501.BC Indonesia/5–1748
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Assistant Chief of the Division of Southeast Asian Affairs (Lacy)
Mr. Helb called to say that he had received a telegram from Mr. van Vredenburch at Batavia in which he said that he believed that the period beginning June 1 would prove to be a critical one in the Netherlands-Indonesian Republic negotiations before the Security Council’s Good Offices Committee, and that by the end of June or early July the areas of agreement and disagreement between the two parties will be clearly delineated. He said that the attitude of the Republic during the past week had become increasingly intransigent and that the Republic was now asking for more than even they in reason expected to receive. He cited as an example a working paper on the interim government offered by the Indonesian delegation the substance of which was so absurd that upon the suggestion of the Netherlands delegation the Republican delegation withdrew it from the Good Offices Committee’s consideration and committed its status to that of an oral note. Van Vredenburch said that he believed the present tactics of the Republic were designed to create the impression that no agreement existed between the two parties upon any vital issues in order that they could press in the Security Council for the expansion of the powers of the Good Offices Committee to that of an arbitration committee; that he believed the Australians were supporting the Republic in this position.
[Page 175]Van Vredenburch said that he believed that, leaving aside the Republic’s present tactics, there is yet considerable chance of agreement between the Netherlands and the Indonesian Republic on all vital issues. He believes that the prospect of this agreement will be destroyed by the effective transfer of discussions from Batavia to the Security Council at Lake Success, and that since there is some prospect of reaching an agreement after the first of June, he believes that discussion of the Indonesian case in the Security Council must be avoided if possible, and in any case minimized.
Vredenburch wished the Netherlands Embassy, therefore, to suggest to the Department that it would be desirable for the Department to: (a) urge the Security Council to delay discussion scheduled for May 18 of the West Java and Madura reports1 which have been received from the GOC until the Security Council has received the Good Offices Committee’s progress report2 which will be in its hands by the end of May or the early part of June; and to urge the Security Council to minimize discussion of the progress report until the main areas of agreement and disagreement have been delineated at Batavia during June, and (b) continue to press the Republic to avoid general discussion of the Indonesian problem in the Security Council, and to support the efforts of the Good Offices Committee and also to comply strictly with the Renville Agreements. In this latter connection, Vredenburch said that he felt that DuBois in making representations to the Republic which the Department had instructed him to make in Deptel, Usgoc 97, May 7, had exhibited a certain lack of enthusiasm for the assignment. I asked Helb if he had any idea as to why DuBois was unenthusiastic. Helb replied that he did not know but that he suspected that DuBois was tired of acting as advocate for the Dutch in the absence of an able Belgian delegation and that with this frame of mind he found it particularly difficult to represent the American position to the Republic when that position was unfavorable to the Republic.
I said that I thought we would find it exceedingly difficult to suggest that the Security Council avoid discussing reports which it had requested from the Good Offices Committee at Batavia, but that the Department certainly agreed that, in general, the discussion of the Indonesian case in the Security Council should be avoided, and, in particular, that discussion of the West Java and Madura reports should await the Security Council’s receipt of the progress report of the GOC.
[Page 176]Mr. Helb said that Mr. Vredenburch had been requested by Mr. DuBois to instruct the Netherlands Embassy Washington, to inform the Department that he was in full agreement with recommendations (a) and (b) in the foregoing.