PMI ready to help hostages
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.