ICRC optimistic of meeting with hostages

ICRC optimistic of meeting with hostages

JAKARTA (JP): Officials of the International Red Cross
yesterday emerged from yet another meeting with leaders of the
separatist rebels holding 13 hostages in Irian Jaya optimistic
that they would soon be able to meet the captives.

Henri Fournier, chief of the Jakarta mission of the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said through a
spokeswoman that another meeting took place yesterday and there
was an indication the rebels would let the officials meet the
hostages later.

"The plan to meet the rebels was fulfilled to the satisfaction
of the ICRC delegates, " Sri Wahyu Endah told The Jakarta Post.

Fournier also met the rebels on Sunday but failed to meet with
the hostages, four Britons, two Dutch citizens and seven
Indonesians. They are the remainder of the first group of 26
hostages abducted on Jan. 8 in Mapunduma village.

Endah declined to give more details.

Fournier is in Wamena, some 4,000 km east of Jakarta, the
headquarters of the Indonesian-led rescue operation -- to
coordinate his ICRC team.

There are varying accounts as to the actual number of the
remaining hostages. The Antara news agency put it at 13, while
Reuters quoted unnamed rescue sources as saying they knew only of
12. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.

Those still held include Britons Daniel Start, Anna McIvor,
Bill Oates and Annette van der Kolk, and Dutch citizens Mark van
der Wal, with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and Martha
Klein, who is five months pregnant and reportedly in poor health.

Antara quoted sources at the Armed Forces, who are leading the
rescue operation, as saying that the rebels had indicated that
any decision to free the hostages depended on an unidentified
leader based in neighboring Papua New Guinea.

The agency, however, said that the leader could very well be
Mathias Wenda alias Mosea Weror who claimed responsibility for
the hostage-taking.

The Red Cross officials have reportedly urged the rebels to
name their "highest leader", but to no avail.

"If the name of that leader is revealed, then we can expect
the Papua New Guinean government to help ABRI secure the release
of the hostages," the agency quoted the unnamed military sources.

Despite the repeated failures to meet with the hostages, the
military is optimistic the drama will soon end. "There are
glimmers of hope. It's just that we cannot be sure about the
exact time," the sources said.

Meanwhile, in Jakarta, chief of the Armed Forces general
affairs Lt. Gen. Soeyono said that the military wanted the
unconditional release of the hostages.

"Principally, the Armed Forces want the rebels to
unconditionally release the hostages soon. We have not made any
consideration on giving a pardon," he was quoted by Antara as
saying.

He said the military would take stern action if the rebels
"acted brutally" and harmed the hostages. (swe)