Telegram unnumbered BATAVIA, 1 March 1949, 12.55 a.m.
IMPORTANT
Following is text of telegram from Republican leaders at Bangka received by Commission tonight February 28th. Begins:-
Latest decision of Netherlands Government as in Beel’s letter [1], handed Saturday night to President Soekarno in Muntok by Gieben, inviting Republican leaders to join round table conference in The Hague with other representatives of Indonesia on March 12th, cuts across Security Council’s resolutions and moreover explicitly rejects said resolution. [2] In verbal elucidation [3] Gieben made perfectly clear that on no account Netherlands Government will comply with condition to restore actual Government of Republic in its power over any part of its territory.
In particular Gieben explained that, contrary to wordings of his Government’s statement on abrogation of remaining restrictions concerning liberty of movement of Republican leaders, we shall in no case be allowed to return to Djokjakarta. This new move of the Netherlands, as so often before, gives expression to their denial of the legality of the Security Council’s intervention and substitutes a different proposal on their own authority. Our Government will, however, never co-operate in any action evading implementation of Security Council’s resolution. We particularly deem it urgent to counteract any confusion which this move is apt to create in international circles. Ends.
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1 See Document 247.
2 Document 168.
3 See Document 253.
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[AA : A1838, 403/3/1/1, xxi]