often so appalling that . . . it has remained with them for the rest of their lives."

During the war, Japan made slave laborers of Allied POWs in Asia, forcing them to work under hellish conditions in jungles, mines and shipyards. Beatings, starvation and executions were common.

At Japanese camps, the POW death rate was 27 percent, compared to a 4 percent rate in Allied camps.

"The country owes a debt of honor to them," Moonie told the House of Commons to cheers. "Clearly no financial sum can be adequate compensation. . . . This is a token, an ex gratia payment, which I hope will at least go some way to relieving the distress that they have suffered."

Prime Minister Tony Blair told veterans' representatives at a news conference: "This is, for me and my generation and those younger, just one small but significant way in which we can say to you, 'Thank you for your courage and thank you for what you did.'"

Sydney Tavender, 82, who served with a Gurkha regiment on the Malay peninsula, said he was pleased but called the payments long overdue. "Too many people have died who would have benefited."

Steve Cairns, 82, an army veteran enslaved for 3 1/2 years building the notorious Burma Railway, said he "shed a tear or two. There are so many people who have died."

Martin Day, a lawyer who has spent the past eight years representing camp survivors, said the decision helps dispel the "dark cloud" that had hung over former prisoners.

Legal efforts by the ex-POWs to win compensation from Japan were unsuccessful. In 1998, a Tokyo court rejected their demands, saying all war compensation issues were settled by postwar treaties.

British POWs get landmark award
Wednesday, November 08, 2000
By AUDREY WOODS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON - Thousands of British servicemen held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II will receive payments of $15,000 each, the government announced yesterday, decades after the soldiers first began seeking compensation for their suffering.

The landmark payment plan - announced by Defense Minister Lewis Moonie four days before Remembrance Day (the U.S. Armistice Day), honoring military veterans - will cover up to 16,700 ex-prisoners, including camp survivors and their widows.

Successive British governments had resisted paying the ex-POWs compensation, not wanting to open the door to other such claims. Moonie said the "unique circumstances of their captivity" warranted an exception.

Noting that more than 12,400 of the 50,016 British service personnel reported captured by the Japanese had perished, Moonie said the prisonersí experiences were "often so appalling that ... it has remained with them for the rest of their lives."

Japan made slave laborers of Allied POWs in Asia, forcing them to work under hellish conditions in jungles, mines and shipyards. Beatings, starvation and executions were common.

At Japanese camps, the POW death rate was 27 percent, compared with a 4 percent rate in Allied camps.

Steve Cairns, 82, an army veteran enslaved for 3&Mac189; years building the notorious Burma Railway ("The Bridge on the River Kwai"), said he "shed a tear or two - there are so many people who have died."

Legal efforts by the ex-POWs to win compensation from Japan were unsuccessful.