The Situation: Against the advice of his superiors and supporters, Max Havelaar has tried to protect the indigenous population in the Residency of Lebak (located in the north of the island of Java). In particular Havelaar has allowed villagers to conference with him secretly, giving them a safe forum to relate the abuses they are suffering at the hands of the Regent (Bhupati in Malay) of Lebak and his extended family. Havelaar has independently documented these abuses by observing the results as soon after they occur as possible, creating a massive dossier of evidence. This evidence has now been submitted to the Resident of Bantam and the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Since Havelaar has submitted an official complaint against the Regent of Lebak as opposed to an informal complaint, a trial must take place in which Havelaar and the Regent respectively must defend and justify their actions. So too, however, must the Governor-General and the Resident of Bantam, for they have been presiding over an administration that has allowed abuses to occur.
Goals 1, Max Havelaar:Max Havelaar's goals are 1) successfully prosecute the Regent of Lebak and have him punished 2) protect at all costs the identity of those villagers who have provided evidence 3) achieve a fundamental reform of the policies of the Dutch East Indies government so that villagers cannot be further abused. To achieve these goals Max Havelaar must make arguments during his testimony after the Governor-General and Resident of Bantam--on day 1--that convince the villagers to testify on their day, day 3/4.
Advantages: Havelaar is a very persuasive individual who inspires loyalty in those around him, even when they may not agree completely with him. Thus, even though his supporters in the Dutch East Indies government are concerned about helping him to prosecute their superiors, he has been able to convince them (for the time being) that honor demands that they help him.Disadvantages: Havelaar is a man of honor, so he cannot take any action or adopt any tactics, even in the presentation of evidence, that unnecessarily blackens someone's name. He also cannot violate the confidence of the villagers. If he does either of these things then the individuals affected will withdraw their support from his case and he almost certainly loses. If Havelaar loses his case, he will be imprisoned for life in the Dutch East Indies and his family will be sent back the Netherlands.
Goals 2, Max Havelaar's Supporters: Max Havelaar's
supporters
want 1) to achieve modest reform of the Dutch East Indies
administration, because they know that abuses have been perpetrated 2)
to maintain their positions
in the Dutch East Indies government, which they can do by supporting
the
winning side in the trial in any way that is not dishonest 3) maintain
good
working relationships with those who will be around once the trial is
over.
Max Havelaar's supporters must testify on the second day, the
day
after Havelaar himself testifies.
Advantages: As officials who have worked for and around Havelaar, these people know that what Havelaar is doing is right. The abuses perpetrated by the Regent of Lebak have been horrific, ranging from theft to outright murder. They also know that Max Havelaar is very persuasive and has collected a lot of evidence. Finally, Havelaar's supporters know that if the going gets rough they can simply cut and run as long as they have not done anything to offend Havelaar's opponents by giving testimony under their own name which also names specific officials or employees of the Dutch East Indies government.Disadvantages: Havelaar's supporters cannot make any statements that they know to be false, no matter who they decide to support. Nor can Havelaar's supporters take a final position in the trial that involves deviation from their written briefs once they have submitted these briefs to the Court Convener (me). The more specific the information submitted by Havelaar's supporters, the greater the chance that the side they have chosen will win. Unfortunately, the more specific one is, the more openly committed one becomes to a particular side, a side which might lose the trial! Being on the losing side in the trial would mean demotion and effective banishment to the outer islands of the Malaysian archipelago.