No patriotic response from S’pore about Yasukuni visit?

ST has not had any dumb forum letters for some time. So this blog has been dormant.

Fortunately TODAY still has... okay, this is not "dumb" as in stupid... just not very discerning. It is trying to draw a comparison which is not exactly unreasonable, but is based simply on vaguely similar characteristics. If anything, this letter teaches us we need to be more discerning. Unfortunately, we don't think. Not even to write to the papers.

From :CORNELIUS KHOO HONG SIN

Today Forum Page

APRIL 24, 2014

The recent outcry by the Defence Ministry and, to some extent, the local population about the naming of the Indonesian warship after the marines who bombed MacDonald House during Konfrantasi was justifiable.

I wonder why there is no patriotic response, though, about Japanese officials visiting the Yasukuni shrine for Japan’s war dead. Most of the protests come from China and South Korea, through various channels. (“More Japanese MPs head to Yasukuni, marring Obama’s visit”; April 23)

I would think that three years of brutal occupation by an invader in our history would elicit some form of protest, official or otherwise, whenever an official visit to Yasukuni is made.

From a comment on the letter on the website.

I know who the two indonesian soldiers are, and their actions are documented, and their acts are specific, and their victims are Singaporeans.
Do you know, if we are to protest the Yasakuni Shrine Visits, who EXACTLY are the Class-A War Criminals buried ("enshrined"?) at Yasakuni? 
What EXACTLY did they do to Singapore and Singaporeans (Pre-independent Singapore)? Who or what are we protesting?
Do you even KNOW who or what are "Class-A war criminals"? I believe there are 14 there. Do you know if 1 or more of those 14 were actually carrying out atrocities in SG during WWII?
Or is this just a brainless, mindless, unthinking copying of China? You know, the unthinking following of perceived authority that many war criminals use as the excuse for their war crimes - "I was just following orders"?

So what are Class-A War Criminals? They must be the worst of the worst, the most horrendously brutal atrocities were probably committed by them!

Actually no. This is the definition:

The US-led tribunals had three classes of war criminals.  Class A was reserved for those who committed a "crime against peace," by participating in "a joint conspiracy to start and wage war." Under international law, it's a crime to initiate an unprovoked war.  Tens of millions died in Japan's wars to expand the empire from 1937 to 1945.  Class B war criminals were those actually carried out specific atrocities, while Class C was for those accused of "the planning, ordering, authorization, or failure to prevent such transgressions at higher levels in the command structure." In other words, those with command responsibility.

The problem (if there is one) isn't the 14 Class-A war criminals. Those are the ones who started an unprovoked war (and that is certainly bad), and certainly they should be held accountable for it, but they did not commit any atrocities (Class-B), nor did they have command responsibility over those who did (Class-C).

It is actually the other 1000 or so war criminals enshrined there that is the problem:

"about 5,700 Japanese were charged in Classes B and C before the international war crimes tribunal in Tokyo. Almost 1,000 were executed. Others were tried and executed by the Communist Chinese and by the Soviet Union.  It's these men whose presence at Yasukuni offends Japan's neighbors, including 14 Class A criminals."

So, say of the 1000 or so war criminals buried or enshrined (I'm not too sure which is correct) at Yasukuni, there is a good probability that there were at least one or two (or more) that committed atrocities in SG, right? That is, war criminals whose crimes were committed in SG against Singaporeans (pre-independent Singaporeans) are likely to be there. 

So?

Everyone who's dead has to be buried somewhere. Usman and Harun are buried in a HEROES cemetary in Jakarta (or the surrounds). 

We objected to the naming of a WARSHIP after these two as further HONOUR to them.  Other than being buried (and enshrined) in Yasukuni in accordance to their religion, how else are the Japanese War Criminals being honoured?

Nothing else. So some politicians visit the shrine. Why should that matter to outsiders?

To Cornelius Khoo and those who ask about the lack of a patriotic response, let me just say, "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.".