Japanese rule

Japanese rule

To admit that the "Japanese army was sometimes cruel to
Indonesians" (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 26, 1995) is tantamount to
mocking the suffering of Indonesians at the hands of the
Japanese. It is sad and regrettable that it took the tragedies of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki to shock people into their senses. But at
that time our first emotion was relief that the war was over --
not soon enough.

The "sometimes cruel to Indonesians" admittance was in fact a
systematic plan to annihilate the Indonesian intelligentsia so
the remaining population could be effortlessly subjected. This
plan was implemented and well underway in Kalimantan and would
have soon crossed over to Sulawesi. What could that ravaging
kamikaze craze have taken down with it?

INA SUMARSONO

Jakarta