PMI ready to help hostages

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) urged on Wednesday all parties involved in the prolonged conflict in Aceh to settle issues involving civilian hostages, saying it was prepared to pick them up wherever and whenever the hostages were freed.

"We don't know their whereabouts, but we are ready to pick them up if the hostages are even in separate places," chairman Mar'ie Muhammad said during a commemoration of the organization's 58th anniversary here.

Mar'ie said his personnel had been in close contact both with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) to discuss how to release the hostages.

However, he admitted that the PMI still did not have direct access to the hostages.

"We will not free the hostages. We just hope to facilitate their release," he added.

GAM is allegedly holding 151 civilian hostages, 80 of whom were reportedly abducted in Peurelak, East Aceh, including RCTI journalist Ersa Siregar and cameraman Ferry Santoro.

Besides Ersa and Ferry, GAM also took an RCTI driver Rahmadsyah, and two Acehnese women, one of whom is a wife of a TNI officer, who happened to be in Ersa's car on June 29.

Mar'ie admitted that he heard that Ersa was sick while one of the women was pregnant.

"We just want to send an ambulance and give them medicine. We just want to meet them," he said.

He rejected the possibility of involving the International Red Cross on the release of the hostages, saying that the problem only concerned Indonesia.

"It's an internal matter. The International Red Cross does not know the region," he said.

GAM earlier demanded a three-day cease fire to free the hostages, but TNI disagreed and gave only one day for the release of the civilians.

Besides asking for a longer cease fire, GAM reportedly asked that international agencies be involved in the crisis, a move seen by the government as GAM's attempt to internationalize the Aceh question.

In another development, marines partially foiled a smuggling attempt, seizing 494 tons of sugar and 50 boxes of used clothes in Kuala Langsa, East Aceh on Wednesday.

Aceh Martial Authority spokesman Col. Ditya Sudarsono said the sugar and clothes were being sent from Penang, Malaysia, aboard 10 medium-sized motor boats.

"Six of the boats have been seized while the remaining four managed to escape," Ditya told The Jakarta Post.

He said 46 crew members were being interrogated and would be handed over to the police if they were found involved in the smuggling.