'RCTI' gets Ersa's belongings 'on loan'

Teuku Agam Muzakkir and Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe/Banda Aceh

The Aceh Military operation command in Lhokseumawe delivered on Friday several items belonging to the late journalist Sory Ersa Siregar to the management of RCTI television station, saying that the items were evidence given "on loan" to his employer.

The items were, among other things, a Sony handycam with its charger, two jackets, a vest, two sarongs, a prayer rug, a pair of shorts, a bag, two pairs of socks, three empty wallets and Ersa's press card. The video tapes mentioned earlier by military spokesman Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin were not among the belongings. He had said they were "war reparations" taken by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and that RCTI was welcome to make copies.

Deny Reksa, the RCTI manager who received the items, said he would take them Jakarta and show them to the station's management as well as to Ersa's family. He was quick to add that he would immediately give them back to the military "should they require the items for further investigation".

RCTI chief editor Derek Manangka said he had yet to determine whether his reporters had made any documentation particularly while in custody, but said the content of any of their equipment would belong to RCTI.

RCTI is among the parties demanding an independent investigation into Ersa's death, which the government has agreed to, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday.

Ersa, along with his cameraman Fery Santoro and two wives of Air Force officers, was captured by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) while traveling in the Peureulak area, East Aceh regency, on May 29.

On Dec. 29, or exactly six months after being taken hostage, Ersa was killed by military bullets in what TNI claimed to be a crossfire between marines and GAM rebels at the remote Aleu Matang Arun village in Simpang Ulim subdistrict, East Aceh.

Ishak Dawood, the GAM commander overseeing East Aceh, has declared that Fery is still in GAM's hands and is safe, and in a generally healthy condition. GAM has also denied that there was a crossfire and has blamed the military for executing Ersa even though he had identified himself as a RCTI journalist to the marines.

Spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Banda Aceh Fortuna Alfariza said that the organization would cooperate with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to secure the release of Fery as well as other civilian hostages currently held hostage by GAM. She said the response from both sides was better than that received before Ersa's death.

"We held a meeting with PMI representatives today to discuss efforts over the release of the hostages, including Fery. We are pleased that both military authorities and GAM gave a positive response upon hearing our proposal to facilitate the release," Fortuna told The Jakarta Post by phone.

"We hope that in the very near future, we can secure the rescue of the civilians," she added.

Meanwhile, Fery's wife Mayawati Santoro has appealed to leaders of both the TNI and GAM to release her husband, as well as the two wives of Air Force officers and other civilian hostages, in a peaceful manner.