Government Pursues Release of Indonesian Journalists Detained by Israeli Forces

Surabaya (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government continues to seek the release of three journalists detained by the Israeli military while covering the humanitarian mission Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0 bound for Gaza, Palestine, through diplomatic and legal channels with third parties.

‘Masyarakat sangat prihatin dan menyesalkan apa yang dilakukan oleh tentara Israel terhadap warga negara Indonesia, khususnya para wartawan yang melintasi perairan internasional untuk melakukan kegiatan kemanusiaan membantu para korban konflik di Gaza,’ said Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Parole Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, at Universitas Negeri Surabaya (Unesa), on Tuesday.

Yusril said the government has yet to establish contact with the Indonesian journalists. They are Bambang Noroyono and Thoudy Badai from Republika, and Andre Prasetyo Nugroho from Tempo.

‘As of today we must acknowledge that contact remains difficult,’ he added.

He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) has taken proactive steps to seek information on the journalists’ whereabouts and to work toward their release.

‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also taken proactive steps to locate them and secure their release,’ he said.

According to Yusril, the government faces a constraint because it does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and therefore cannot engage in direct negotiations.

‘We do not have diplomatic relations with Israel and we cannot conduct direct negotiations with the Israeli side,’ he noted.

Nevertheless, the government will continue to pursue diplomatic and legal avenues through the government and third parties to protect our citizens who have been abducted by the state of Israel,’ he said.