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)