Cablegram K251 BATAVIA, 16 January 1949, 11 p.m.
CONFIDENTIAL
The Dutch are concentrating on the formation of an Interim Federal Government, but are still meeting difficulties. On 13th January the Conference of Federalists unanimously agreed:
(a) to the formation of a National Federal Government;
(b) to the Dutch B.I.O.-draft decree [1] as a starting point;
(c) to the necessity for consultation with prominent persons from territories not yet organised prior to the formation of the National Federal Government.
2. I learnt confidentially that the more Nationalist-minded amongst the Federalists, including the Prime Minister of East Indonesia [2], intend to delay the formation of the National Federal Government until after the Asian conference and the Security Council have reached decisions on the Indonesian question. They believe they will then be in a position to strengthen their demands. They also claim that the last point in their resolution provides a starting point for consultation with Republican leaders. In this connection the Federal Conference is reported to have agreed on ten people who should be consulted including eight top Republicans.
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1 See note 1 to Document 74.
2 Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung.
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