Military secures release of 11 of the 24 hostages
Military secures release of 11 of the 24 hostages
JAKARTA (JP): The military said yesterday it has secured the release of 11 of the 24 hostages abducted last Monday by the Free Papua Movement (OPM), an armed separatist movement in Irian Jaya.
"They were unharmed," Armed Forces Chief Spokesman Brig. Gen. Suwarno Adiwijoyo told Antara yesterday.
All of the 11 released were Irianese. The remaining 13 held captive include four Britons, two Dutch citizens, one German, and six Indonesians, mostly from Jakarta.
Suwarno stressed that the 11 were not freed by the rebels. He said they were "liberated" by a special military team sent after the rebels, implying that force may have been used.
He declined to state whether there were armed clashes in the process.
He said the hostages were released in Jiji village, about 40 kilometers from Mapenduma, the village in Jayawijaya regency where the 24 were first abducted on Monday.
The 11 were released on Friday at 11 a.m., but the news did not reach Jakarta until early yesterday morning, he said.
The military announced the names of seven of those released. They are Alex Nuvigi, Mapenduma village chief; Philipus Weseirak, the village secretary; Isac Weseirak, a village official; Lewi N. Marthavina, Nafali Wanebo and Martin Wiyangga, all staff members of the local community health center, and Zakeus Elopere, a local church official.
The 13 still held captive include the four Cambridge University graduates, Daniel Start, William Oates, Annette van der Kolk and Anna McIvor; two officials of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Frank Momberg of Germany and Mark van der Wal of Holland, and UNESCO official Martha Klein of Holland. Among the Indonesian hostages are members of the Biological Science Club in Jakarta, Navy Panekenan, Yosias Matheis Lasamahu, Adinda Saraswati and Jualita Maureen Tanasale.
They were all members of an expedition team to study ways of conserving the Lorentz nature reserve.
Suwarno said that based on information obtained from the hostages released, the rebels have split into several groups to try to confuse the military team which is chasing them.
He said the military unit knows the direction in which the rebels are heading. "Now, it's just a matter of time before the hostages are all released," he told Antara.
Military officials estimate that the OPM rebel group led by Kelly Kwalik amounts to about 200 personnel, mostly armed.
No details were given of the size of the special military unit involved in the operation.
Suwarno said that Maj. Gen. Tarub, the chief of the Army Strategic Reserve Command, and Brig. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, the chief of the Army's Special Forces Command, were both in Wamena, the regency capital near the site of the abduction, to monitor and assist in the operation.
The military has ruled out seeking assistance from foreign forces in handling the case. Minister of Defense and Security Gen. (ret.) Edi Sudradjat said the Indonesian Armed Forces are capable of solving the problem by itself.
It was not immediately clear whether any offer of assistance has been made. The British, German and Dutch embassies in Jakarta have sent their military attaches to Irian Jaya since news of the abduction broke on Thursday.
The military has come under pressure from the relatives of the hostages in Jakarta and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) in Jakarta to put the safety of the hostages first and foremost. One of the relatives has even suggested that the military open negotiations with the rebels.
It is not immediately clear whether the rebels have made any contact with the authorities or any ransom demands.
The OPM spokesmen in Sydney and Port Moresby on Friday said that the kidnapping was intended to bring international attention to the movement's separatist cause. (emb)