Fery hopes for release of all civilian captives
Tiarma Siboro and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banda Aceh
Cameraman Fery Santoro is valiantly maintaining hope for a safe release for himself and dozens of other civilian hostages held by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) -- despite failed attempts involving the international and local Red Cross, and a fresh incident on Monday in which a GAM spokesman was killed and a Red Cross worker went missing.
"I hope the TNI (Indonesian Military) and GAM will reach an agreement to rescue all civilians so we can reunite with our families," Fery, who has been held for almost eight months, told The Jakarta Post from an undisclosed location in East Aceh on Tuesday.
"But if things remain like this, even a 10-day cease-fire might not resolve it (the release of hostages)," he said, adding that scores of troops surrounded the location each day. Fery's colleague and fellow captive, journalist Sory Ersa Siregar, was killed on Dec. 29 in what the TNI says was a gunfight with GAM members.
The employee of RCTI TV station said his hopes for release were renewed when the local GAM commander, Ishak Daud, told him last week that Red Cross members were going to visit their location and provide medication to villagers and GAM fighters.
He was taken to meet them on Sunday but on Monday a clash occurred, after which he was told by Ishak that his spokesman, Teungku Mansor, was killed.
A member of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) told journalists on Tuesday that nine of them were rescued by the TNI following the five-minute shootout in Bagok district, East Aceh.
"Unfortunately, one of us, Budiman Ramli, is still with GAM," Yunus Yahya said at the Military District Command Headquarters in Langsa regency. He said a gunfight occurred shortly after soldiers went on patrol in Keude Geurubak, Idi Rayeuk district.
Col. Andogo, a TNI strike force commander in eastern Aceh territory, said soldiers were assigned to safeguard the PMI members. The team had written permission from the martial law administration in Jakarta and Nanggroe Aceh Darrusalam, he said. But it turned out they changed their route and headed to the north, away from Peureulak, he added. "Nevertheless we still tried to guard them."
According to Ishak, the team had arrived in villages since Saturday and was "intercepted" by TNI soldiers on their way to GAM hideouts. Following the clash on Monday he said TNI took away several boxes of drugs from the PMI team as well as vehicles belonging to the humanitarian workers.
Mansor was killed by soldiers as he tried to welcome PMI members, according to Ishak.
"Pak Iyang called me by phone, saying that he would come to the site and meet Fery there directly. But as the situation turned ugly, I realized that he was not there," Ishak said, referring to PMI secretary-general Iyang Sukandar.
Iyang confirmed that the PMI managed to meet the civilians, but he failed to do so himself following the clash between the warring groups.
According to Yahya, a PMI member, before the clash the rebels had earlier guided them to a hut and they had started treating around 20 civilians, mostly women and children, who were suffering from malaria and other diseases.