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Alert

Two Belgian documentary filmmakers still held hostage

(RSF/IFEX) - The following is an RSF press release:

Two Belgian TV filmmakers kidnapped in West Papua

Belgian TV documentary filmmakers Philippe Simon and Johan van den Eynde were taken hostage on 7 June 2001 by a group of armed Papuans in the centre of the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya (West Papua). The two filmmakers are in good health and are being well treated, according to a Belgian diplomat. A delegation of priests will go to the village of Illaga at the end of the week to begin negotiations with the kidnappers. Belgian authorities support the idea of "mediation by the Church." Philippe Simon and Johan van den Eynde are allegedly being held by a group of the Papuan Liberation Army led by Peni Murif. One Belgian priest based in Irian Jaya announced on 26 June that Kelly Kwalik, a leader of the movement, sent a letter asking the Indonesian president, Abdurrahman Wahid, to bring West Papua issues before an international forum. Jakarta authorities have refused to negotiate with the rebels.




Philippe Simon, 49 years old, and Johan van den Eynde, 47 years old, arrived in West Papua in early June 2001 with tourist visas. According to their families, they wished to produce a documentary about some Papuan tribes in the centre of this island ruled by Indonesia. The two Belgian filmmakers used to work for French-German TV channel Arte and had already been to Irian Jaya in 1995. Belgian authorities confirmed the kidnapping on 14 June 2001 and a diplomat based in Jakarta went to Jayapura (capital of the province). He confirmed to RSF that Belgium asked the Indonesian authorities not to use force in this affair. According to the diplomat, the absence of communication in this remote area slows negotiations.

Indonesia has controlled the western part of this Papua island since the 1960s. Armed groups, especially the Free Papua Movement, are fighting against Indonesian security forces. In 2000, separatist leaders claimed independence for the province, but most of them were arrested and dozens were killed in the ensuing repression.

Over the past ten years, armed Papuans groups have frequently kidnapped foreigners. In 1996, leader Kelly Kwalik organised the kidnapping of Western scientists. In May 2001, employers of a South Korean wood exploitation firm were also taken hostage for several weeks.