Kostrad sends battalion for hostage rescue<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad)
\nhas sent a battalion to Irian Jaya to help with the military's
\ncampaign to release 13 people, including six Europeans, held
\ncaptive by separatist rebels in the eastern province.<\/p>\n
Kostrad Chief Maj. Gen. Tarub told reporters yesterday that
\nthe 432d air-borne battalion is already in the area and is at the
\ndisposal of the Trikora Military Command chief who is heading the
\noperation to release the hostages.<\/p>\n
Tarub said his men were all prepared to conduct the operation.
\n"But the final decision must come from Trikora Command Chief Maj.
\nGen. A. Dunidja," he said after meeting with President Soeharto
\nat the latter's Jl. Cendana residence.<\/p>\n
Kostrad is the Army's elite combat force with between 25,000
\nand 26,000 soldiers.<\/p>\n
Tarub yesterday reported to the President about the
\npreparations for the command's 35th anniversary. Soeharto headed
\nthe command when it crushed a coup attempt against President
\nSukarno in 1965.<\/p>\n
This is the first public disclosure that Kostrad troopers have
\nbeen dispatched to Irian Jaya. Earlier reports only suggested the
\npresence of troopers from the Army's special force.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Dunidja has insisted on using a persuasive approach
\nwith the rebels to obtain the safe release of all the hostages,
\nalthough many people have said that the use of force should be
\nconsidered to bring to an end to the crisis that began on Jan. 8.<\/p>\n
Tarub, who once headed the Trikora Command, said that the
\nseparatist rebels possess automatic fire arms, most of which are
\nstandard Indonesian military weapons like the M16s which they
\nseized during raids against military outposts.<\/p>\n
He ruled out the possibility of the rebels receiving weapons
\nfrom foreign countries.<\/p>\n
Antara reported yesterday that a team from the International
\nCommittee of the Red Cross, which has been in Irian Jaya for the
\npast two weeks, flew out of Wamena for a meeting with the rebels.
\nIt was not immediately clear whether the meeting took place but
\nthe team returned a few hours later.<\/p>\n
Headed by its Jakarta chief representative Henry Fournier, the
\nRed Cross team last week made contact with the rebels and set a
\ndate for a meeting sometimes this week.<\/p>\n
The Red Cross participation in the efforts to release the
\nhostages came at the rebels' request and with the knowledge and
\nsupport of the military. In addition to the Red Cross officials,
\nlocal church officials have taken part in the mediation efforts.<\/p>\n
Antara said the search for the rebels, with their hostages,
\nwas concentrated in the forest around the Mapunduma village in
\nthe Jayawijaya regency.<\/p>\n
Military officers said the rebels have settled in a location
\nthat was difficult to reach.<\/p>\n
The 13 hostages include four Britons, two Dutch citizens, and
\nseven Indonesians. They were members of a fauna and flora
\nexpedition to the Lorentz natural reserve near Jayawijaya.<\/p>\n
There has been news about their condition since last week,
\nwhen the military received letters from the hostages suggesting
\nthey were suffering from fatigue and that the health of Martha
\nKlein, a Dutch hostage who is four-months pregnant, was
\ndeteriorating from a possible case of malaria. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kostrad-sends-battalion-for-hostage-rescue-1447893297",
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