856D.00/7–847
Memorandum by the Associate Chief of the Division of Northern European Affairs (Morgan) to the Director of the Office of European Affairs (Matthews)
Subject: Proposed Course of Action With Regard to the Dutch-Indonesian Controversy.
From scanty reporting from Foote in Batavia and from press sources, it appears that the range of issues between the Dutch and the Indonesian Republic has been narrowed to a single issue—the Dutch demand that a joint Dutch-Indonesian police force be established to maintain law and order throughout the entire area. The Indonesian Republic has officially agreed to the immediate formation of an interim [Page 973] federal government under Dutch determining control, but has balked at the acceptance of the proposal for a joint gendarmerie to police Republican territory on the grounds that such action would nullify the recognition of the Republic’s de facto authority granted by the Dutch under the Linggadjati Agreement.
Van Mook in Batavia has demanded acceptance by the Indonesians of the joint police force. He has referred the matter back to The Hague for final decision. It appears from press reports that conservative and right wing elements in Holland consider Indonesian acceptance of a joint gendarmerie a sine qua non of agreement with the Republic. Labor circles generally in Holland appear to favor a compromise on this issue, and are not reconciled to making this issue a cause for war. A cabinet crisis at The Hague would thus seem to be in the making. A press report of today quotes informed Dutch officials as predicting hostilities within four days unless the issue is reconciled.
If the situation in the Indies is allowed to deteriorate into open warfare (as is likely to be the case in the absence of further U.S. intervention), I believe that a valuable opportunity will be lost to consolidate that area under a regime which will remain oriented to the Western Democracies. It is therefore recommended that the Dutch and Indonesians be urged to compromise this remaining issue, or to submit the question to arbitration as specifically provided for in Article 17 of the Linggadjati Agreement.
If we urge the Dutch to compromise this issue, it is likely that the suggestion informally advanced by Helb of the Netherlands Embassy some days ago, to the effect that this issue might be resolved by inviting a neutral American Mission to head a constabulary for all Indonesia, will be officially proposed to this Government. I understand that this idea was brought forward at the meeting last week with Under Secretary Lovett38 and was rejected. I believe it deserves, nevertheless, careful consideration as a means of preventing an outbreak of hostilities which would wreck all possibility of a voluntary association between the Dutch and the Indonesians and would in addition endanger U.S. property and commercial opportunities.
- Robert A. Lovett, Special Assistant to the Secretary of State, replaced Dean Acheson on July 1 as Under Secretary of State.↩