Yogyakarta, Jubi – The vice chairman of the Advisory Council of the Union Council of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), Rev. Karel Phil Erari urged authorities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Indonesia to reveal the group who took hostage two Indonesians this month.
“PNG must reveal who took hostage, and Indonesia must not cover up who are the two people that were taken hostage and who took hostage,” he told Jubi this week.
He said, the public in Indonesia, especially in Papua already built their own assumption and it seemed that the hostage against the two Indonesian like a drama made intentionally.
“The public had already made their own assumptions and seems like it is a drama created intentionally. As this month Indonesia and PNG are facing on the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) Fact Finding Mission on human rights violations in Papua to support for the Papua issue submitted to the Commission 24 on Decolonization in the United Nations (UN), ” said Rev. Erari, who is also the former chairman of this PGI.
As rumored by media earlier, consul of Indonesia in Vanimo, Elmar Lubis told reporters after the ceremony at the Immigration Office in Skouw-Wutung that the liberation has been started from last week since the hostage incident.
“The priority is the safety of the two suspects. The army PNG conducted the search in the area where the hostages predicted are and started to communicate with us, “he said.
The two Indonesian citizens were reported missing since Wednesday (09/09/2015) then and is suspected to have been held hostage by an unidentified group (OTK) and was finally released by the group on Thursday night (09/17/2015) to the PNG Army in Mount Victoria, Skouwtiau, Bewani district, Sandaun Province, PNG, at around 09:35 (PNG Time Zone)
Two hostages are Ladiri alias Dirma (30) which was previously identified as Sudirman and Badar (29). On Friday morning (18/09/2015) around 10:00 (PNG time), the delivery was done at the headquarters of the Army Vanimo, PNG, which is located about 300 meters from the Consulate General of Indonesia in Vanimo. (Arnold Belau/ Tina)