Government urged to fight for release of all hostages

Government urged to fight for release of all hostages

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakir , The Jakarta Post,
Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe.

Two anti-separatist groups in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam held
rallies in separate towns, demanding the government help with the
relese of all people abducted by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

A group of people calling themselves the Benteng Rakyat
organization (Berantas) marched on Thursday in front of the
Lilawangsa military district headquarters in Lhokseumawe where
several government and Red Cross officials were meeting to
discuss efforts to release RCTI television cameraman Fery Santoro
and other civilians being held by GAM.

GAM commander in East Aceh Ishak Daud has called for a two-day
cease-fire to allow for the safe delivery of the hostages, a
condition that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and martial law
administration have rejected.

The Berantas members toted banners demanding the release of
all the civilians which they said numbered almost 280 people.

Lt. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, secretary to the coordinating minister
for security and political affairs, arrived earlier this week in
Aceh along with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to discuss negotiations about
a temporary cease-fire for the release of the hostages.

Berantas coordinator Muhammad Satria Kamil said the government
and the Red Cross officials should work hard for the release of
"at least 279 civilians".

The demand for the civilians' release has been mounting
following the death of other RCTI journalist Sory Ersa Siregar in
a gunbattle between GAM rebels and TNI troops, and killed by a
military bullet according to TNI's version on Dec. 29.

Meanwhile, 30 Aceh residents from a group calling itself the
Aceh Salvage Front (FPA) rallied in front of the ICRC
representative office in Banda Aceh with similar demands.

The two pro-Jakarta groups have been created in the lasted
eight months, since the government declared martial law in May
2003 and launched an all-out military attack to crack down on the
independence struggle.

Separately, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
HAM), at a plenary meeting, decided on Thursday to establish a
special team to probe the case of Fery and the late Ersa.

Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, who chairs the commission said
that the commission decided to focus on only the journalists
because of their "very important role in the coverage of Aceh."

The commission has not yet released details about the makeup
of the team.

The establishment of the team will be managed by the
commission's monitoring division led by M.M. Billah, whose
straight-shooting criticism of martial law and allegations of
abuse have irked the military.

Fery's group, including two military officers' wives, have
spent six months in custody, during which the TNI and GAM argued
over conditions to release the hostages. The RCTI driver managed
to escape from GAM during one of the almost daily gunbattles with
TNI troops.