Priests to negotiate with Irian Jaya rebels

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): Church officials have assigned a Catholic and Protestant priest to negotiate with a rebel group from Irian Jaya who have currently taken two Belgian filmmakers hostage.

Priest Theo van den Broek told reporters here over the weekend that the rebels, who claimed to represent the National Liberation Army for Free Papua (TPNP), under the leadership of Peni Murif, had contacted the bishop of Irian Jaya to express their wish to meet church leaders to negotiate demands and conditions for the release of the hostages from the province's hinterland.

"They (the rebels) officially contacted the bishop of Irian Jaya through SSB radio, saying they wanted to talk to us," van den Broek said.

The church has named Rev. Benny Giay to accompany van den Broek.

The two Belgians, identified as Johan Elia Theo van Dem Eynde, 47, and Philippe R.D. Simon, 49, went missing for some three weeks while conducting research in Illaga district, Puncak Jaya regency before rebels announced their capture.

According to van den Broek, the church is waiting for a letter from the rebel group, which notifies the place of the meeting and their demands.

Church representatives have asked for security guarantees from both the local police and the rebels.

In a message to the province's bishop, the rebels also demanded a guarantee that local inhabitants would not be involved in the case.

"They demanded that locals should not be disturbed as they don't want to repeat the Mapenduma incident," van den Broek added, referring to the 1996 abduction case.

Van den Broek quoted the rebel group as saying that they did not want local residents to be traumatized.

Meanwhile an official from the Belgian Embassy, Peter Klase, said his compatriots often made journeys to remote places around the world and liked to capture their adventures on film.

"The love for challenges and adventures probably caused Eynde and Simon to ignore warnings given by local police in Paniai about security conditions in the remote jungles," Klase told reporters in Jayapura.

Klase speculated that the two Belgians were abducted somewhere between the villages of Paniai and Sinak whilst on their way to Illaga district as they were last seen by police in Paniai when they notified local officers about their visit. (34/emf)