Indonesians Thought Likely To Reject Offer By Dutch

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22883, 1 March 1949, Page 5

Indonesians Thought Likely To Reject Offer By Dutch

(11.20 a.m.) BATAVIA, Feb. 28. The rejection by the Republicans of the Dutch round-table proposal seems indicated in a cable message from Mr. Roem, chairman of the Republican delegation, to the chairman of the United Nations’ Commission.

On Saturday night the Dutch Government announced that it had decided to release the Republican leaders and had invited all parties concerned to a roundtable conference at The Hague. Mr. Roem said: “This new move of the Netherlands, as so often before, gives expression to their denial of the legality of the Security Council’s intervention and substitutes a different proDosal on their own authority. Our Government will, however, never co-operate in anv action evading the implementation of the Security Council’s resolution.”

Mr. Roem also said that the Netherlands official who delivered the letter of invitation to the Indonesian President, Dr. Soekarno, “in a verbal elucidation made it perfectly clear that on no account will the Government comply with the condition to restore the actual Government of the Republic in its power over any part of the territory.” The official also explained that contrary to the wording of his Government’s statement on the abrogation of the remaining restrictions concerning the liberty of movement of the Republican leaders, we shall in no case be allowed to return to Jogjakarta."