The two-day conference will examine the history of the war and relate the lessons learned from it to current events. The conference will draw an international cast of renowned scholars and human rights activists.

Grandma AHN Jeom Soon (74 years old) was only 13 in 1942 when she was abducted by the Japanese military in Seoul and trucked to China. She became one of Japan's military sex slaves, the so-called "comfort woman".

"It was the first night of my arrival, an officer with two studs on his sleeve came with a long sword and demanded that I do a strange thing with him. But when I rejected him, he pulled out that long sword, demanding that I did as he said and making a huge uproar about killing me if I didn't," AHN recalled.

She survived the 4 years of atrocious treatment at the "comfort station" and finally returned home in 1946. Historians estimate over 200,000 women were forced to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during the war.

Other survivors of the Asia Pacific War including victims of Japan's biological warfare and the Hiroshima atomic bomb will also bear witness in the conference.

"World War Two in Asia is a chapter of forgotten history in Canada," said Thekla Lit, Co-chair of Canada Association for Learning and Preserving the History of WWII in Asia (ALPHA). "The survivor testimonies will not only bring this history to light but will also challenge our role as global citizens on how to prevent crimes against humanity."

"The root causes of the Japanese military's crimes against humanity in the Asia Pacific War were imperialism, racism, sexism and militarism," said Tatsuo Kage, representative of the Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadians Association (JCCA) Human Rights Committee. "We can educate people about these root causes, still existing today, in order to prevent future tragedies."

A diverse cast of Canadian and international scholars, authors and human rights advocates will speak in the conference including: Iris Chang, Prof. Suh Sung, Erna Paris, Prof. Sunera Thobani, Indai Lourdes Sajor, Prof. Roland David Chrisjohn, Justice Maryka Omatsu, Dr. Michael J. Franzblau, Dr. Martin Furmanski, Art Miki.

The conference organizers, in the spirit of making the conference more accessible, have set a low registration fee and offered travel subsidies for out-of-town students.

This conference is jointly sponsored by Canada Association for Learning and Preserving the History of WWII in Asia (ALPHA); Canada Asia Pacific Resource Network (CAPRN); Greater Vancouver Japanese Canadian Citizens' Association (JCCA), Human Rights Committee; UBC First Nations House of Learning; UBC Women's Studies and Gender Relations; UBC International House

For more information about the conference or to register online, please go to www.aplconference.ca or call 604-822-4904.

-END-

Contact: Peter Scott
Phone: 604-822-4904       Fax: 604-822-5099
Email: bcalpha@shaw.ca       Web: www.aplconference.ca