Cablegrams The Hague 9, K343 BATAVIA, 14 October 1949
My No. 8 (K. 342 [1]). The Republicans delivered their reply to the Dutch on October 8. They accepted the Dutch proposals [2] as a basis for discussion, but made preliminary counter proposals for (a) troop ‘dislocations’ rather than concentrations, (b) the inclusion of the federal services in the administrative arrangements, and (c) direct discussions between the Negaras and the Republic on the position of Republican organizations in the Negaras.
2. The Dutch did not comment on this reply but submitted further proposals dealing with the Renville territory of Central Java only. Discussions between the two Delegations on October 10 resulted in the following provisional agreement:-
The regencies Ponorogo, Patjitan and Wonogiri, the districts Moentilan and Salam and the regencies Poerworedjo and Wonosobo will be TNI zones of patrolling. The regency of Temanggoeng and the regency of Magelang minus the districts Moentilan and Salam will be Netherlands zones of patrolling. The parties will coordinate patrolling in the rest of the residencies Madioen and Sourakarta, the regency of Keboemen and the whole area of the local Joint Committee at Poerwokerto. The Dutch and the Republic will jointly administer the residency of Banjumas and the Central Java Renville area, excluding Tjepara-Rembang and the eastern areas previously included in the Province of East Java. In practice this will mean that they share the offices of Governor and Resident and jointly select the junior officials.
3. The Dutch indicated vaguely that the present proposals do not cancel the ‘s’Jacob plan’ but are merely necessary provisional measures pending further arrangement. If this is so, it is difficult to follow why they are so limited, since the need for early arrangements is just as urgent in East Java and the Semarang area, both of which the Dutch were not prepared to discuss.
4. St[ew]art, the British Consul-General, informed Eaton that Lovink had described the general situation to him as ‘serious’ .
Lovink explained that the early progress at The Hague had eased Dutch concern over Republican infiltrations but that the recent developments obliged the Dutch authorities here to take steps to protect their position. Eaton gathered that Lovink had recently received definite instructions from The Hague to this end. It would appear then, that the ‘s’Jacob plan’ was not in line with this policy and the Dutch will now seek to drive a harder bargain.
5. The Republicans were divided in their reaction to the agreement. Budiardjo saw it as a ‘fencing off’ to be followed by Dutch pressure to weaken the Republic in the Recomba and Negara areas. Wongsonegoro was more sanguine and regarded the agreement as a ‘first step’ towards a general settlement. The Delegation left for Djocja on Tuesday to report to the Cabinet. The Central Joint Board will meet on Friday afternoon to formalise the agreement or to make other arrangements. UNCI will propose that a military sub-committee of the Board immediately draw up overall arrangements for all Java for the allocation of patrolling responsibilities through either delineations or co-ordinated patrolling.
6. The Dutch have already begun to ‘protect their position’ and are making large scale arrests of TNI and Republican civil officers in East Java and the Semarang-Pekalongan area. They claim that they are arresting infiltrants, communists and disorderly elements, but the effect on the TNI is most unsettling and Republicans report that their local commanders will not be able to keep their troops quiet very much longer. There is a serious danger that fighting will break out in East Java.
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1 Document 497.
2 See Document 494.
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[AA : A4357/2, 252, ii]