501.BC Indonesia/4–3048: Telegram
The Consul General at Batavia (Livengood) to the Secretary of State
358. Gocus 252. Critchley today proposed to USDel that GOC endeavor agree on common proposal respecting delineation states which parties would be asked accept and which he could plug during 2-day trip he making with Hatta May 4. He said he supported USDel working paper in part but believed regencies or equivalent units (of which there 21 in Java) should form electoral districts and constituent assembly be free delineate states with provision that Republic agree specified minimum number states Java, Madura and Sumatra if Dutch desire and that technical SubCom set up after political agreement to make recommendations delineation states. He stated Republic still conceives of itself as big state within USI and while agreeing with US that geographical extent Republic would be unimportant, implied our working paper unacceptable by presaging at this stage subdivision Republic and encouraging formation provisional governments states in interim period. We replied that once Dutch had agreed regencies to be electoral districts, there no assurance Republic would ever see way to agreeing on boundaries states in technical SubCom, that an uninstructed ConstCon, subject all kinds political discords, seemed poorest place in which settle delineation states, that provision for delegates in ConstCon to represent future states appeared far more likely assure confirmation rational delineation already agreed on, and that we believed parties should make maximum progress during present and interim periods toward final organization USI in order hasten transfer sovereignty. Critchley stated our plan would merely lead inconclusive arguments between parties further delaying political agreement. He made clear he could not support our plan as it stood any case and that it necessary therefore draft plan which GOC as whole could back since parties if left themselves would get [Page 161] nowhere. We agreed consider draft of his plan but would reserve decisions until we had obtained reactions parties to our own.
Department pass The Hague.1
- This was done May 2.↩