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‘Critical Phase’ In West Irian Talks

(NX.Pai.-R«t«r— Copyright) NEW YORK, August 13. The United Nations Secretary-General, U Thant, was due to preside today over a meeting between the principal Dutch and Indonesian negotiators as efforts to solve the long standing West New Guinea dispute entered a critical phase.

Informed sources said that the Indonesian Foreign Minister (Dr. Subandrio) and the Netherlands Ambassador to Washington (Dr. J. H. van Roijen) would confer in U Thant’s executive office at the UN. —their first official contact under his personal auspices.

Court today announced details of the plot that culminated in the attempted murder of President Soekamo during a religious ceremony at the Freedom Palace on May 14 last

On that day a man walked up behind the President and fired three pistol shots at him. Die President was untouched, but five persons near him were wounded. Since then ths Court has tried and condemned to death four men accused of complicity in the attempt. Today's announcement said nine men had been involved. AU had been with the fanatic Muslim Darul Islam rebel, Kartosuwirjo, In the west Java hills, and he had dispatched them on their mission in March.

Bath men have discussed the problem with him separately in the last three days. Dr. Subandrio, who arrived in New York from Djakarta yesterday, spent an hour with U Thant in the afternoon.

Dr. van Roijen and the Dutch resident representative at the U.N. (Mr C. W. A Schuemann) conferred with the Secretary-General fbr 90 minutes on Friday, when they protested at Indonesian troop landings in West New Guinea in the last week.

Today’s meeting would not constitute the official start of formal negotiations between the Netherlands and Indonesia, diplomatic sources emphasised. They said the conference would be a continuation of the preliminary, informal discussions which have been going on between the two sides since last March. , These resulted in an understanding last month that the Netherlands would transfer sovereignty over West New Guinea to Indonesia at the beginning of next May. with the Papuan inhabitants being accorded the right of self-determination by 1969.

Dr. Subandrio told reporters after his meeting with U Thant yesterday that “informal discussions” would have to precede the start of formal negotiations. U Thant would take the decision when the talks should enter the formal stage, he said. Diplomatic sources said that formal negotiations would not begin before tomorrow at the earliest. Dr. Subandrio said that there must be agreement “more or less,” on all points before the final stage was reached.

The diplomatic sources indicated (hat the aim was to remove what obstacles to accord remained during the informal conferences so that the formal meeting would be not so much negotiation as a dotting of “i’s” and crossing of “t’s” of the pact. In Djakarta, the Left-wing Indonesian Peace Committee has expressed regret at the Russian resumption of nuclear testing. "Such experiments endanger the health and threaten the life of mankind now, and in future generations.” a statement from the committee said. The Djakarta District

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19620814.2.170

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29900, 14 August 1962, Page 17

Word Count
506

‘Critical Phase’ In West Irian Talks Press, Volume CI, Issue 29900, 14 August 1962, Page 17

‘Critical Phase’ In West Irian Talks Press, Volume CI, Issue 29900, 14 August 1962, Page 17