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Salient: An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 12, No. 1, February 23rd, 1949.

World Reaction To Dutch Action

World Reaction To Dutch Action

It will be recalled how, on Sunday, July 20, 1947. armed with British and American tanks, planes, firearms and warships, the Netherlands Junkers launched their long-prepared war against the two-year-old Republic of Indonesia.

With extraordinary rapidity the forces of decency and humanity in the world replied to Indonesia's call for aid. Nehru thundered. "We will not tolerate foreign armies operating in Asian countries." The World Federation of Trade Unions called on the working men to stand by the Indonesians, The Australian water-siders re-imposed their ban on all Dutch shipping and the students of the University of Sydney braved police bashings to voice their protest.

Victoria responded no less speedily. Within six days a petition to the Netherlands Minister (which was eventually to bear 356 signatures) was being circulated; an excellent folder giving an account of the history of the Republic and the Dutch plans for its destruction had been printed and a special meeting of the Socialist Club unanimously decided on a public demonstration as the only means by which the gravity of the Dutch action could be brought home to the people.

As the club said, in a circular distributed to all students: "The Dutch action cynically contravenes the principles of the United Nations and Atlantic Charters for which many of Victoria's students laid down their lives. This type of action contains the seeds of future world war in the same way as Japan's attack on Manchuria. Mussolini's on Abyssinia and Hitler's on Austria."