WEST NEW GUINEA

Press, Volume C, Issue 29468, 21 March 1961, Page 6

WEST NEW GUINEA

Plan For “No Man’s Land”

(Tf.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) (Rec. 8 p.m.l SYDNEY, March 20.

The president of the Australian Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, Sir Richard Kirby, has suggested “a noman’s land" as a possible solution to the West New Guinea sovereignty problem.

West New Guinea could become a “no-man’s land" devoted to the educational, cultural and peaceful needs of Indonesia and the whole of South-east Asia, he said Sir Richard Kirby outlined his suggestion at a summer school conducted at Newport during the weekend by the Australia-Indo-nesia Association. He said there was a necessity for a common need among the nations of Southeast Asia. “I think the answer is an area dedicated to education, culture and the encouragement of the arts of peace, separated entirely from any consideration of the arts of war," he said.

“In some portion of Southeast Asia there should b« set up a huge university or series of universities with high priority given to the study of tropical medicine and the health of people who live in crowded communities without the economic ad. vantages of the Western world.

“The carrying out of such a concept would require practical help running into millions and millions of pounds which, I think, would have to be supplied by the better-endowed nations of the world.

“The carrying out of such a concept would require tolerance and generosity from the two major disputants over West New Guinea, the Dutch and the Indonesians.” he said.