Dutch and Indonesians
The scanty news regarding the situation in Indonesia suggests that everything, or nearly everything, has gone as the Dutch planned. General Spoor has reported that operations in Java were concluded by December 31st, and in Sumatra they have now ended also, all that remains being police action against terrorist gangs. This information, of course, comes from Dutch sources ; the United Nations Good Offices Commission has not yet reported on the results of the Dutch military action. Meanwhile the visit of Dr. Drees, the Dutch Prime Minister, as well as of Jonkheer van Verduynen, Dutch Minister in London (who has presumably been in touch with Mr. Bevin) to the Indonesian islands should have beneficial results. Dr. Drees is a lifelong, a moderate and a most capable and intelligent Socialist, whom not even Pandit Nehru could seriously accuse of Imperialist ambitions. What Dr. Drees, and all Dutch opinion, wants is a federated and autonomous United States of Indonesia under a government democratically elected. The immediate step must be the formation of an interim Government in which all parts of Indonesia will be properly represented. It looks as though the Dutch military action, the causes of which are being better understood in this country, has brought this possibility con- siderably nearer, for substantial numbers of the former supporters of the Indonesian Republic are said to be co-operating with the Dutch, and the hold of the leaders of the Republican movement on the area it claims to control would appear to be precarious. News regarding all this, however, amounts to little and most of it comes from Dutch sources. The attempt of Pandit Nehru to convene a conference of Asiatic States, together with Australia and New Zealand, at Delhi to consider the Indonesian situation as a matter of urgency evinces much less statesmanship than the Indian Prime ' Minister has been displaying in the domestic field. Inflammatory speeches by largely irresponsible delegates could do no possible good, and might do considerable harm.
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