HC Deb 01 April 1946 vol 421 cc126-7W
117. Mr. J. L. Williams

asked the Secretary of State for War how many Allied prisoners of war and internees have been rescued by Allied troops in Java; and how many are still captive or waiting for embarkation.

Mr. Bellenger:

Since the Japanese surrender a total of approximately 2,750 Allied prisoners of war and internees other than Dutch have been recovered in Java. This total includes 1,416 British, 630 Commonwealth and Allied prisoners of war and approximately 70o civilian internees. All these people have been evacuated from Java with the possible exception of 150 civilians who may have been evacuated by now. There is no reason to believe that any prisoners of war or internees, other than Dutch, are unrecovered or in Indonesian hands. A total of 100,274 Dutch have been recovered, of whom 46,385 have been evacuated and 53,889 still remain in Java. It is estimated that a further 17,000 are in Indonesian hands, the vast majority of whom are civilians.

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