Cablegram Hag 183 THE HAGUE, [25 November 1948], 5.52 p.m.
SECRET
INDONESIA
Five members of the States-General have left for Indonesia to act as political observers during negotiations.
2. All political parties here have been taking a lively interest in the Indonesian problem and even though the Dutch Government has, I understand, given Stikker and colleagues wide powers, they would have had to refer all proposals to The Hague for endorsement by the States-General. The presence of these five members should eliminate the necessity of this and thus the process of negotiating should be accelerated.
3. There are still rumours that there is friction between Stikker and Sassen and I think that there is little doubt that the sending of such a strong mission to conduct negotiations must be regarded as a personal triumph for the former.
4. There are grounds for belief that Stikker considers that the main difficulty in negotiations will arise over the position of the Republican army in the United States of Indonesia over the question of uniform command.
5. When I saw Boon yesterday he emphasised that the Dutch Government intended to make a supreme effort to reach an agreement with the Republicans and he hoped that a solution would be reached which would allow the setting up of an interim Government in the very near future.
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[AA:A1838, 403/3/1/1, xix]