Cypher/Cat A
CONFIDENTIAL
124
PRIORITY DJAKARTA TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Telno. 563
7 August 1967
CONFIDENTIAL
Addressed to F.0. telegram No. 563 of 7 August Repeated for information to:
Peking, Hong Kong,
and Saving to POLAD Singapore, Washington.
My immediately preceding telegram:
Attack on Chinese Embassy.
The local Press account seems to be broadly accurate. The Youth Groups involved were not students but mainly young thugs associated with Moslem parties.
2.They used something in the nature of Commando tactics, seizing any vehicles they could lay hands on (including a Landrover from this Embassy, which fortunately made its way back before it could be implicated in the affair) to drive them to and converge suddenly on the Chinese Embassy and break down the heavy main gate with a truck. It is unlikely that the local authorities, who have taken the leaders in for questioning, had fore-knowledge of the attack. But the District Military Commander certainly seems to have taken his time about sending troops in to break it up.
3. I found the Minister of Information yesterday embarrassed by the incident. He commented that Peking would never believe that it was not provoked by the Indonesian authorities and that the inevitable official reaction there would make difficulties for his Government at a time when it was doing its best to withstand mount- ing local pressure to sever diplomatic relations.
40 It looks as if the Youth Groups involved were attempting to force this latter issue and that the recent Indonesian official statements referred to in paragraph 3 of my immediately preceding telegram were only a pretext for action. However this may be, some quarters here fear that continued action of the kind will play straight into the hands of Peking, which must relish any event that by disturbing Indonesian as well as C.P.R. Chinese in this country renders. the rehabilitation of the economy that much more difficult, dependent as it is on Chinese entrepreneurs.
F.0. pass Peking 7, Hong Kong 38, and Saving to Washington 38.
Mr. Phillips
Sent 1115Z 7 August Recd 1510Z 7 August
RECEIVED, IN
[Repeated as requested]
15.63
LAST
F.0./C.0./WH DISTRIBUTION REF S.E.A.D.
123
-410.101
CONFIDENTIAL
SENT TO HONG KONG AS COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (D.T.D.) TELEGRAM
77777
NO.
1624
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