A NEW PACIFIC STATE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27275, 29 December 1949, Page 4

A NEW PACIFIC STATE

The signing of the Act which transferred sovereignty of the Indonesian Archipelago from Holland to the United Republic of Indonesia marked the maturity of the nationalist movement among the native people of this important part of the Dutch colonial empire. Historically, the republican movement in Indonesia, like that of India, can be traced back for half a century, to the time when the inhabitants commenced to assimilate Western techniques and liberal views of self-government. National feeling in Indonesia, however, received an additional’ stimulus from tfye “Asia for the Asiatics ” slogan preached by the Japanese at a time when they expected to bring all Asiatic nations under their influence, and from the “ republican ” advocacies of a smallcore of trained Communists which had been implanted in influential Indonesian circles. The outcome has not been what either the Japanese or the Communists expected, although the parturition has not been without the political pains that were predicted. The United Republic of Indonesia is, in every respect, a free and sovereign country, charting its own course towards ,the future. The basis of agreement with the Netherlands is that Indonesia will become a full partner with Holland in a Netherlands-Indonesian Union, but will acknowledge Queen Juliana as titular head of the union. There are many economic and political difficulties yet to be overcome, but the principle of absolute autonomy for Indonesia is inviolate, and negotiations between the two countries will be conducted as between equals. To New Zealand and to other nations of the Pacific, the establishment of a new sovereign State on the Pacific perimeter has a political and geograpliical.importance I that cannot be overlooked at the ’seat of Government, and the fact ! that the absence of a New Zealand representative at the ceremonies at Batavia —or Jakarta, as it is to be known in the future —has already been commented upon is an early indication that the new rulers of

Indonesia are sensitive to the opinions of their Pacific neighbours. The Government headed by Dr Mohammed Hatta is probably the most representative that could be formed in the present circumstances. The records of many of its members are by no means stainless, but these men appear to have learned by experience the art of compromise and the folly of excess. They have turned their backs on Communism and seem intent on creating a State which will provide the greatest benefits for the 72,000,000 people of the archipelago. The task is one of such magnitude that they will require much assistance, and it will be in the interests of other nations in the Pacific to ensure that help is freely given.