501.BC Indonesia/7–2148
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Assistant Chief of the Division of Southeast Asian Affairs (Lacy)
confidential
[Washington,] July 21, 1948.
Mr. Helb called to place me in receipt of the substance of a telegram received by the Netherlands Embassy, Washington, from Dr. Nico Blom, Legal Adviser to the Netherlands Foreign Office. He asked that I regard the transmission of the information as confidential and personal.
Dr. Blom advised Dr. van Kleffens that:
- a.
- the Netherlands Prime Minister had expressed his hope that the US delegate would begin to prepare, upon his arrival at Batavia, a working paper acceptable to both sides which would provide a practical basis for a final settlement of the Netherlands-Indonesian Republican Dispute;
- b.
- the Netherlands Government hoped that such a working paper would be fully discussed by all three members of the GOC and would ultimately receive the unanimous concurrence of that body;
- c.
- at the appropriate time either party, including the Netherlands, might request the GOC to offer a compromise settlement which would embody the principles in the US working paper;
- d.
- the Netherlands assumed that any working paper offered by the US delegation would include at least the two following principles—(1) the preservation of Netherlands sovereignty in the interim period, and (2) a provision that the existing body of Netherlands Indies law would be administered during the interim period;
- e.
- the Prime Minister thought about two months would be required to reach a final settlement;
- f.
- the Netherlands Government would pass no legislation which would prejudice the freedom in negotiation of its delegation before the GOC.1
- On July 22 the Netherlands Ambassador gave the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs (Butterworth) an unsigned, undated note “which merely repeated what Mr. Helb, Counselor of the Dutch Embassy, had communicated to Mr. Lacy of SEA on July 21” (memorandum of conversation, July 22; 856e.00/7–2248). Note not printed.↩