CONFIDENTIAL
HKC
011/1
CONFIDENTIAL
REC.
FM FCO
• NOV 1993
TO DESKBY 01010OZ HONG KONG
RY
TELNO 937
Tuken
OF 291817Z OCTOBER 93
AND TO IMMEDIATE TOKYO
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
15
015355
MDHOAN 0282
TOP COPY Q DIST?
гра
YOUR TELNO 1686: LEGCO QUESTION ON QUOTE COMFORT WOMEN UNQUOTE
FROM HKD
1.
Question (c) is particularly difficult. Our Legal advice follows in paras 2 and 3 below. But you should know that the issue is complicated by the fact that the Prime Minister discussed the issue of Prisoners of War of the Japanese with the Japanese Prime Minister during his recent visit to Japan. They agreed to keep closely in touch about this subject, and contact will therefore continue. (Further details in a copy of a letter from Mr Goodlad to Bill Walker MP, which follows by fax to Security Branch). In the time available we have not been able to consult Ministers on whether, and if so how, we might make reference to this exchange in your reply to question (c). It occurs to us that, if any ''comfort women' were to come forward in Hong Kong, we might adopt a similar approach with the Japanese Government to that we have adopted with the issue of Prisoners of War, but this could have no legal basis. We shall submit on 1 November and aim to let you have a reply deskby 02010OZ.
(For Tokyo: grateful for any contribution you would like to make to this submission DESKBY 01090OZ).
2. We have consulted our departmental Legal advisers. Reluctantly they and we have come to the conclusion that the Legal basis of claims on behalf of comfort women'' would be barred by the terms of the 1951 San Fransisco peace treaty. Since the waiver in Article 14(b) covers actions taken in the course of the prosecution of the war'', we have considered whether the claims of the 'comfort women'' might fall outside the terms of this waiver. However our view is that such an argument would be very difficult to sustain, since it would follow that many other actions by the Japanese army causing
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