Cablegram 3635 LONDON, 13 October 1947
SECRET
My telegram 3518. [1]
At small luncheon given by Indian High Commissioner to Mr. Sjahrir on 9th October at which the High Commissioner was present, Bevin asked Sjahrir what the Indonesian objectives now were. Would they be satisfied with a return by both parties to the Linggadjati Agreement? Or did they immediately want to cut free from the Dutch altogether? 2. Sjahrir did not reply directly, but said that the Indonesians wanted to be able to establish an ‘interim government’ of their own-they wanted a chance to prove their capacity to govern. The Dutch always wanted to impose conditions and limits. They could not apparently see the problems as the British had in Burma and India they did not really understand the meaning of independence.
3. Bevin asked Sjahrir if he were free to come to Bevin’s flat, perhaps with Menon, for a talk to a few Dutch people and Sjahrir said he would think it over. Sjahrir mentioned to the High Commissioner the approach by the Dutch Labour Party Members and apparently nothing has developed from it.
4. Nothing has yet been arranged about Sjahrir’s departure.
1 Document 362.
[AA:A1838/274, 854/10/4, iii]