Office of the Historian

856d.01/12–648: Telegram

The Chargé in the Netherlands (Steere) to the Secretary of State 1

secret
The Hague, December 6, 1948—6 p. m.

826. Boon, Chief Political Department Foreign Office, said following to us today re Indonesia:

1.
Foreign Office has little information on last conversation between Dutch Ministers and Hatta. Most ministerial advisers staying Batavia in case Netherlands Government has further propositions to make to Republic. Ministers due Holland tomorrow afternoon and Cabinet will immediately consider whole question. Recent negotiations, although unsatisfactory as they have failed, have nevertheless cleared atmosphere in Dutch Government circles as all Ministers must now believe that every attempt has been made by Netherlands Government to negotiate on sound basis from Dutch point of view.
2.
Hatta has the authority and desire to reach agreement with Dutch on basis November 10 memo to Stikker, but he lacks the actual power and “guts” to do so. He took weak position before KNIP and did not force issue. Foreign Office thinks he might well have carried the day if he had shown sufficient strength. Dutch do not criticize him re his honesty but because he failed to face issue in Republican Parliament.
3.
Re possible resumption negotiations, there is greater divergence of view with Republic than existed at time of original Stikker-Hatta conversations. Therefore resumption negotiations in GOC would appear futile as there at present exists no apparent possibility of agreement on several fundamental points.
4.
It seems likely that interim government will now be set up. Emergency bill fixed date as January 1, 1949—this was done deliberately [Page 527] as that particular date has symbolic significance throughout Indonesia; it was in fact mentioned in Linggadjati agreement. If interim government not set up by that date, Republicans could tell non-Republic Indonesians that Republicans had their own government but that Dutch did not live up to their commitments.

Boon seemed rather pessimistic and wondered whether there was any possible way out of present impasse.

Steere
  1. Repeated in telegrams 617, December 7, 8 p. m. (Usgoc 219), to Batavia, and Gadel 700 to Paris.↩