DUTCH BLAMED IN U.S.

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25243, 23 July 1947, Page 7

DUTCH BLAMED IN U.S.

New York Papers’

Comment

“ACTION CANNOT BE CONDONED” (N.Z. Press Association —Copyright)

(Rec. 9 p.m.) NEW YORK, July 21. “The military action taken in Indonesia cannot be interpreted otherwise than as an effort by the Dutch Government to impose by arms what it believed it was not going to gain by negotiations, and which it aid not choose to submit to arbitration,” says the “New York Times” in a leading article. “The whole world must feel the keenest disappointment at this outcome. Regardless of the merits of the final deadlock, military action by the Dutch, while the Republicans still were announcing their willingness to negotiate the disputed points or submit the points to arbitration, cannot be understood or condoned. “In this unhappy situation it seems to us that some action by the United Nations Security Council is clearly called for.

“This is more than a war between Dutch and Indonesians, regrettable as that is in itself. If the limited war now in progress is permitted to spread generally over Java and Sumatra the repercussions may be felt throughout all of Asia. The best time to put out a fire is when it is small.” The New York “Herald-Tribune,’’ in a leading article, declares that there has been provocation on both sides. “On balance, however, the major responsibility for war seems to rest with the Dutch,” «it says. “The Dutch should have paid more heed to the frightful suffering in prospectf if there is a long war in Java, and to the possibility that fighting between Europeans and Asiatics could be avoided there—as it has been in India.

“After all, the Dutch long ago accepted the fact that the age of imperialism in Asia is near its end, and the Javanese long ago agreed to a gradual transition to complete sovereignty. In these circumstances it should not be impossible to find a middle ground, especially when both parties have so much to gain through peace and so much to lose in war. “The Javanese seem anxious to renew the efforts to seek peace, and surely the Dutch, who themselves have suffered so severely . from aggression and whose talents are best suited to a calm world, should be willing to return to the conference table.”