The Yamashita Debate: Was he wrongfully accused or Did he deserved the death penalty?

[bleedingboi]

---

General Tomoyuki Yamashita was executed on 23 December 1948 after having been found guilty of war crimes on Manila and the far east. But did he deserved this penalty?

This doctrine of command accountability has been added to the Geneva Conventions and was applied to dozens of trials in the international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. It has also been adopted by the International Criminal Court established in 2002.

This precedent has presented enduring challenges for the United States regarding conduct during its own military actions. Had the Commission's ruling and Supreme Court precedent been applied to crimes committed by military personnel in Vietnam, it might have led to convicting American generals in conjunction with the My Lai Massacre. It might also justify convicting American generals and political leaders for the tortures at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, if that met the definition of torture.

These are some facts that made his execution biased.
1. The commission of five US officers who defended Yamashita lacked combat experience and formal legal training, and the defense counsel complained they were given insufficient time in which to prepare their case.
2. The fact that General Yamashita was admired by Allied officers for well-treatment of Allied POWS in Singapore and Malay, suggested the truth on how he handle his men.
3. There was this breakdown of communications in the Japanese chain of command in the chaotic battle of the Philippines campaign was such that Yamashita could not have controlled his troops even if he had known of their actions.
4. Yamashita had officers who instigated the Alexandra and Sook Ching massacres and some soldiers caught looting executed for these acts, and he personally apologized to the surviving Alexandra Hospital patients.
5. The massacre and destruction of Manila happened, when Admiral Iwabuchi Sanji, refused Yamashita's orders to evacuate Manila and move to the Rural north of Luzon to avoid bloodshed and civilian casualties. Yamashita insisted to have the final clash between Japan and USA happen in the mountains, not the cities to avoid further loss of Filipino lives.
6.Former war crimes prosecutor Allan Ryan argues that by order of five American generals, General Douglas MacArthur, and the Supreme Court of the United States, General Yamashita was executed for what his soldiers did without his approval or even prior knowledge. The two dissenting Supreme Court Justices called the entire trial a miscarriage of justice, an exercise in vengeance, and a denial of human rights.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_L.../Yamashita.pdf
http://www.pegc.us/archive/DoD/docs/..._Yamashita.doc
Manila massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In my opinion lang ha, we need him alive, not dead. At least to know where all the treasures are hidden. But he was indeed a good general, but in a wrong place and time.

[Bricksand]

I think he was accountable for all actions carried by his subordinates with or without his approval.

[SioDenz]

He is Guilty, But should Not be executed without proper trial BUT he knows about the Treasures that the West want to have so he needs to be eliminated quickly.

[bleedingboi]

He is Guilty, But should Not be executed without proper trial BUT he knows about the Treasures that the West want to have so he needs to be eliminated quickly.

Agree. who knows, the execution happened on 1948, so that could be enough time to dig up all the gold. ^^

[elaga]

ge ako sa mga Generals ang sala sa Emperor nila ,mao kne ang tenuod ane.......

[brackitz]

Kapoy na man hisgutan bahin atong panahuna oi, wy ma ato ana.

sa mga nahasulat, daghay napun-an daghan sa'y naiban..