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2001 SESSION

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014381820
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 657 AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE (Proposed by the House Committee on Rules on February 4, 2001) (Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Landes) Memorializing Congress to enact legislation relating to Japanese war crimes.

WHEREAS, our nation is founded on democratic principles that recognize the vigilance with which fundamental individual human rights must be safeguarded in order to preserve freedom; and

WHEREAS, this resolution condemns all violations of international law designed to safeguard fundamental human rights as embodied in the Geneva and Hague Conventions; and

WHEREAS, this resolution condemns all crimes against humanity, while also condemning the actions of those who would use this resolution to further an agenda that fosters anti-Asian sentiment and racism, or otherwise fails to distinguish between Japan's war criminals and Americans of Japanese ancestry; and

WHEREAS, of the 1,500 American prisoners believed to have been held at Mukden, Manchuria, many of the 300 living survivors claim to suffer from physical ailments resulting from their subjection to Japanese military, chemical, and biological experiments; and

WHEREAS, the Japanese government has refused to release the records of these American prisoners-of-war; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Congress be urged to enact legislation requiring the disclosure of records of the Japanese Imperial Army for the purpose of supporting pending government claims of the American survivors; and be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Congress also be urged to process the claims of these American survivors and provide necessary medical care whether or not the Japanese government releases such records; and be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, and transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the members of the Virginia delegation to the United States Congress in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the Virginia General Assembly in this matter.