Cablegram Hag 110 THE HAGUE, 18 August 1948
IMPORTANT
INDONESIA
I paid my first call on the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stikker, last night. He was very friendly and struck me as keen and purposeful.
2. I repeated to him my recent representations to the Secretary General (my telegram No. 99). [1] He told me that the government have prepared new proposals on the basis of the Bandoeng ones [2], Van Mook’s suggestions etc., and will send them to Batavia within a few days. In reply to my expressed hope that they were not rigid he assured me that they were proposals leaving room for discussion. [3]
3. He hoped these new proposals would be be largeley acceptable to the Republic and that the Good Offices Committee would able to support them. I advised him in terms of para. 2 of your telegram No. 72 [4] and he expressed his satisfaction. He assured me that they would not ask for Kirby’s return unless it appeared really urgent and he trusted that in that case Kirby could be sent to Batavia at very short notice for the shortest possible time.
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1 Document 221.
2 See Document 220.
3 A draft bill for an Interim Federal Government was made available to the Bandung Delegation on 17 August. See Rijks Geschiedkundige Publicatien, Officiele Bescheiden Betreffende De Nederlands-Indonesische Betrekkingen 1945-1950, 1948, vol. XIV, The Hague, 1988, pp.618-22.
4 Paragraph 2 of Document 225.
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[AA:A8108/2, 280/1/48, i]