Word: sukarno
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Like Gilbert & Sullivan's John Wellington (The Sorcerer) Wells, Indonesia's President Sukarno is a believer In magic and spells, In blessings and curses And ever-filled purses, In prophecies, witches, and knells...
Indonesia's rabble-rousing, globe-trotting President Sukarno gets a kick out of meeting other heads of state-it boosts his prestige. But last week Sukarno summoned Britain's ambassador to Djakarta, regretfully called off a trip to London (scheduled for next week) to meet Queen Elizabeth. The British managed to control their disappointment...
Official reason for the cancellation was "rising tension" over West New Guinea (West Irian to the Indonesians), which Sukarno keeps threatening to "liberate" from Dutch rule. Actually, while Sukarno kept ranting, he managed quietly to postpone his deadline. Before, he had sounded as if an invasion of New Guinea were imminent, but now he shouted: "Whatever happens, before the sun rises on Jan. 1, 1963, West Irian will be ours. If the Dutch oppose peaceful means, we shall liberate with force." Before Jan. 1, 1963, Sukarno wall have plenty to preoccupy him at home...
Last week Sukarno installed a military-style "Economic Operations Staff" to deal with the situation. The governor of the National Bank became an army major general; the Chief Minister became a full general; the Foreign Affairs Minister became an air force vice marshal; the Distribution Minister became a rear admiral. The costume change will probably inspire a flurry of salutes at staff meetings, but as long as Sukarno keeps Indonesia on a war footing, the switch will be of little help...
...Sukarno went back to his military preparations. More than 25,000 Indonesian invasion troops are now in training, and even young girls in toreador pants and green forage caps drill in Djakarta parks. In Hong Kong and Tokyo, Indonesian agents are shopping for the landing craft that Sukarno needs to ferry troops across 1,600 miles of sea to New Guinea...