YES OR NO ANSWER

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22510, 13 December 1947, Page 5

YES OR NO ANSWER

REPUBLICAN ATTITUDE CEASE-FIRE PROPOSALS DUTCH MAKE REQUEST (11 a.m.) . BATAVIA, Dec. 12. Jonkeer van Vredenburch, chairman of the Netherlands special committee dealing with the Indonesian cease-fire negotiations, has called for a clear-cut answer, yes or no, from the Republic to stop the “silent fight” against unarmed civilians of all nationalities in the country and to end the wanton destruction of its resources. This is stated in a Netherlands-Indies Government communique issued today. He revealed that the Netherlands some time ago during the negotiations proposed that a stand-fast should be immediately be proclaimed for troops facing each other along the demarcation lines and that all Republican fighting groups still in areas occupied by Netherlands troops should be evacuated to Republican territory. The communique contained Jonkeer van Vredenburch’s speech at the last meeting of the cease-fire special committee aboard the United States Navy transport Renville in Batavia harbour on Wednesday. The communique said the speech was released because of incorrect news published by the Republican Information Ministry that the Netherlands had rejected the proposals by the Security Council’s three-nations’ committee, good offices to speed the cease-fire agreement and clear the way for the main political talks on the whole of the Indonesian issue. Authoritative Republican sources commenting on the communique said it was incorrect that the Netherlands had rejected the cease-fire proposals, but neither had the Netherlands accepted them as the Republic unconditionally had done, believing them to be just. ____________