Military sets deadline for hostages' release
Military sets deadline for hostages' release
JAKARTA (JP): The military gave Irian Jaya rebels "until the end of the week" to respond to its demand to free the remaining 14 hostages, including six Europeans, they have held captive for 12 days, before it considers other options to secure their release.
"To this day, I'm still using persuasion in approaching the rebels. It is my intention to release all the hostages alive," Maj. Gen. A. Dunidja, the chief of the Trikora Military Command, told reporters in Jayapura, capital of Irian Jaya.
"We're waiting until the end of the week for a reply from the kidnappers," said Dunidja, who is also commanding the operation to release the hostages.
"The kidnappers are still considering my offer. If their response is unsatisfactory, we will look at other options," he said in a media briefing relayed by TVRI last night.
Dunidja did not explain whether "the end of the week" meant Saturday or Sunday, nor did he elaborate on the "other options" the military might take.
Separately in Wamena, Brig. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, the field officer supervising the operation, announced that he expected a breakthrough by Tuesday or Wednesday, Antara reported.
Prabowo, the chief of the Special Force Command, said the military has found "a way to release the hostages without firing a single bullet."
He based his analysis on the latest contact he has had with the rebels. He declined to give details but said that he had to make the statement to end speculation about possible military action.
"We're doing our best," he said.
The military has set up a command post in Wamena, the town nearest to Mapunduma where the rebels and the hostages are believed to have settled in.
Earlier in the day, the military sent another plane to Mapunduma to bring in food, medicine and cigarettes for the rebels and hostages. Three missionaries were on board the plane to mediate with the rebels, according to one report.
Frank Momberg, a German released by the rebels on Monday to take their message to the military, was not on board as was originally expected.
The rebels had earlier made it clear that their demand is for recognition of a separate West Papua state.
The demand has been rejected out of hand by the government, who said that the majority of the Irian Jaya people have already decided to be part of Indonesia.
United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said in a statement yesterday that he was "following with concern" the fate of the hostages, among them a staff member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
He called for the "immediate release of the UNESCO staff member and all the other hostages, who were engaged in activities supporting environmental conservation". He appealed for an early and peaceful settlement of the crisis.
Antara also quoted a military source as saying that the rebels are led by Daniel Yudas Kogoya of the Uduga tribe, and not Kelly Kwalik, the renowned separatist rebel leader as was widely believed at first.
Daniel is an influential figure in the area, the source said. (imn/emb)