Irianese rebels take six hostages
JAKARTA (JP): Separatist rebels in easternmost Irian Jaya province have taken six hostages, believed to be forestry officials, Antara reported late on Monday.
The news agency said the rebels kidnapped at least six staff members from the Arso district, while two others escaped and reported the abductions to a nearby security post.
Local military chief Lt. Col. M. Nur Godam and head of the local forestry office Sudjud confirmed that the six were abducted by separatist rebels on Monday.
Local officials said Trikora Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring, who oversees security in the province, and provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Hotman Siagian went to Arso on Tuesday to gather more information.
The kidnapping, blamed on the Papua Merdeka (Free Papua) separatist rebels, was the latest act in the Irianese battle to secede from Indonesia after flag-raising rallies in recent days ended in violence.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Monday's riots in Sorong, some 750 kilometers west of Jayapura, rose to three on Tuesday after an infant boy was found dead earlier in the day, the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (IHRSTAD) said in a report.
Yesaya Nauw was hit by a stray bullet, the report said.
The violence in Sorong broke out after police took down a separatist flag hoisted by some 50 pro-independence supporters at a park near the local police headquarters and military offices.
IHRSTAD said earlier that police shot dead 20-year-old Frans Isir when the group resisted efforts to take down the flag.
However, Hotman was quoted by the news agency as saying on Tuesday that Frans was still being treated at Sorong General Hospital.
Hotman was also quoted as saying 27 people were being detained for questioning.
Twenty-one people were detained over the flag-raising incident and another six were arrested during the ensuing riot.
Irian Jaya's separatists have sporadically fought for an independent state since the former Dutch colony was integrated into Indonesia in 1964. (byg/34)