Hostage ordeal survivors attend friend's funeral

Hostage ordeal survivors attend friend's funeral

JAKARTA (JP): The six European and three Indonesian survivors
of the four-month hostage ordeal in Irian Jaya joined relatives
and friends in mourning and burying Navy Panekenan, their fellow
captive who was killed on Wednesday by the abductors as rescuing
soldiers closed in.

Navy Panekenan, the 28-year-old joint leader of an Indonesian-
British expedition of young scientists to Irian Jaya, was buried
with military honors after a Christian service.

His 25-year-old girlfriend, Adinda Saraswati, another of the
hostages seized on January 8 by rebels of the Free Papua Movement
(OPM), attended the funeral in a wheelchair with her right foot
in bandages.

She was lifted towards the open coffin by friends to kiss
Panekenan a final farewell and placed a ring on his finger before
he was lowered into the grave. Newspaper reports claim they had
planned to marry after the expedition.

Yosias Matheis Lasamahu, another hostage who died after the
fleeing rebels slashed him with machetes and left him to bleed to
death before the troops could reach him, was buried in a separate
funeral service in Bandung, West Java, 180 km from the capital.

Yosias, who was also given military honors after a Christian
service, was buried near the grave of his father, Leonard C.J.
Lasamahu. His mother, Sarah, slumped into the open coffin and
rubbed Yosias' feet, keening: "Theis...Theis..."

The bodies of the two men were handed over on Thursday night
by Armed Forces (ABRI) chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Soeyono
to the Ministry of Forestry, the agency that gave them permission
to conduct the expedition. The ministry's secretary general
Oetomo then handed over the bodies to the grieving families.

Yesterday, Soeyono handed over the Indonesian survivors to
their families and the European survivors to their respective
embassies in a tightly guarded ceremony at Gatot Subroto army
hospital in Central Jakarta.

Dutch Ambassador Paul R. Brouwer and British Ambassador Graham
Burton attended the ceremony, as did Brig. Gen. Prabowo Subianto,
commander of the Army's Special Force, Kopassus, whose soldiers
were instrumental in the freeing of the hostages.

ABRI secured the nine hostages: Britons Daniel Start, William
P. Oates, Annette van der Kolk and Anna McIvor, Dutch nationals
Mark van der Wal, the heavily pregnant Martha Klein, and
Indonesians Adinda Saraswati, Jualita M. Tanasale and Markus
Warip in a special operation on Wednesday at the Geselama
mountain village in Irian.

The badly wounded bodies of Navy Panekenan and Yosias Lasamahu
were found on Thursday.

After the handing-over ceremony, Daniel Start said: "It's
great to be free, but it's obviously marred by the tragic death
of the two Indonesians."

According to Soeyono, the former hostages have lost between 10
and 15 kilograms, are traumatized and suffering from insomnia,
depression, skin problems as well as assorted injuries.

He added that Martha Klein's pregnancy was normal.

Burton and Brouwer yesterday conveyed their thanks to the
Indonesian government, and ABRI, for the release of their
citizens.

"It was the happiest day for us, especially the hostages'
families in London, when we heard that they were safe," Burton
said.

Neither ambassador revealed when the European survivors would
return to their countries.

Promotion

Also yesterday, Soeyono said ABRI is considering promoting the
military officers involved in the special operation to rescue the
hostages.

"Promotion is given every time officers carry out their
special operations duties successfully," Soeyono said.

The rescue operation, launched on May 9 following the failure
of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to secure
the hostages' release, was led by Prabowo, President Soeharto's
son-in-law.

Prabowo first received a special promotion in 1978 after he
led an operation in East Timor against separatist Fretilin
leaders.

Yesterday he reiterated Kopassus' intention to keep going
after separatist rebels in Irian Jaya.

Soeyono said earlier that ABRI was still trying to find rebel
leaders Kellik Kwalik and Daniel Kagoya.

"The rescue operation is finished but we are continuing with
another operation: pursuing the rebels," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Forestry Djamaluddin Soerjohadikoesoemo
said that from now on Irian Jaya would be temporarily closed for
all scientific expeditions, and would not be reopened until the
Armed Forces guarantee it's safe. (01/16/17/swe)