Board votes against statue remembering Korean war sex slaves proposed for Takapuna

A "women comfort" statue planned for Barry's Point Reserve, Takapuna has been denied. Photo/ Auckland Council

A statue remembering Korean women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army in World War II, planned for an Auckland garden, won’t go ahead because of its “political statement”.

The controversial memoir was to be built at Barry’s Point Reserve in Takapuna, by the Korean Garden Trust.

However, a meeting held by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board yesterday decided against the decision in a 4-2 vote.

Board chair Trish Deans told Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive the key question was whether it was appropriate in a New Zealand park.

“It’s a political statement from a Korean group about Korean women in particular,” Deans said.

“And it is an atrocity – but in New Zealand, do we need to recognise that atrocity?

“Do we need not to just say ‘in our local parks, our reserves, we just simply want peaceful statements about events that happened?’”

The board considered nearly 700 public submissions where people had given feedback on the statue, including the Japanese Embassy, which opposed it.

Deans said the Korean Trust didn’t make it clear it also wanted a plaque on the statue.

The Free Speech Union has questioned whether the Japanese Embassy had too much weight in the decision.

A media release by the union said New Zealand’s Japanese Ambassador Makoto Osawa warned the council the statue would “needlessly stir up” the comfort women issue and could have a “significant impact” on bilateral relations.

Union chief executive Jillaine Heather said the embassy may have influenced the final decision.

“We are not second-guessing the public consultation, and local boards have to make hard calls. Our concern is the one submission that should not have been on the scales as it appears to have been: a foreign embassy’s,” Heather said.

“Once a foreign government’s discomfort becomes a factor a local body has to manage, the public square shrinks.”

Geopolitical analyst Dr Geoffrey Miller told Newstalk ZB the council was in a no-win situation from the get-go and that compromise is needed.

“There’s a clear dividing line: 57% of submissions were opposed, 43% were in favour.”

Miller said his view is that because it’s a Korean garden, it should be reserved for the Korean community.

He said both sides of history – the bad and the good – need to be recognised.

“There are always two sides in history, so I think it’s important all sides are taken into account.

“New Zealand is on good terms with both South Korea and Japan ... these countries are our friends, and I think it’s usual to have quarrels ... but I think it’s important to find a way forward.”

He noted the proposed statue had a plaque on it with “quite strongly written words” that could have been potentially removed.