Dutch Officials Bitter, But Had No Choice

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29903, 17 August 1962, Page 11

Dutch Officials Bitter, But Had No Choice

{N.Z. Press Association— Copyright)

THE HAGUE, August 16.

Reaction at The Hague to the Dutch-Indonesian agreement on West New Guinea was bitter, the British United Press reported.

Many officials who had now seen the final text of the treaty said they considered it even worse than they expected.

But, said the report, the Dutch had no choice. If Holland had not agreed, a major war would have erupted, and all the Dutch could have hoped for in the way of United . States help was an undertaking to assist with the evacuation of the territory. The Dutch Prime Minister (Professor Jan de Quay) said in a radio and television broadcast last night that the Netherlands had agreed to transfer control of the territory to Indonesia because she “could not count on her allies.”

Professor de Quay said that continuing Indonesian actions had threatened to inflate local fighting into a full-scale war. Future of Papuans

“It has been an extremely difficult decision for my Government.” he said. “Not only Dutch interests were at stake, but the future of a people for which Holland had accepted responsibility We wanted to develop the Papuans towards self-deter-mination.

“However, it became clear that Holland would not have the opportunity to carry out this programme without interference.

“Holland could not count on the support of its allies For that reason the Government decided to accept the Dutch - Indonesian agreement.” he said. He did not name the allies or elaborate on this statement.

Professor de Quay said: “When Indonesia began its aggression, Holland sent reinforcements in order to defend the lives and property of the New Guinea subjects although the Government was conscious that everything should be done to reach a peaceful solution. “Our forces were ordered to restrict themselves to -defensive action. Our troops have shown the utmost courage in carrying out this difficult task,” he said.

Addressing the Dutch now in New Guinea, Professor de Quay said: “I call upon you to remain at your posts. You are now facing the extremely difficult job of co-operating in the execution of this agree-

ment, with loyalty both to tbe authorities of the United Nations and the officials of Indonesia who will take over your responsibilities.” Feeling Of Relief

In London, the “Daily Telegraph” said today that there was a feeling of relief. but no great rejoicing in Holland over the West New Guinea agreement. The newspaper’s correspondent wrote from The Hague: “Although there is some feeling of relief in Holland that a large-scale war with Indonesia now seems impossible. there is no great rejoicing in The Hague about the agreement on New Guinea. . . . The Dutch would have preferred better safeguards for the Papuans “The Dutch Government

would have preferred a longer period of United Nations control and a plebiscite organised by the world body itself. “It is thought in The Hague that the Dutch Government has accepted the agreement because there were sufficient indications that Indonesia planned a large-scale war. There were no indications that Holland would get militant support from other countries. ‘‘On Friday, the Indonesian Independence Day. President Soekarno wants to announce the agreements formally. Heavy pressure was brought to bear on the Dutch Government to accept the agreement today (Wednesday). There was some annoyance about this in The Hague.’’