Relatives Seek Reconciliation over Sandakan Death Marches

Sydney, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Relatives of people involved in the 1945 “death marches” in Sandakan on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, then under Japanese wartime occupation, are moving to seek reconciliation. A total of over 10,000 troops and others from Japan, Britain and Australia died during the severe travel on foot in the final phase of the Pacific War, part of World War II. Many relatives who took part in a related discussion in Sydney on Wednesday said they should mourn the victims regardless of whether they were enemies or allies and work toward achieving reconciliation. In January-June 1945, the now-defunct Imperial Japanese military transferred British and Australian prisoners of war from the internment camp in Sandakan to Ranau, located some 260 kilometers away, as the war became more severe. Due mainly to starvation and malaria, most of some 2,400 prisoners and more than 8,500 Japanese troops died during the “Sandakan Death Marches,” and only six Australian troops who ran away returned home alive. “My father suffered from PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) because of ill treatment by the Japanese military,” Richard Moxham, son of William Moxham, one of the survivors, said in the discussion, adding, “There was domestic violence.” He said that his father committed suicide in 1961 and that he initially thought the Japanese military’s acts were “unforgivable.” But he added that exchanges with other relatives of those involved in the death marches brought “friendship” and helped him foster “positive engagement.” Yoshio Baba, grandson of Masao Baba, who was a commander of the Japanese military at the time, said that the death marches were “one of the worst tragedies” in war, adding that the command of the Japanese military was dysfunctional. “It is important to continue activities for reconciliation” so that none of the victims are forgotten, Baba said. Sandakan is currently Malaysian territory. Cynthia Ong, a Malaysian who engaged in work to erect a memorial monument for the victims, had seven of her relatives, including her grandfather, killed by the former Japanese military. The bonds of families are powerful, Ong said, adding that the power of families can change things greatly. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]