Walk-out Of

The West

The virtual walk-out of Western civilisation from Netherlands New Guinea may be completed by the end of this year.

Announcement of the Dutch-Indonesian settlement in August was followed by the accelera tion of the movement of Dutch officials and their families from the territory from which Holland had done so much in the last 10 years.

By mid-August the evacuation by air was going on at the rate of 1,100 people a week. KLM was operating special charter services.

All building projects had stopped, commercial houses were carrying on with severely depleted staffs, Admini stration offices showed signs of dis integration. Many of the women members of public service families had helped staff the offices as clerks and typists.

As schools closed down (as school teachers return to Holland) and such work as agricultural extension ended abruptly, most departments in any case had far less to do.

The Administration took the attitude that officers entitled to leave should not be prevented from taking it, and many left for Holland with their families. Others prepared to go because, as one man said, “It is the end of the road now. Nobody has the heart to carry on under the UN and then simply hand over to Indo nesia. The role of the Netherlands in this part of the world has been played out”.

Amongst Government construction (Over)

Herman Womsiwor, Papuan leader: "I spit on the Dutch!"

work that stopped was the building of a new badly needed hotel in Hollandia, which had been started several months ago. Nobody expected a hotel would be needed now.

As a result of the walk-out, items of household equipment and such things as cars and motorcycles could be bought for a song. Expensive cars were being sold for as little as £4O0 —and what Government officers lost in the deal was being made up by the Administration as a form of reparations. From the north coast of Papua-New Guinea Australians were sending small ships to Hollandia to load up with the cheap items.

Several of the commercial firms, notably the Netherlands New Guinea Petroleum Company of Sorong, sent wives and children home com pulsorarily, but in any case most people didn’t have to be told twice that there was nothing to be gained but tears by staying on.

From outpost towns such as Merauke and Fak Fak civilians had been evacutated before the cease-fire agreement, to make it easier for the Dutch to supply their military forces who were engaging Indonesian para troopers.

Before the general evacuation started there were probably about 15,000 Europeans in Netherlands New Guinea, about 7,000 of them women and children.

The walk-out of the West coincided with a virtual retreat of the Papuans.

Hundreds of Papuan workers in the towns, with no work to do and faced with a new situation that they didn’t really understand, returned to their

villages where at least they would be fed while they waited for the next development.

With the UN announcement of the signing of the agreement there were many Papuan anti-Indonesian demon strations, notably in Hollandia, Sorong, Biak, Monokwari and Fak Fak. In the Baliem Valley, opened up to civilisation by the Dutch only a few years ago, 4,000 Papuans demonstrated as their Commissioner returned to Hollandia. They said if the Netherlands left they “didn’t not want any other foreigners”.

The same thnig occurred in the Wissel Lakes area when the Assis tant District Officer prepared to leave his district.

In Biak on August 10, 2,000 demonstrators, many bearing knives and spears, made it quite clear that the Indonesians were undesirable.

Many Dutchmen felt that the anti- Indonesian atmosphere was so strong that there could be bloodshed when Indonesia took over.

The Biak demonstrators told visit ing US journalist William Lederer (co-author of The Ugly American), who had just arrived in Biak on his way through from attending the Fifth South Pacific Conference in Pago, that the Papuan flag would not be brought down “for any foreign influence”. A leader of the demon strators criticised the US for not back ing up the move for Papuan in dependence.

Said a Dutch observer of the in

cident, “Lederer seemed irnpu At a demonstration in He by the National Papuan Fn series of motions was presen the Governor, one demandin self-determination be guarantee other proposing that the plebis decide on self-determination W during the period of UN Trus and not when the Indonesian taken over.

The Dutch in some areas? also concerned lest the Papuai ter and angry over the results,* agreement forced upon Hollam it out on the Dutch themselves; had seen the comment of U Womsiwor, who was in the when the agreement was sign spit on the Dutch who promr much and gave us tears.”

Go Underground?

Many Papuan leaders in they would continue to fight dependence underground.

Later in August the New Council elected Mr. Nicholaas* Council chairman to replar Dutch appointed chairman, Gelpke, and it was expected t other Government appointees? be replaced by Papuans.

Dutch and Indonesian troopj friendly contact following the fire, which became effectiJ August 18. At Merauke paratj turned up from the jungle an given the freedom of the to

(Continued on p. 144)

Brigadier G. I. Rikhye, a perso< representative for the UN Secretat General, U Thant, arrived in H landia on August 21 to supervise i cease-fire. The Pakistan Governmu was asked to supply 1,000 troops; a UN security force in N-NG.

Brigadier Rikhye told a Press c»: ference in Hollandia that he “hop a Congo situation would not be peated in N-NG.”

Trade Reactions Sydney trading and transport ganisations who do business w f Netherlands New Guinea in Augs were regarding the take-over October 1 with what might be call “hopeful pessimism”.

Nothing was officially known ab*< what might happen after that da or even what was happening cz rently. In the meantime they w.\ carrying on as usual.

A note of optimism unexpected came from a spokesman for Roc Interocean Lines, agents for most 3 the Dutch shipping lines and for t vessels Van Chon and Van Noa> etc., which trade between Austra and Netherlands New Guinea.

They were planning to carry on gardless, after October 1 and ev after May 1, 1963. “After all,” said, “whoever is up there, has have transportation and they’ve j

;at. Australia is closer than Indo a and supplies goods that Indo a cannot.”

Vith a laugh that sounded genuine ugh, he added: “Who knows— le might even increase!” )ther people aren’t so sure. The jemeyer Trading Co. (Aust.) Pty. which acts as an Island agent distributors in Netherlands New nea, was carrying on, business as al, and would do so until they ard differently”. ill they knew at the moment was it they read in the papers. They e shipping by the August ship ing Sydney; and had orders for September sailing also, here had been a set-back in srs for European consumer goods, to the evacuation of women and dren, but otherwise shipments for t, Sorong and Manokwari were mal. ls this firm exports almost ex ively to Netherlands New Guinea, future for them was clearly un ain. he Royal Dutch Airlines—KLM Iso plans to carry on, and wait see. As far as they knew in ney, the local NNG air company Kroonduif would continue to rate normally so long as they were ;. It was impossible, at this stage, lee what the future held. It was cal that KLM would continue to the big jet airport the Dutch had t at Biak, NNG, on its services n Australia to Europe. But who 3 say, these days? What is logical ;ome isn’t to others.