Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-12-08
independence Fight
Breaks Out in Borneo
Continued From Page AL

Continued From Page AL
the Sultan's palace of Brunei
city, the capital of Brunei, and
that the Sultan was under
heavy guard. The city is under
rebel control, he claimed, and
his army is marching on Jes-
selton in North Borneo.
Sabotage Threatened
IF the British attack us, my
instructions are to sabotage the
whole oil field Tin BruneD )" he
told newsmen.
In London an Air Ministry
spokesman said the Gurka
troops were being flown in TO-
day. Small attachments Of EN-
gineers and signal corps men
would be involved in the air.
lift.
Mr.. Azahari blamed British
stubborness" for the revolt,
claiming the British refused
to grant his people the right of
self determination. The rebels
oppose the projected union of
the three territories with Ma
laya and Singapore in a fedora
ton to be called Malaysia.
Mr.. Azahari said he plans to
leave for the United Nations
Tuesday or Wednesday ito pre-
sent my case to the General
Assembly and ask for recogni-
ton"
Sarawak Takes Steps
The Sarawak government
said at the outset. the situation
in Brunei was serious and 1t
took over emergency powers"
in Sarawak as a precautionary
step.
The Sarawak government
said field force reinforce
ments" had been sent to Mir,
headquarters Of Shell oilfield in
North Sarawak. The statement
described the situation at one
of the Miri oilfields as tense
but under control.
The government said rebel
influence extended throughout
the Brunei Bay area.
The British troop reinforce
ments from Singapore were re-
ported being sent to Labuan in
the bay about 80 miles north
east Of Brunei City and about
400 miles northeast of Kuching.
Mr.. Azahari said his Deputy
Prime Minister, Jassin Effendy,
was directing the revolt at the
scene.
- COMMUNICATIONS Out
The Shell Oil Co. in London
said all communications with
its oil installations in Brunei
had been cut off. Brunei,
bounded on all sides by Sara
wax, depends primarily on its
oil industry, but rubber is also
one Of its important products.
The big Seria oilfield, which
was damaged during World
War II and was in the hands
of the japanese, produces about
4 million tons of oil a year.
The Shell spokesman said,
I'VE have heard the installa-
tons are unchanged and there
are no casualties"
But he said it was not known
whether the installations had
fallen to the rebels.
About 200 expatriate families
were reported working for
Shell in the area, including
some British, Dutch and Aus
tralian.
Reports circulated here that
the rebels succeeded in seizing
some oil installations in Brunei
and a power station and were
fighting in Brunei City. the
capital of the tropical state.
Federation Role Denied
The population of Brunei was
estimated at 83,877 in 1860.
Sarawak had 744,529 inhab-
itants. and North Borneo
1929.
In Kuala Lumpur, the Ma
layan government said that in
its view the Brunei revolt had
nothing to do with the pro-
posed Malaysia federation. A
government statement said
Prime Minister Tunku Abdul
Rahman had repeatedly stated
that the people of Brunei were
free to choose for themselves
whether they wanted to join
Malaysia or not.
Mr.. Azahari said Europeans
will not be harmed by his men
unless they take up arms. He
said the revolutionaries have