Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

NLT(Naval Addelloo N OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON DECLASSIFIED E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 October 19, 1950 State Dept. Guidelines, March 6, 1982 By DEB NLT, Date 6-10-85 IOPSECREI SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS INDONESIA We have informed Ambassador Cochran in Djakarta that we believe we must concen- trate our efforts toward getting the Indonesians to help in finding some way to make Security Council consideration of the Ambon issue unnecessary. We believe that the best chances for such a move by the Indonesian Government would arise from an Indonesian willingness to make a conciliatory gesture in the direction of the Ambonese themselves. We point out that if the matter goes to the Security Council the major arguments of the Indonesians and the USSR will show a marked parallelism, and that the best interests of the US require avoidance of such a public display. We are there- fore convinced that Cochran should make a strong private demarche to the Indonesian Government, telling the Indonesian Foreign Minister that if his government will offer honorable and conciliatory terms to the Ambonese we will not only again urge the Dutch to stop pressing for Security Council consideration of the question but we will also instruct our representative on the Indonesian Commission to advise the Council that consideration of the matter is no longer necessary. INDOCHINA We have directed our Minister in Saigon to deliver to Bao Dai upon his arrival there a message stating our opinion that the leadership of Vietnam during this critical period is a factor of preponderant importance in decid- ing the ultimate outcome of the Indochina question. We believe that the Vietnam Government must display unusually strong and aggressive leadership and courage before a distraught and floundering people, and that Bao Dai--whose long absence from his country did not enhance his prestige at home--m - personally take up the reins of government and lead his country into energetic opposition to the Communist men- ace, making frequent public appearances to rally the people to the support of his government. Our message states that further pro- crastination would raise questions as to the wisdom of supporting a government incapable of exercising the autonomy it acquired at such great cost.