143

Cablegram to Lisbon, New York and Jakarta

Canberra, 7 June 1975

O.CH227116 CONFIDENTIAL PRIORITY

Committee of Twenty-Four: Portuguese Timor

RefO.UN31091

We would not of course anticipate Australia acting independently of the Indonesians. If they go along with ‘and independence’ and Sani’s interpretation of it, so should we. We note, moreover, that Salim’s draft speaks only of the ‘right’ to independence.

  1. Our policy has been to engage the Portuguese in frank discussions over Timor. We should thus still see value in Lisbon taking up the matter with the Portuguese but perhaps only after Campbell has been able to consult and concert with Sani in Lisbon.

[NAA: A10463, 801/13/11/1, ix]

  • 1 Document 141.