Not as Brothers

In a sweltering wood-and-asbestos shed in the backyard of the building where Indonesia had proclaimed its independence twelve years ago, some 150 leaders of the chaotic and divided young republic met last week to see if they could keep their independence and still remain a nation. Said Prime Minister Djuanda: "The central government does not wish to dictate anything. Let's not find faults. Let's discuss our problems with open hearts, and a brotherly manner."

It was a tribute to Djuanda's personal political stature, as well as to his powers of persuasion, that the conference convened at all. Among those assembled were the rebellious army colonels who in recent months have staged a series of bloodless revolts in Sumatra, Borneo and East Indonesia against the central government and President Sukarno's plans for introducing "guided democracy" into Indonesia. The young colonels, headed by fair-skinned, 35-year-old Lieut. Colonel Ventje Sumual, put their faith in the one Indonesian whose prestige is at all equal to Sukarno's: Mohammed Hatta. Hatta, one of the "founding fathers" of Indonesia along with Sukarno, resigned last December as Vice President, in protest at Sukarno's insistence on Communist participation in his "guided democracy," which has helped the Communists win a string of electoral victories in Java.

Colonel in Disguise. Despite Djuanda's fervent appeal for openhearted and brotherly discussion at last week's conference, the people in the shed eyed one another mistrustfully throughout. Before the conference began, Colonel Sumual carefully disguised himself as a Chinese merchant and made a secret trip from Celebes to Sumatra to confer with his fellow rebel colonels. They decided to attend the conference only if Premier Djuanda and Mohammed Hatta would guarantee their personal safety. This the two statesmen agreed to do.

Colonel Sumual was officially invited only as the delegate of "North Celebes," but after the conference opened, he stated his position with blunt and studied nonchalance. Said he pointedly: "I speak for East Indonesia." Chairman Djuanda interrupted. "Have you the consent of other East Indonesian areas [i.e., the Moluccas and Bali]?" "Yes," snapped Sumual, then launched into a vigorous attack against central government corruption.

Black Umbrella. Like other speakers at the conference, Sumual insisted that Sukarno and Hatta reconcile their differences. "If the worst comes to the worst," added one of the colonels, "they might as well be replaced by a new national leader." The colonels' favorite choice for such a leader: the taciturn and widely respected Sultan of Djokjakarta.

Sukarno yielded to his soldiers' entreaties, called on Hatta privately for two hours and requested Hatta's good offices in persuading the rebel colonels to obey constitutional authority again. Hatta agreed, provided that Sukarno would forgo his "unconstitutional" approach to Indonesia's problems. After the meeting they strolled out together, Sukarno armed with a black umbrella, the traditional symbol for Javanese aristocracy. For the assembled photographers they shook hands several times. But when the photographers asked them to join hands like brothers, they refused.

The conference officially ended with the signing of a vaguely worded statement in which both Sukarno and Hatta restated the original aims of the Indonesian proclamation of independence. Though some officials professed that all was now in order, neither of the two leaders seemed overly enthusiastic at what they had achieved. But the conference seemed to settle one point: Indonesia's army, long regarded as completely under Sukarno's thumb, has become a political force in its own right--and one that by no means sees eye to eye with the President.

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