Hostage drama in Irian Jaya takes new twist
Hostage drama in Irian Jaya takes new twist
JAKARTA (JP): The hostage drama in Irian Jaya, which the
military had expected to resolve by midweek, took a new twist
following reports that a top separatist leader has joined forces
with the kidnappers.
The military and local church officials negotiating the
release of 13 hostages, including six Europeans, confirmed
yesterday that Kelly Kwalik, a renowned rebel leader, has not
only joined up with the rebels, but has also taken charge of the
negotiations with the government.
It was not immediately clear how Kelly managed to reach the
abductors, when the military has said all along that they have
surrounded the rebels' hideout in Mapunduma. The village in the
Jayawijaya regency is known as part of Kelly's territory.
Yesterday, in compliance with Kelly's request, two local
missionaries were sent by the military to meet with the rebels
and discuss the release of the 13 remaining hostages.
The two churchmen, Bishop Herman Munninghoff and Andrian van
der Boel, came back empty-handed, Captain Edi Sulistiadi, a
spokesman for the Trikora Military Command in Jayapura, told The
Jakarta Post by phone last night. He added that the two men might
return to Mapunduma today.
The two church officials were sent by the military from
Wamena, the regency town where the military has set up a command
post to handle the operation to secure the release of the
hostages. Wamena is about 160 kilometers from Mapunduma.
The 13 hostages, comprised of four Britons, two Dutch citizens
and seven Indonesians -- including four from Jakarta -- were
members of a flora and fauna expedition team working in the
Laurentz natural reserve. They were abducted on Jan. 8.
The military had originally said that Kelly Kwalik of the
Amunge tribe was behind the kidnapping. Later they said it was
carried out by Daniel Yudas Kogoya, a lesser known figure of the
Uduga tribe.
In Jakarta, the chief spokesman of the Armed Forces Brig. Gen.
Suwarno Adiwijoyo, admitted that the presence of Kelly Kwalik
could complicate the situation but said that at least the
military is now dealing with someone with the authority to make
decisions.
"We were not surprised that Kelly Kwalik has teamed up with
Daniel," he told Antara.
Kelly is the commander of the rebels' Base 3, whose territory
covers southern Irian Jaya including Tembagapura, the huge mining
site of America's PT Freeport Indonesia.
The abductors had earlier made it clear that their demand is
for recognition of a separate West Papua state.
The demand has been rejected flat out by the government, which
says that the majority of Irian Jaya's people have already
decided to be part of Indonesia.
It is not clear now whether Kelly has made any new demands
since taking over the negotiations from Daniel.
Brig. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, the chief of the Army's Special
Force Command who is supervising the military operation in
Wamena, had earlier expressed optimism that the hostages would be
released by the middle of the week without a single bullet having
to be fired. (imn)