Cablegram 1243 WASHINGTON, 3 December 1948, 7.22 p.m.
SECRET
INDONESIA
Following is summary given to us by Indonesian Representative of aide memoire [1] from Hatta to Stikker after conversations first week November.
‘(1) The Republic is firmly determined that talks leading in the direction of a political agreement should be held in the presence of the Committee of Good Offices and be based on the Cochran plan [2];
(2) The interim period shall begin as soon as possible, with December 1st, 1949, as the target date for its conclusion;
(3) The interim period will fall into two phases; the beginning of the first phase will be marked by the formation of a Cabinet by the Republic of Indonesia and the representative of the Dutch Crown; simultaneously there will come into being an interim representative body nominated by the constituent states on the basis of proportional representation;
(4) At the end of six months elections shall be held throughout Indonesia for a Constituent Assembly;
(5) The second phase will begin with the election of a President by the Constituent Assembly; the President will call upon any individual to form a Cabinet, such individual thereupon becoming Prime Minister;
(6) The members of the Cabinet shall be Indonesian citizens and the Cabinet, to which shall be given clearly defined powers, will be responsible to the Constituent Assembly;
(7) The Constituent Assembly shall delineate the member states, establish a constitution for the United States of Indonesia, and devise the statute of the Netherlands-Indonesian Union.’
Indonesian representative has also given us following summary of Indonesian position at commencement of the current talks.
‘Hatta maintains that the federal armed forces should remain under the control of the interim government; the Dutch, however, are anxious to vest control in the hands of the Crown Representative, this subject is still in abeyance. The most difficult problem centres around the powers of the Crown Representative. Hatta will only go so far as to give him the power of veto and the right of final decision in certain clearly defined matters.
Hatta is prepared to make a concession in the case of the Federal Council and will not press for more than a third of the seats being given to the Republic. Hatta is firmly of the opinion that the Committee of Good Offices should remain seized of the Indonesian question till the very moment the Dutch transfer sovereignty to the U.S.I.’
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1 See Document 310.
2 See Documents 237 and 238.
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[AA:A1838, 403/3/1/1, xix]