501.BC Indonesia/10–1049
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Perkins) to the Secretary of State 1
The Netherlands Ambassador left with me today the attached note concerning Indonesia.2 He asked that it be brought to your personal attention.
The note states the concern of the Netherlands Government arising from reported infiltrations of Republican troops in Java, which the Dutch regard as violations of the truce. While admitting that there has been a sharp decline in the use of armed forces, the Dutch note states that as a result of infiltrations the civil administrations in various parts of Java are being ousted by the military and that the regular Republican forces are being greatly augmented by extremist elements which are not subject to the control of the Republican Government. In the opinion of the Netherlands Government, this situation has resulted in an inability or unwillingness on the part of the Indonesian delegation at The Hague Conference to enter into binding commitments with the Dutch, because of fear that they will not have the political power to make these commitments stick. In his oral remarks, Ambassador van Kleffens stressed his government’s fear that the control of the Republican Army was shifting to radicals who might turn out to be communists.
The note states that the Netherlands Government has done all in its power to persuade the Republican leaders to take a stand against this trend in Indonesia, without avail. It requests the U.S. Government [Page 520] to attempt to persuade Soekarno, Hatta and other Indonesian leaders to take the necessary measures to restore their authority.
I am having the contents of the note transmitted to Cochran at The Hague3 and to our Consul General in Batavia to get their reactions before taking further action.