De Nieuwe Stem. Jaargang 13

[p. 601]

Charles Meeking
Netherlands, Australia and Indonesia

Not all Dutchmen, and comparatively few Australians, realise either the extent of the mutual interests of the Netherlands, Australia and Indonesia, or the dangers to be three nations which could arise from the Dutch-Indonesian dispute over West New Guinea and from the well-publicised arming of Dutch and Indonesian forces.

Discovery of a peaceful, amicable and permanent solution would enable these nations to work together. It would remove one point of world friction. Are any of the parties interested in seeking settlement?

It is easy to become emotional about the past. It is equally simple to delve into legalistic depths on the rival claims. There has been some harsh speaking on both sides in the United Nations and elsewhere. There is talk of ‘colonialism’, there are undertones of Communist ambitions and of coloured races versus white. Yet bitterness, past and present, offers no satisfactory way out. It could lead to sad conflict.

Australia's interest is two-fold. The major and admitted aspect is the future security of the Australian mainland and its territories in New Guinea and the Pacific. (Few people realise that 10 million Australians control territories ranging from the Equator to the South Pole). There is also the interest in the situation of the 100,000 Dutch migrants who have come to Australia since the end of World War II - many of them from Indonesia.

Dutch migrants have been readily assimilated into the Australian community, and find themselves welcomed. Indonesians come only as students or diplomats, and, like other coloured races, are not admitted¹⁾

1) Dit korte Engelse artikel van de Australiër Charles Meeking meende de redactie in het oorspronkelijke te mogen plaatsen. Meeking heeft in zijn kwaliteit van redacteur van ‘The Leader’ te Melbourne als lid van een gezelschap journalisten onder leiding van de Australische minister van voorlichting, senator H. Folle, een maand doorgebracht in het toenmalige Nederlands Oost-Indië. Hij is perssecretaris geweest (1944-'47) van de tegenwoordige minister-president R.G. Menzies, toen deze leider der oppositie was. Hij is redacteur van ‘The Camberra Times’ geweest, in welke kwaliteit hij in 1952 vier maanden in de Verenigde Staten heeft doorgebracht, waarna hij over Canada, Mexico, Engeland, Duitsland, Frankrijk en Indonesië naar Australië is teruggekeerd. In 1954 bracht hij een maand door in Indonesië als gast van de Indonesische regering. Hij heeft Timor, Bali, Java, Sumatra, Noord- en Zuid-Celebes en de Molukken bezocht.

[p. 602]

for permanent residence. Under the Colombo Plan some financial and technical assistance has been given by Australia to Indonesia, but it is doubtful whether many Indonesians are aware of this. The then Australian socialist Government gave tacit support to die Indonesians when the Dutch were expelled in 1945, but on the West New Guinea issue both the Menzies Liberal-Country Party Government and the socialist Opposition have supported the Dutch.

Some of those Australians, few in number, who have studied the situation with care, are troubled at the implications of this policy, and disturbed by some of its manifestations. They are perfectly aware that in these days of intercontinental missiles and nuclear submarines the island of New Guinea is no longer a defence ‘umbrella’ for Australia. They are uneasy at possible reactions from the fact that the whole of Asia eastwards from Israel supports the Indonesian claim. They do not like the likely results of Indonesian economic and political instability arising from continuous pockets of rebellion, low prices for major products and the pressure of Indonesian Communists. Neither are they happy about the Dutch military reinforcements reaching West New Guinea.

It is recognised that although the Netherlands reports to the U.N. Trusteeships Committee concerning West New Guinea she is, in fact, under no legal obligation to do, and is not prohibited, as Australia is, from fortifying the area.

It is not generally appreciated in Australia that a combination of interests in Holland believes that West New Guinea should be handed to Indonesia, or that some highly critical reports on the Dutch administration have been made by parliamentary delegations recently. There is some publicity about the administrative co-operation now being developed between die Australian and Dutch administrations in New Guinea.

Little is known about Dutch-Indonesian relationships before the Japanese invasion in 1942, or of the Dutch reluctance to devote more of the income from the rich Indies to either the defence of the area or to more health and educational services for the Indonesians. Yet in 1941 the then commander-in-chief of the N.E.I., General Berenschot, was compelled to say to a visiting delegation from Australia which had been shown the defences, ‘Now, gentlemen, you know all our weakness.’ To day, if the situation caused even limited war, would the Dutch forces be more effective? And what would the rest of Asia do?

[p. 603]

It is not an exaggeration to say that Indonesia's future holds the key to the future of Australia's 10 million, including the 100,000 new Dutch arrivals. More and more Australians are demanding that the rigid attitude of the Netherlands over West New Guinea, an attitude undoubtedly due in large measure to the insistent support of the Australian Government, should be modified, and that Australia should also take a second look at its policy and the possible results of it.

One stumbling block, admittedly, is the Indonesian determination to be given sovereignty before discussing anything. Any relaxing of this demand would mean a loss of ‘face’ in Asia which Indonesia is not prepared to contemplate, and this fact must be recognised. The problem for Australia and Holland is whether in the long run it will not be better for themselves to accept this through some carefully-worded formula, in the hope of saving Indonesia as a democratic and non-Communist state and as an area of developing economy which will offer many opportunities for the economies of the Netherlands and Australia.

Any such decision will not be easy for either the Netherlands or Australia. It will be highly unpalatable for the statesmen whose emphatic declarations of the past are on the record. Yet it could be that the concession will lead the Indonesians into a more agreeable mood, give them in turn the opportunity of being generous to the Dutch in particular and to their nearby neighbour, Australia.

Some form of agreement between the three nations for the major development of the Indies, so rich in manpower and natural resources, so poor in capital and technical kndwledges, could be of immense benefit to all, and offer to the world an example of peaceful co-operation of great magnitude.

Is it too late for some move to be made? If it is not too late, who will take the first step?