Ige, Gabbard tweet remembrances for anniversary of internment camp executive order

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - After Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor and WWII broke out, there was a sense of distrust between the American government and American citizens of Japanese ancestry.

On Feb. 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which led to thousands of American citizens of Japanese Ancestry being forced into internment camps throughout the U.S. and the Territory of Hawaii.

The measure was said to be in the interest of national security.

Some feared the Japanese-Americans were spies for Japan.

In the months that followed EO9066, over 100,000 Japanese-American citizens, men, women and children, were interned in various camps.

Some 75 years later, the signing of the order is being remembered by local lawmakers.

"#EO9066 never again," Gov. David Ige tweeted Sunday.

Ige also wrote, "This is a shameful period in our history that must never be repeated. Today, let us commit to embracing diversity, tolerance and compassion."

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also tweeted to honor the anniversary saying, "...we must never forget the past."

Honolulu's Honouliuli interment camp was designated as a national historic monument in 2015 by President Obama.

It is one of the last remaining landmarks of local internment camps in Hawaii and serves as a reminder of troubled times in Hawaii's past.

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