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)