SIGNED AT LAST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22289, 26 March 1947, Page 5

SIGNED AT LAST

CHERIBON PACT FUTURE OF INDONESIA DISTRUST BANISHMENT ' (10.15 a.m.) BATAVIA, March 25. Nineteen months of revolution, bloodshed, and protracted negotiations ended in Indonesia to-day with the signing of the Cheribon agreement. It provides for de facto recognition of the Republic of Java, Sumatra and Madura and the formation by 1949 of a United States of Indonesia, which will enter into a union under the Dutch Crown. The principal signatories were the Lieutenant-Governor, Dr. van Mook, and the Indonesian Prime Minister, M. Sjahrir. Quarrels Now Past Speaking after the ceremony, Dr. van Mook said the times of quarrelling and negotiating were past. The times of friendship and co-operation had come. In these first days it would be difficult for all to fix their line of conduct and their place in the new 7 situation. “May we, however, have heart to tackle the work firmly, joyfully and without a pre-conceived distrust or mental reservation. Those who have assisted in concluding this agreement are bound to give all their strength so that the desire of those millions behind them —a deep desire for peace and liberty—may come true.” Still Much Uncertainty M. Sjahrir said the signing would greatly influence the history of the Indonesian people. But there was still a great deal of uncertainty, doubt and distrust about it in the minds of the Indonesian people. It was still not clear to the majority what the future held in store. The Indonesians still stood face to face with the sons of Holland, guns in hand for killing and looking upon each other as a threat or enemy to be annihilated. The sky was still dark in this beautiful country, but with the signing there had come already a sigh of relief from the troubled breast of Indonesia. It was now possible to look forward, and there were indications of the possibility of forgetting the past and concentrating on hopes of the times to come.