Awaiting a happy end

Awaiting a happy end

After having been held captive for more than 50 days by a
armed separatist gang in the jungle of Irian Jaya, there is still
no sign that the hostages -- consisting of six Indonesians, four
Britons and two Dutch citizens, most of whom are young scientists
-- will be released.

Reports indicate they have been forced by their captors to
walk from one cave to another in dense jungle. One can imagine
how bitter the ordeal is. One of the Dutch hostages is reported
to be pregnant and suffering from malaria.

For the Indonesian government, their rescue is perhaps the
most difficult and delicate rescue operation it has undertaken.
The Indonesian Armed Forces have made it clear they will continue
trying to settle the conflict through persuasion, stressing that
firmer action would only be resorted to if "acts of brutality"
are committed by the abductors.

The government has been patient in negotiating with the
insurgents, but the separatists continue to demonstrate their
illogic by holding captive innocent people. A solution is
borderline impossible because the hostage takers routinely break
their promises.

Illogic is the main difficulty in dealing with the rebels.
They are waging a war for a cause that does not appear
reasonable. Apparently, the hostage takers have not realized they
will lose in the long run. There have been several cases of armed
insurgency and terrorism in Indonesian since 1948 -- all have
been crushed.

In what has so far been a peaceful confrontation, the main
battle the administration in Irian Jaya has waged is the fight
against nature. The insurgents have been using the jungle as a
natural hurdle and weapon. The sparse population of Irian Jaya is
another difficulty. If the province's 1.5 million people lived in
a smaller area, it would take only a local administrator -- a
mayor or a regent -- to supervise them.

The population, however, is spread across a vast and
formidable area. The population pockets create many problems,
mainly in managing security and communications in the province.
There have been at least three kidnappings, all by the same gang,
in the province in the last several months. The isolation of the
population centers have made the kidnappings possible.

The drama is difficult to solve. A military operation would
endanger the lives of the hostages, but allowing the gang to hold
the 12 hostages prolongs the uncertainty and their suffering.

Success would encourage the armed gang to grab more innocent
people as a publicity gimmick, so, as the world awaits a happy
end to the drama, the military should take steps to prevent
another hostage taking.

A possible solution could be insisting groups working in
isolated areas of Irian Jaya be escorted by the military. Or,
limits could be set on the number of projects allowed at one time
in the province's isolated areas.