Evening star., 1945-11-12
Indonesians Ask
Red Mediation
AsBatt|e Rages
Indian Troops Gain
Control of Nearly
All of Soeroboju
Ey the Associated Press.


BATAVIA, Java, Nov. 12.-For-
eign Minister Soebardjo pleaded
today for Soviet intervention on
behalf of his unrecognized lido
nesian republic as heavily-sup-
ported British Indian infantry
renewed the houSe-to-houSe as
sault which drove Idonesian Ma
tionalists from Soerabaja.
Indian forces gained control of
virtually all of Soerabaja today, the
Netherlands news agency Aneta said,
as British tank crews turned back
fanatical charges by Indonesian Ma
tionalists.
Many Indonesians were killed in
the charges, the Dutch dispatch
said. There still was no indication,
however, that the natives were pre-
pairing to give up the fight.
Appeal to Molotov.
"It is apparent now that Britain
Is paving the way for the reim-
position of Dutch rule in Indonesia,"
SoebardJo said in a radio appeal
addressed to Soviet Foreign Com
missar v. M. Molotov.
The Indonesian leader asked that
the Russians aid in winning Justice
from the world" for the Indonesians.
He promised that the Indonesians
would assist Allied forces in dis
arming and evacuating Java-based
Japanese forces.
by the very principle of inde-
pendencs we do not like foreign
troops on Indonesian SOIL" Soebardjo
told the Soviet foreign commissar.
He added, however, that the pres
ence of British troops is tolerable for
certain time"
Soerabaja Curfew Ordered.
Meanwhile, British headquarters
ordered curfew at Soerbaja from
10 pm. to 4:30 am. The British
said their artillery had silenced In
donesian-manned Japanese tanks in
the fighting in the city.
Fighting also broke out last night
In Tandjoengpriok, the port of Ba-
tavia, when Indonesian bands at
tempted to attack warehouses, the
British said.
The battle for the big naval base
ragged with unabated fury after
week end of fighting in which the
British renewed their air attacks
on Indonesian forces. Indonesian
tanks were reported to have fired
80 shells into the 5th Indian Di-
vision ranks.
Both Indonesian and British
sources indicated that Indonesian
casualties were heavy. President
Soekarno declared that thousands
and thousands" of civilians had been
killed in vast massacre" An of
hcial British report said many of
the enemy" were slain in "fanatical
charges against British tanks" and
that many Indonesian bodies were
removed by women" after Saturdays
fighting.
The British announced that their
flghter-bombers had blasted the
main Indonesian Army headquar-
ters and three other staff head
quarters with direct hits.
Twenty-one British Sherman
tanks and a number of tracked
gun carriers (turretless Shermans)
arrived in Batavia to reinforce Brit
ish forces in Java. They included
one squadron of a tank detach-
ment and the battalion headquar-
ters of the Duke of Connought's own
lancers.
8 Jap Generals Under Arrest.
Three top-ranking Japanese gen.
erals were placed under arrest by
British authorities on charges of
violating Allied surrender orders by
turning tanks, armored cars, guns
and ammunition over to the In
donesians. The three-identified as
1t. Gen. Nagano, commander of the
Japanese 18th Army; Maj. Gen.
Yamamoto, his chief of staff, and
Maj. Gen, Nakimura, commander
of Japanese forces in Central Java
will be removed to Singapore
Wednesday for trial as war Grim
inals.
Large quantities of arms were
captured by the Indians as they
pressed slowly forward in Soera-
baja under what an eyewitness
described as cover from naval guns,
artillery, mortars and fighter bomb
ers. An official announcement said
o. I1IT~11-