Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Southeast Asia, Volume XXII

161. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, June 28, 1956¹

Washington, June 28, 1956

SUBJECT

• Dutch Request for U.S. Support on Indonesian Problems

PARTICIPANTS

• Dr. J.H. van Roijen, Netherlands Ambassador
• Baron S.G.M. van Voorst, Minister, Netherlands Embassy
• Mr. Robert D. Murphy, Deputy Under-Secretary
• Mr. John Wesley Jones, WE

The Netherlands Ambassador called this morning at our request to receive a reply to a series of Dutch requests over the past weeks asking for U.S. support on various matters at issue between the Dutch and the Indonesians. In response to Mr. Murphy’s inquiry regarding the Ambassador’s summer plans, Dr. van Roijen said that he was leaving Washington this evening and would sail tomorrow on the New Amsterdam for Holland. He will return to Washington mid-September.

Mr. Murphy expressed his concern at what appeared to be a general and profound misunderstanding at The Hague of the U.S. position with respect to various Dutch problems and a growing attitude that the United States was not sufficiently active or sympathetic toward the problems of her Dutch ally. The Deputy Under-Secretary referred specifically to the recent report from The Hague that Foreign Minister Luns had given credibility to an alleged remark by a Departmental officer expressing pleasure at the prospect that Luns would no longer be Foreign Minister. Mr. Murphy went on to say that, as the Ambassador knew, this report was without any foundation and in fact quite contrary to the general esteem in which Mr. Luns was held. More disturbing than the report itself was the fact that the Netherlands Foreign Minister gave this rumor credence. Dr. van Roijen replied that, with respect to this particular incident, there was nothing in the Embassy’s reporting to The Hague which reflected in the slightest degree the expression of such sentiment by any State Department Officer. He went on to say, however, that the sensitivity of the Dutch Government at this time was the result of a succession of developments in our relations with the Netherlands Government which have had accumulative effect. The result has been to make his Government feel that happy relations with the Netherlands were not important to the United States; that Holland could be taken for granted; that she was a staunch little ally that could always be depended upon to do the right thing at the right time anyway; that she had no effective means of retaliation and that the United States need give her scant regard.

The Ambassador referred to the question of the Dutch prisoners in Indonesia as one of the issues which had most profoundly touched Dutch emotions and which had apparently drawn little response from the U.S. Government. The British Government, the Pakistan Government and even the Indian Government had made informal representations to the Indonesian Government in support of the Dutch position. The American Embassy at Djakarta had, however, only after considerable prodding from the Department, sent a representative to the trials of the late Mr. Jungschlager,² although several other Western Embassies were regularly represented at the trials. Even when the American Embassy did finally send a representative he usually made himself as inconspicuous as possible, sitting at the back and slipping in and out of the Jungschlager trials while the other Western representatives usually placed themselves well up in front. The American attitude in this instance naturally was not considered by the Netherlands Government to have given any great support to their position which was to assure that the Indonesian Government and court were aware of the interest of the Netherlands’ allies. Mr. Murphy replied that Mr. Cumming, our Ambassador at Djakarta, was, after all, on a spot, and had done what he felt would be most productive on behalf of the Dutch prisoners; that he had always felt, and so reported, that going beyond a certain degree of activity on behalf of the Dutch prisoners would be counterproductive and possibly even harmful to the prisoners themselves. Mr. Murphy admitted that this was, of course, a question of judgment but that we felt that we must be governed by the judgment of our representative on the spot. Mr. Murphy then reviewed the various steps which we had already taken on behalf of the Netherlands with respect to its subjects on trial in Indonesia, namely, several conversations which the American Ambassador had had with appropriate authorities in Indonesia, two or three conversations which he (Mr. Murphy) had had with the Indonesian Ambassador in Washington and finally the Secretary’s reference to this problem in his conversation with the Indonesian Foreign Minister during President Sukarno’s visit to Washington. Mr. Murphy said that he would very much hope that the Ambassador, upon his return to The Hague, would make an effort to explain to all levels of the Netherlands Government the U.S. position of sympathy and understanding for the Netherlands in its relations with Indonesia and our sincere desire to do what we could to help. Mr. Murphy then asked the Ambassador whether he had any suggestions regarding where we might be helpful.

[Here follows a paragraph concerning United State-Netherlands negotiations for a civil aviation agreement.]

Mr. Murphy handed the Ambassador an aide-mémoire (copy attached)³ which he said expressed the Department’s views on various of the questions which the Ambassador had raised with the Department recently on the Netherlands relations with the Republic of Indonesia. After reading the aide-mémoire the Ambassador said that it was his impression that President Sukarno would return to Indonesia, following his world tour, with increased prestige and would report to his Government that he had not encountered any significant disapproval of their position of default on their obligations to the Netherlands Government. Regarding the problem of West New Guinea he also suspected that Sukarno would indicate, upon his return to Djakarta, that the neutral position of the United States was only provisional; that while it was apparent that the United States could not change its position at the present time because of its relations with the Netherlands, he would imply that we would eventually swing around to a position in support of Indonesia’s claim to West New Guinea. He added that this alleged uncertainty regarding our position on this issue had already been conveyed to the French Ambassador at Djakarta during a recent call at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. Dr. van Roijen assured Mr. Murphy that any doubt about the U.S. position on West New Guinea was not shared by the Dutch Government.

At this point the Ambassador took his leave and Mr. Murphy wished him a pleasant trip and holiday in the Netherlands this summer.

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 756D.00/6–2856. Confidential. Drafted by Jones. The source text bears Murphy’s initials, indicating his approval.
2. Jungschläger died of a heart attack in April while awaiting the verdict in his trial.
3. The aide-mémoire, dated June 28, not printed, replied to van Roijen’s April 20 request (described in footnote 2, Document 154), to requests of April 30 and May 1 by van Roijen for U.S. intervention on behalf of Dutch prisoners in Indonesia, and to his May 11 conversation with Dulles (see Document 156). (Department of State, Central Files, 656.56D/4–2056)