The value of evidence

The value of evidence

I would like to respond to Ms. Julia Suryakusuma's article
"Power dictates whether proof of rape exists" that appeared in The
Jakarta Post on Sept. 17, 1998.

Ms. Julia Suryakusuma identified the ways in which the New
Order government deals with the subject of "evidence" in
connection with justice so well that further elaborations are
hardly necessary. Her conclusions, however, that the bad record
of the New Order government in dealing with the law justifies the
exemption of the presentation of evidence relating to the mass
rapes, is not acceptable from my point of view.

How can justice be served if the complainant cannot back his
accusations with proper evidence? To question the necessity of
evidence can equally lead to injustice and open doors to
corruption, manipulation and denunciation.

Ms. Julia Suryakusuma is worried that people, not being
confronted with clear evidence, might have doubts about whether
the mass rapes really occurred. But she should try to understand
that when dealing with such serious accusations as mass rapes,
for which the whole nation has to face the shame, the demand for
evidence is indispensable -- particularly in a time when
Indonesia is on its way to becoming a democratic country based on
the rule of law.

MRS. HILDE MAY

Jakarta