by RUTH KIM
After more than a year of controversy, the “comfort women” statue in the city of Glendale, Calif., that sparked a lawsuit calling for its removal is staying put. Ruling that the plaintiff’s claims lacked merit, a federal judge recently dismissed the lawsuit, according to local news reports.
The lawsuit, Gingery vs. City of Glendale, sought to remove the memorial honoring the “comfort women,” who were coerced into provide sexual slavery for Japan’s military during the Second World War. The primary plaintiff, Glendale resident Michiko Shiota Gingery, stated in the court filing that she could no longer enjoy the city’s Central Park where the statue is located because she experiences “feelings of exclusion, discomfort and anger.”
Plaintiffs, also including the nationalistic Japanese group Global Alliance for Historical Truth, also said the message on the statue’s plaque was too accusatory toward Japan and could negatively affect U.S.-Japan relations. “Glendale has taken a position at odds with the expressed position of the Japanese government,” said the complaint.
But in his ruling issued last week, U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson said the city of Glendale did not break any laws by installing the statue at Central Park, according to the Los Angeles Times. He also invalidated Gingery’s assertion that she was being emotionally injured by the monument.
“The fact that local residents feel disinclined to visit a local park is simply not the type of injury that can be considered to be in the ‘line of causation’ for alleged violations of the foreign affairs power and Supremacy Clause,” said Anderson, according to court documents.
Glendale City Attorney Mike Garcia expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling. “We are pleased that the court recognized our City Council’s right to make public pronouncements on matters important to our community,” said Garcia, according to the L.A. Times. The law firm of Sidley Austin also assisted the city in fighting the lawsuit pro bono.
The statue in question–a bronze figure of a young girl seated next to an empty chair–is based on former Korean “comfort woman” Kim Bok-dong. Its installation was thanks in part to the efforts of the Korean American Forum of California (KAFC), the nonprofit that worked alongside the city of Glendale.
“Art speaks a thousand words,” Phyllis Kim, the executive director of KAFC, told the Times, the executive director of KAFC. “People come and they learn about this history and it’s a very strong testament to our petition to support human rights and women’s rights.”
Although the group is celebrating the court’s ruling, Kim said members plan to continue their work in honoring comfort women at the local, state and federal levels.
“The decision did not change anything,” Kim said. “The root cause of the issue has not been resolved, and the victims are still waiting for an official apology and reparations from the government of Japan.”
Photos via L.A. Times and Southern California Public Radio.
