Midnight Run

GAM freed RCTI cameraman Ferry Santoro after some harrowing negotiations that teetered on the brink of life and death. This is the account of TEMPO reporter Nezar Patria, who was involved in the negotiations.

May 25, 2004

I WAS suddenly enshrouded in darkness. There were only stars, and no moonlight. In front of me walked Marzuki, 24, with a machine gun slung over his shoulder. Ten other soldiers of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)—most of them toting Kalashnikov rifles—marched in single file behind me. Dragging my feet, I kept march with the guerrillas. Flashlights could only be turned on for short periods of time. Looking towards the rear, I saw the ba

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