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The European Parliament is expected to adopt a resolution on Thursday demanding Japan compensate and formally apologize to former sex slaves who were forced to serve the Japanese military during World War II.
In Brussels on Nov. 6, three former "comfort women" -- Gil Won-ok, 79, from South Korea, Ellen van der Ploeg, 84, from the Netherlands, and Menen Castillo, 78, from the Philippines -- testified for the first time before a European Parliament hearing about the atrocities they endured as sex slaves of the Japanese soldiers and urged the parliament to adopt the resolution.
The draft resolution will be presented to a plenary session of the parliament to be held in Strasbourg, France from Monday to Thursday. The draft reportedly urges the Japanese government to officially apologize for forcing women in Asia into sex slavery during the war, compensate the victims and accurately describe the atrocities in Japanese history textbooks.
The session is expected to address and vote on this resolution, and two others that concern human rights issues, on the final day Thursday.
The legislatures of the U.S., the Netherlands and Canada have already passed similar resolutions on the sex slave issue, and the European Parliament's resolution would turn up the pressure by the international community on Japan.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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