ICRC joins hostages search<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A team has ventured into the Irian Jaya jungle
\nto locate the 13 people, including six Europeans, still held
\nhostage by Free Papua Movement (OPM) separatist rebels.<\/p>\n
Four members of the International Committee of the Red Cross
\n(ICRC), a missionary, paramedics, and several tribal leaders set
\noff on Tuesday, spokesman for the Trikora Military Command, Lt.
\nCol. Maulud Hidayat, said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The attempt was the first to look for the rebels and their
\nhostages since the ICRC joined the effort to release the hostages
\non Feb. 9 on the request of the rebels and the Indonesian
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
\"So far there's no information whether the team has made
\ncontact with the rebels,\" Maulud was quoted by the Antara news
\nagency as saying.<\/p>\n
The team was set up by the military in an effort to free the
\nhostages seized in Mapunduma village in the Jayawijaya regency on
\nJan. 8. The military has not been able to determine the
\nwhereabouts of the rebels and the hostages since they left
\nMapunduma on Jan. 25.<\/p>\n
The 13 hostages, mostly members of a scientific expedition to
\nthe Lorentz nature reserve, consist of four Britons, two Dutch,
\nand seven Indonesians. The rebels' main demand is for
\nrecognition of a West Papua state in return for the release of
\ntheir captives. The Indonesian government has turned it down.<\/p>\n
The rebels have already released 13 hostages, including a
\nGerman scientist, in exchange for food and medicine.<\/p>\n
Maulud said that the team is also carrying two messages from
\nthe chief of the Trikora Military Command, Maj. Gen. A. Dunidja,
\nwho is leading the operation to rescue the hostages.<\/p>\n
Dunidja assured rebel leader Daniel Yudas Kogoya that military
\npersonnel put on alert around Mapunduma are seeking a peaceful
\nsolution to the crisis and will avoid bloodshed.<\/p>\n
Secondly, he stressed that the rebels would not be prosecuted
\nif they voluntarily surrender to the military authorities.<\/p>\n
Maulud said that Dunidja has requested the ICRC representative
\nHenry Fournier to deliver the messages directly to the rebels if
\nmakes direct contact with them.<\/p>\n
Fournier said that the guarantee of the rebels' safety could
\nbe of great help in the effort to release the hostages.<\/p>\n
Maulud expressed his confidence that the efforts to release
\nthe hostages will continue to run smoothly. (31)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/icrc-joins-hostages-search-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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