Evening star., 1948-09-26
Southeast Asia
Sniping at U. S,
Restoration of Old Rule
Held Due to Failure
of Our Diplomacy
By Harris Jockson.

sniping campaign at the United
States.
Perhaps this is due to the Com
munist leadership of the militant
Indo- Chinese Nationalists and OF one
segment of the Indonesian freedom
seekers who are following the Mos
cow line.
But such = line finds fertile
ground in the discomfort of ardent
Annamite and Indonesian National
lists who once looked on Uncle Sam
as their white hope-the great
white father who was going to boot
out the French and Dutch and re-
store these rich Asian territories to
their own people.
This hope was founded on Ameri-
cas- democratic history, the Atlantic
Charter and other American-in-
dorsed wartime documents, and
finally on the grant Of freedom to
the Philippines.
| U. S. Stock Wanes
This pro-Americanism (and ex-
pectations of American add was
fostered by wartime Office of Stra-
tegic Services underground workers
sympathetic to the leftist NATIONAL
lists who formed most Of these OSS
forces. This was particularly so in
Indo-China, where SO many Vichy-
tainted French put up not even a
token resistance to the japanese.
But United States stock with the
Nationalist started going down
when the Dutch launched their po-
lice action against the 1ndonesian
republic in July, 1947. The United
States made no all-out official move
to stop the Dutch military move.
Later the United States helped to
block movements to have the United
Nations arbitrate the Dutch -Indo-
nesian dispute.
So the u. N. merely sent good
Offices" team to Indonesia-a diplo-
matte group including a United
States member empowered only to
try to bring the Dutch and Indo-
nesians to agreement.
Press Is Critical
United States arguments and
United States-proposed political
principles" were largely responsible
for selling the Indonesians the Rem
vile truce agreement. BY this pact
the Indonesian republic recognized
at least temporarily. Dutch mill
tary gains in the ls47 fighting.
At first this brought no serious
criticism of the United States in the
Indonesian press. Then the convic-
ton grew that Marshall Plan aid
to the Netherlands meant the
United States was anxious to see
the Dutch retain economic and po-
Iiitical control of the Indies to safe
guard Hollands future. No politi-
cal agreement was reached between
the Dutch and Indonesians as l94s
dragged on.
In Indo-China the Annamite
press all along had been quick te
criticize the United States for hel
role in the Indonesian negotiations
Within q month after the Renville
signing both underground publica.
tions and Annamite papers licensed
by the French wrote widely that thu
United States, motivated by eco.
, nomic interests in the Indies anc
Europe, had sold out the Indone'
slams.
This criticism had at least thu
tacit approval of French colonia
) administration which tightly CENSOR
the Indo-China press. The French
; there. fighting precariously to hole
the country, have no love for tht
Americans, who helped arm AMMAN
ite members of the wartime under.
ground and who gave the nearby
J Philippines their independence. At
tacks on the United States in Indo.
China's French press have been fre:
quent, though yelled, for more thar
two years.
! New Charge Is Hurled
! This summer underground organs
of the Communist Nationalist
guerrillas have laid q new charge a,
the United States door. These widely
circulated ciandestine sheets and
tracts charge America is underwrit-
ing the French sponsored Annamite
provisional government ana the pro-
posed return Of the former Annamite
Emperor Bao Dai.
i Lien Wet, official organ of the
French -outlawed Saigon -Cholen Wet
Mini League, said: French and
American trusts are interested in
a mutual understanding in the strug-
gle against the independence move
nent of Southeast Asia peoples - :.
America agreed to let her Interests
be managed in Wet Nam by France.
This is the reason why the Bale
D'Along agreements recognizing the
provisional government and paving
the way for Bao Dai,s return could
be signed and the puppet government
set up"
Similarly, widely distributed Wet
Mini tract addressed to Bao Dai
charges the Bale D'Along agreements
were reached under the direction OF
the Americans"
! Distributed s' tbs A'''1'''d Pr'''