Rebels Reject Government Talks In Sumatra

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28162, 28 December 1956, Page 7

Rebels Reject Government Talks In Sumatra

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

(Rec. 11 p.m.) NEW YORK, December 27. Rebellious Army factions on Sumatra had rebuffed attempts by the central Indonesian Government to negotiate, the American Associated Press reported from Jakarta today. The rebels wanted the Prime Minister, Dr. Ali Sastroamidjojo, and his Cabinet to resign.

Rejection of a Government peace mission came as other groups in the island chain voiced sympathy for the rebel movement and joined in demanding more independence from Jakarta rule.

One Indonesian official compared the nation’s provinces with “the 13 original American colonies—each one jealous of its rights, each one afraid of too much central authority, but each one wanting to preserve our 11-year-old republic.” A Government junta returned last night reporting failure. A spokesman for the group said that the mission failed because it represented Dr. Sastroamidjojo’s Government, not President Sukarno. The rebels would deal only with the President. The military groups in North and Central Sumatra took over the civilian provincial administrations late last week in bloodless coups.

In nightly radio broadcasts since the uprising, they had reiterated that they wanted Dr Sastroamidjojo to go and the reunion of Dr. Sukarno with the former Vice-President, Dr Mohammed Hatta, who is a Sumatran.

They also had said that they did not want to split from the republic, but sought Government reforms and more autonomy for the provinces, said the agency. Support for the rebels was voiced by the Sundanese of West Java, a minority group distinct from the Javanese. A delegation from the Celebes also had arrived in Jakarta to urge that the central Government grant more independence in provincial and local administration.

Signs of unrest had been displayed in Borneo. In South Sumatra, the local military commander was known to be sympathetic to the. action by the military juntas in the central and northern areas of the island.

The Army command on Java so far had remained silent and aloof on the current crisis. It had not commented on Dr. Sukarno’s speech on Tuesday evening condemning the rebellion and ordering the military groups to return control to the

Jakarta-recognised authorities. The central Government yesterday cancelled all military leave.

The Governor of South Sumatra, Mr Winarno Danuatmodjo, announced today that the provincial administration, together with the military command, had decided to withhold all revenues normally paid to the central Government so that

the money could be used for “financing reconstruction projects in the province.” The latest development in South Sumatra means that the central Government has been deprived of 70 per cent, of its total foreign exchange revenues. South Sumatra, where the Royal Dutch Shell and the Standard Vacuum Oil companies operate Indonesia’s two refineries, alone provides 40 per cent, of the country’s foreign currency income.