More Hot Words On Dutch N

Dutch N. Guinea

April on the West New Gum front brought forth the usual tone of words (although the “secret talk were not resumed ); and the Bunk Plan, which proposes that the Dut, should hand over West New Guin to the Indonesians over a two ye period and with the UN guard teeing eventual self-determination the West New Guinea natives.

THE talks between Indonesia a; Holland, with an American, ]V Ellsworth Bunker, as a third pari were “temporarily” suspended i March 23, and neither Indonesia n Holland seems anxious to resumed One Indonesian reason is that s does not intend to wait two years f West New Guinea (as Mr. Bunk proposed); she intends to have it “I the end of this year”, or else.

In a fiery speech to a mass ral on April 29, President Soekarno sa that further talks would not resur while Holland continued to reinfor its armed forces in NNG where is calculated there are now B,o' Dutch troops. He also said that t Indonesian “Governor” of NNG w already in “secret headquarters” ne Hollandia. (The Dutch subsequently stat that they would stop sending troo to NNG as “soon as an agreeme under UN supervision” is reached.' Reports from Djakarta clai heavy fighting on Waigeo Islan north of the NG mainland, whi( they say has been taken by the I donesians as a “springboard of £ tack” on NNG.

The Dutch describe the reports “pure nonsense and silly childii propaganda”, but say that they ha recently captured over 100 Indon sian infiltrators. About 30 Indon sian sympathisers—mostly people i Indonesian descent but some nativ also—were arrested near Holland during April.

Meantime, West New Guin< natives who want none of the Indi nesians are said to have drafted referendum on the future of tl whole of New Guinea which th( will submit to the natives of Austn lian New Guinea for endorsement.

Although few Australian N* natives have any real idea of the in plications of the Indonesians’ on NNG, it is unlikely that the would, under existing conditions, 1 happy about throwing in their 1( with the NNG people who imagit that they can go it alone.