Rape of Okinawan girl<\/p>\n
Pak Hartono's letter in The Jakarta Post (Dec. 5, 1995) starts
\nby calling the rape of the girl in Okinawa by U.S. servicemen
\nregretful. He says he understands the Okinawans' fury, but then
\ndevotes six paragraphs to a horrible World War II incident
\ninvolving Japanese troops and a Dutch resident of Java. The
\nunmistakable implication is that the incidents are somehow
\nconnected, and that if Japanese people read about their World War
\nII soldiers' behavior, their view of the recent incident might
\nchange.<\/p>\n
In the historical sense, Pak Hartono may be correct, and from
\nthe perspective of international relations there may be some
\nelement of reciprocity. By all means, everyone's horizons should
\nbe widened by reading about World War II atrocities on all sides.
\nBut we should also keep firmly in mind that the 12-year-old
\nOkinawan girl had nothing to do with World War II, nor did the
\nthree young brutes who tortured her.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the lesson that Pak Hartono is suggesting be drawn
\nfrom any historical comparisons is that revenge is never
\njustified and can only lead to more destruction. Rwanda, Bosnia,
\nLebanon, the Gaza strip are examples of that on a grand scale.<\/p>\n
GARY GENTRY<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rape-of-okinawan-girl-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }