Britain Compensates Surviving POWs Held by Japan in WWIIThe British government agreed on November 7 to pay compensation to those POWs (Prisoners of War) held by Japan during World War Two in conditions so brutal that one in four did not survive.Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was sorry it had taken so long for the money to be paid. "For me and I think probably for my generation and younger, it' s just one small but significant way in which we can say to you, thank you for your courage," Blair told a group of former prisoners after the payments were announced in parliament. Those former prisoners said they were satisfied with the amount of 10,000 pounds (about 14,280 $US). There are some 16,700 survivors and surviving spouses now still living in Britain. Most of the survivors are now at least 80 years old and many have died while waiting for the compensation. It was reported that 50,017 Britons had been held by the Japanese during the war and 12,433 died during captivity. Former prisoners began a campaign in earnest in January 1999 after British officials ruled out the possibility of seeking additional compensation from the Japanese government under the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty. |
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