Envoy Confident On New Guinea

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29891, 3 August 1962, Page 9

Envoy Confident On New Guinea

(N .Z.P.A.• Reuter—Copyright) AMSTERDAM, August 2. The Dutch Ambassador to Washington, Dr. J. H. van Roijen, returned by air today to report on talks with Indonesia for transfer of administration in West New Guinea.

He said he was "convinced" the Netherlands and Indonesia "will be on good and cordial relations in future.

“Of course I cannot say whether this will be so in the near future, as a result of the agreement on New Guinea,” he said. “As a matter of fact, no predictions can be made yet as to this." Dr. van Roijen confirmed that agreement had been reached on "all essential points.” He stressed the agreement was preliminary. But he himself believed it included sufficient guarantees to enable the Papuans to decide on their own future. Yesterday, two Papuan members of the Dutch New Guinea Council expressed discontent over the preliminary Dutch-Indonesian agreement.

They are the Vice-Chair-man of the council (Mr Marcus Kaisiepo) and Mr Nicolaus Jouwe. Mr Jouwe claimed in Amsterdam that Holland had been forced into the agreement by all kinds of political pressure.

He said: "I met Dutch Cabinet Ministers today for a briefing on the DutchIndonesian draft agreement My conclusion is that the Dutch Government is not entirely honest in th:s matter “On the basis of what has been explained to me regarding the preliminary understanding. I am not at all happy. We need proper guarantees, not this . . . “It will depend on my talks with van Roijen whether I propose to take the New Guinea issue to the Security Council and the General As-

sembly instead of accepting this preliminary understanding.” he said.

Mr Kaisiepo reacted very angrily when told of the agreement, according to a message from Hollandia. He said the New Guinea Council might be forced to "take the law into our own hands ”

In Amsterdam, the chairman of the Papuan National Party. Mr Herman Wajdin, said there were reasons to assume "certain members" of the New Guinea Council might set up’ a West Papuan Government in exile if Indonesia 10019 over the territory He was speaking to reporters before his departure for New Guinea.

He refused to mention names