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Peace Treaty
with Japan to Be Celebrated in SF, Protests Planned Source: kcbs Publication date: 2001-07-21 (KCBS)--President Bush and Japan's Prime Minister are scheduled to meet in San Francisco in early September to celebrate a peace treaty signed 50 years ago. KCBS reporter Bob Melrose says there will be a protest conference when the world leaders get together. The so-called San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed a half century ago formally creating a peaceful existence between Japan and the United States. But leaders of the Asian-American community organizing the protest conference claim Japan has not apologized nor atoned for atrocities committed during World War II. Ivy Lee of the Global Alliance for Preserving the History of World War II says it's time for Japan to step up to the plate. "There is a time for peace, there is a time for justice but it is now time for a just peace and a just peace means going beyond the San Francisco Peace Treaty to bring about a genuine reconciliation," said Lee. Organizers of the conference say plenty of views will be expressed. Japan offered a general apology in 1995 for its actions during the war. |