Cablegram UN13 NEW YORK, 12 January 1949, 8 p.m.
IMMEDIATE RESTRICTED
INDONESIA
My telegram 8. [1]
Have had useful discussions today with Jessup, Cadogan and Rau.
United States delegation is at the moment working on preliminary draft of resolution along the following lines:
(1). Preamble. Which would bring out Dutch non-compliance with Security Council resolutions.
(2). Complete political freedom for Indonesian leaders, restoring them to position of equality in negotiations.
(3). Lay down timetable for elections for Constituent Assembly and for transfer of sovereignty.
(4). Provide for progressive withdrawal of Dutch forces.
(5). Continue Committee of Good Offices with enlarged functions to include supervision over the above processes.
2. The timetable the Americans have in mind corresponds pretty nearly to Cochran’s earlier suggestions. As regards withdrawal, they feel it useless to reintroduce Paris proposals [2] for immediate restoration of original lines and think that the most practicable course would be to empower the United Nations supervisory body to determine what areas, beginning with Jogjakarta should be evacuated by stages by the Dutch forces with corresponding transfer of responsibility for law and order to the Republic. The arrangements would provide in any case, for complete withdrawal of Dutch occupation forces, as distinct from any base garrisons which might be retained by agreement after establishment of the United States of Indonesia [b]y the date of the transfer of sovereignty.
3. The Americans consider that the present membership of the G.O.C. should be retained but that its title might be changed and that its powers should be extended to include the present functions [3] of the Consular Commission (which would lapse) and also to enable it to make determinations on the spot in the exercise of supervision over the proposed general arrangements.
4. The delegation hopes to clear a text on these lines with the State Department by Friday when, if circumstances are favourable, it could be tabled for discussion next week. To some extent the nature of the preamble would depend on the statement which the Dutch are expected to make on Friday. If, as seems possible, the Dutch are prepared in view of the very clear sense of the Council against them, to make some definite undertakings, these could be taken note of in the resolution.
5. United Kingdom attitude as revealed by Cadogan is not yet so specific as the American. They will probably at this stage go along with a fairly strong preamble but might not be ready to commit themselves to a definite timetable. They also prefer at present that any supervision should be entrusted to the Consular Commission rather than the G.O.C. Cadogan and Jessup are, however, having a further conference tonight.
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1 Document 67.
2 The USSR and the Ukraine sought unsuccessfully in Paris in December 1948 to have the Security Council order the Netherlands to withdraw its armed forces from Republican territory. See Documents 462, 480 and 481 in Volume XIII.
3 At its 194th meeting on 25 August 1947, the Security Council instructed members of the Security Council with consular representatives in Batavia to report on the situation in the Republic of Indonesia, on the observance of the cease-fire and on the conditions prevailing in areas under military occupation or from which occupying armed forces had withdrawn. See Documents 287 and 301 in Volume XI.
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[AA : A1838, 403/3/1/1, xx]