Cablegram UN104 NEW YORK, 11 February 1949, 3.46 p.m.
IMMEDIATE RESTRICTED
Your Australian Embassy, Washington, 75 and 87. [1]
INDONESIA
In discussion today with United States Delegation, we stressed the serious view taken of position and spoke on lines of your 87. They have received nothing from Cochran, but say he is due in Batavia on the 13th presumably in time for submission of Commission’s report to Council. They contemplate meeting of Council possibly by the end of the coming week.
2. Pending the Commission’s report which they expect to be very firm and possible decisions by Dutch in the meanwhile, United States are not inclined to discuss next move by Council. They claim that on the basis of reports from The Hague (not from Cochran) some elements of the Dutch Government are realizing the impossible situation which Netherlands policy so far has produced, and do not exclude some decision by the Dutch before the next Council meeting which will give the Council something new to go on. As it is, they do not see what possible case Van Royen could put to the Council in the existing circumstances. Their attitude to further steps by the Council under Chapter 7 is as indicated in paragraph 2 Washington telegram 114. [2]
3. Meanwhile Indonesian delegation in letter to the President Security Council 10th February has called the attention of the Council to the fact that up to the present time, 12 days after the adoption of the latest Council resolution [3] Netherlands has not yet released political prisoners thus making it impossible for the Republican Government to convene or to make any decisions whatsoever. On the other hand, the Netherlands Government, which has full freedom of action has not yet made any decision about acceptance or rejection of the Council resolution. Letter also called attention to the fact that on the first February the Dutch bombed a town in Sumatra and on the following day landed further troops also in Sumatra.
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1 Document 201 and 204.
2 Document 202.
3 Document 168.
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[AA : A1838, 403/3/1/1, xxi]