Irian rebels split over hostages' release
Irian rebels split over hostages' release
JAKARTA (JP): A rift among rebel separatists in Indonesia's eastern province of Irian Jaya is the reason why the 12 hostages kidnapped almost eight weeks ago have not been freed, a source close to the rescue operation said yesterday.
One of the rebel leaders, Kelik Kwalik, has reportedly received orders from the Free Papua Movement leaders in exile that he should release the hostages as their quest for international attention has been met. Kelik, however, ignored the order, the source told The Jakarta Post.
Kelik said on Sunday that only the movement's "highest leader" living in neighboring Papua New Guinea had the authority to order the release of the captives.
"That's not true," the source said, revealing that Kelik had received a letter from a group of separatists in Sydney, Australia, which told him that the goal of attracting international attention with the hostage-taking has been met.
"The target of attracting international attention has been met. There is no need to hold the hostages any longer. They are not our target," the source read from the letter.
The source said that one of the reasons that the rebels are stalling was because they distrusted and were scared of the Armed Forces (ABRI) which have been leading the campaign to free the hostages.
The rebels were afraid because of previous bad experiences with ABRI. The military, had in its campaign against the secessionist movement, shot some of their members, the source said.
"This is why the rebels raised various demands which are difficult to meet," the source said.
One of the conditions the rebels made was that a special "working group" be established under the auspices of the United Nations to oversee the condition of indigenous Irianese, the source said.
The working group's task would be to write and disseminate reports to the international press on the Indonesian government's treatment of the Irianese.
The Jakarta mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been involved in the operation, which is centered in the Wamena regency, 4,000 km east of here, and has met with the rebels several times.
After a number of failed attempts, a doctor in the Swiss-run committee met with and examined the hostages on Thursday, reportedly in the Gesalama village, some 190 km west of Wamena.
An ICRC statement issued on Thursday said that the doctor gave the hostages treatment as needed and collected family messages and photos. Food, clothing and medicines were also distributed to the hostages during the five-hour visit.
"Individual reports on their state of health will shortly be communicated to their families," the statement said.
It also said that the Red Cross team traveled by civilian helicopter, and on their return journey took with them a tribal chief who was seriously ill. He was subsequently hospitalized in Wamena.
The statement said that, parallel with the medical visit, the ICRC team also held further talks with Kelik.
Among the hostages who have been held for 53 days by the OPM are Britons Daniel Start, Anna McIvor, Bill Oates and Annette van der Kolk. The two Dutch nationals are Mark van der Wal, with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and Martha Klein, with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Most of the hostages were studying rare plants and animals in the Lorentz nature reserve. (01)