No War Over Dutch N. Guinea!

Indonesians Have Now Destroyed The Original Federal Constitution

EVEN the experts seem to be puzzled by the kaleidoscopic changes in Indonesia. For the ordinary man, the picture is completely baffling.

The status of Dutch New Guinea (Irian) had to be settled by December 31, 1950. The Republic of Indonesia said that if it were not, there would be trouble.

The world was left to infer that Indo nesians would march and fight.

December 31 is past. There was no Dutch-Indonesian settlement. Yet all is peace in Irian —and in Jakarta.

What does it mean? It means that the situation is governed by other than the interests which have been publicised. It is necessary to recount recent history.

IN 1945, when war ended, Holland’s vast colonial Empire, the Netherlands Indies (which she had held for 350 years, and developed with genius) was completely occupied by Japs. Holland naturally expected Allied aid in re occupying her archipelagoes.

Britain’s new Socialist Government — already making war upon “colonialism” and giving away British Burma, British India, Ceylon and Malaya—encouraged a fiercely anti-European organisation of Javanese to resist the return of the Dutch and to set up the republic of Indonesia.

America, then intoxicated with the United Nations idea, would not interfere.

Again and again, the war-weakened Dutch tried themselves to regain pos session, and stamp out the Jap-inspired Javanese insurrection. Again and again, they were forced to cease their police actions, and to enter negotiations with the Indonesians—forced by their former Allies who now, as the United Nations, wanted to hand all Asia over to the Asiatics Finally, the Dutch were beaten. At The Hague Conference, November, 1949, the Dutch surrendered sovereignty over the Netherlands Indies (except Dutch NG) to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia (RUSI). This was a federal structure of 16 States, one of which was the insurgent Republic of Indonesia (holding most of Java). There was to be a Union between RUSI and The Nether lands. RUSI formally took over at the beginning of 1950, and all the official Dutch, including the army, proceeded to leave.

Although many—probably the majority —of the States were pro-Dutch, the Javanese promptly took command of the government, developed a strong anti- Dutch and anti-European policy, and screamed frequently for possession of Dutch NG.

WITHIN nine months, the Javanese sabotaged the RUSI set-up. On August 15, 1950, RUSI was replaced by a new non-federal Unitarian govern ment of 10 provinces, at the head of which is the Javanese structure, the Republic of Indonesia, which was originally formed by the Japanese, and which had fought the Dutch consistently.

Seokarno remained President, but the Premier, Hatta, was replaced by a 42years-old Sumatran, Mohammad Natsir, and he has been actively directing affairs in Jakarta ever since. Every trace of pro- Dutch influence has been eliminated from the government. Natsir is a strong Moslem, and Moslems do not like Communism.

Natsir’s government has not been nearly as vociferous as that of Hatta concerning Dutch NG. Natsir has too many troubles in the shape of an empty treasury, falling production, growing public service in efficiency, and so forth, to seek anything more than a war of words on Irian.

rE conference at The Hague in November-December, 1950, over Dutch NG, broke down hopelessly.

Some Indonesian groups are demanding extreme measures, such as denunciation of the Netherlands-Indonesian Union, and revision of the Hague Agreement of November, 1949. That is mostly eye-wash.

The spirit of the Union and the Agree ment has already been wiped out in the destruction, on August 15, 1950, of RUSI.

When Dutch sovereignty was legally surrendered, at the end of 1949, there were 250,000 people of Dutch and part-Dutch blood in the Indies, and an enormous amount of Dutch money invested there.

The former rulers know that the Indo nesian campaign against everything Dutch will never cease—and they are fighting for time in which to remove both their nationals and their money.

That is why they are using Dutch NG as a bargaining piece. One of their latest suggestions is that they should surrender sovereignty over the Territory to Indo nesia, but that Indonesia should grant Netherlands a 50-years trusteeship. Indo nesia has officially scorned the suggestion; but something like that probably will be the solution. That way, Dutch money and irreconcilable Dutch nationals can get out of Indonesia.

QUITE understandably, the Dutch— whose losses are almost beyond cal culation —are now not much con cerned over Australia’s horror at the thought of finding Indonesians as her neighbours in New Guinea. Australia was one of the Allies which let the Dutch down in 1945-49, when they were trying td regain their colonial Empire. It was Australia, too, who allowed her Com munist-led wharf labourers to hold up Dutch ships in 1946-49, so as to help the Indonesians. Naturally, in the Dutch view, Australia deserves all she gets!

Furthermore, the Australian Govern ment (now anti-Socialist and pro-Dutch) Is getting little support in its Dutch New Guinea stand from the British Socialist Government. The British do not care twopence about Australia and the Indo nesians. All they can say to Australia

is, “For God’s sake, don’t start any more arguments in South-east Asia!”

The Indonesians have not a shadow of a claim —ethnologic, historic or economic —to the Territory; but they probably will get it in the end, if Dutch indifference and British ignorance are any indication.

Australia will oppose; but Australian politicians almost certainly will leave it to the United Nations. And we all know what that means.