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