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.