Cablegram K273 BATAVIA, 23 February 1949, 11.50 p.m.
RESTRICTED
It is expected that an official statement on the Dutch Cabinet decisions will be given simultaneously in Batavia and The Hague on Saturday, February 26th. Palace sources say that the Dutch policy will probably be:-
(1) To offer release of Republican Leaders for negotiations with the Federalists, possibly under the auspices of the Commission authorised to restore the Republican Government at Djokjakarta;
(2) To offer an early transfer of sovereignty, details to be worked out at a round table discussion, which would include Federalists and Republicans. Main matters to be discussed would be the Statute of the Union and the powers to be temporarily retained by high representative of the Crown. Palace sources do not anticipate difficulty in reaching agreement on the Statute of the Union, but admit the powers of the high representative, particularly in relation to the Army, would cause trouble.
2. If these forecasts are correct, Cochran agrees that the Commission will have no alternative but to report Dutch non- compliance to the Security Council on March 1st. He has urgently telegraphed the State Department this morning, February 23rd, asking that special representations be made to Van Kleffens or at The Hague for decisions turning towards implementation of the resolution. [1] The Prime Minister of East Indonesia made a statement yesterday, February 22nd, expressing his belief that ‘loyal acceptance and implementation of the Beel plan could undoubtedly avert a disaster threatening Indonesia and the Netherlands’. He stressed the importance of a transfer of sovereignty being offered without reservations and saw no objection to the Commission taking a part in a settlement ‘so long as such efforts can contribute to a speedy settlement of the question’.
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1 Document 168.
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[AA : A1838, 403/3/1/1, xxi]