DUTCH TROOPS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25357, 12 November 1945, Page 5

DUTCH TROOPS

HOLD-UP IN SYDNEY TRANSFER TO TRANSPORT CREW THEN LEAVES LINER (Recti. 10.30 p.m.) SYDNEY. Nov. 11 The 1600 Dutch troops on the Stirling Castle were transferred this morning to the line Moreton Bay. The crew of the latter immediately walked ashore and held a meeting, which was addressed by an official of the Australian Seamen's Union. The official later interviewed the captain of the Moreton Bay, who ordered the men to return to the ship tomorrow morning. When it was pointed out to him that a reply might not have been received from the National Union of Seamen in London (which was cabled asking for a ruling whether the ship should sail) by that time the captain gave the men until live o'clock tomorrow afternoon to return. It is understood that if the men do not return a naval crew will be placed on board the Moreton Bay to enable her to sail. A section of the British crew of the Moreton Bay opposed the sailing of the ship without a direction from London, in view of the attitude of the Seamen's Union in Australia. The position is complicated by the fact that the crew of the Moreton Bay was signed on before the war ended and the ship is directly under the East Asia Command. The liner is an auxiliary to the Navy and the seamen would be guilty of an act "near to mutiny" if they refused to obey orders. AUSTRALIANS BARRED SERVICE WITH DUTCH air force plan dropped (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) SYDNEY,'Nov. It The Federal Government ha? ordered that no members of the Royal Australian Air Force will be allowed to leave Australia to serve with the Dutch forces in Java, said a Government spokesman in Canberra. Last week a call for ground staff volunteers to serve with the Dutch in Java was officially made at the Bradfield Park R.A.A.F. camp, Sydney, and the daily routine order calling for such volunteers was still posted on the notice board at Brad field yesterday. An officer at Bradficld said many of the ground staff had submitted applications. . The Government spokesman said that before the outbreak of the trouble in Java the War Cabinet had agreed to make 250 R.A.A.F. ground staff available to the Dutch squadrons. When the trouble developed between tho Indonesians and the Dutch the Government cancelled the arrangements and ordered that no members of the R.A.A.l 1 . should be allowed to go to Java to serve with the Dutch.

LEAVE CZECHOSLOVAKIA ALLIED PROTECTION FORCES (Heed. G.ao p.m.) WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 I The State Department announced that the United States and Russia will withdraw their forces from Czechoslovakia by December because "Allied forces are no longer needed to protect the Czechoslovak people against Nazi depredations." The announcement pointed out that the presence of the Allied forces undoubtedly constitutes n drain on Czechoslovak economy, delaying the country's recovery and rehabilitation. The Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Dr Z. Kiel-linger, told the National Assembly in Prague that Czechoslovakia was bound by agreement to render the I Jed Army services, rations and materials and bear a portion of their personal expenses, but Russia was supplying, without payment, modern equipment for the Czech Army, thus saving millions of crowns.