Govt enlists help to free RI hostages

Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will summon local religious leaders and the families of two Indonesian women kidnapped in Iraq to make a public appeal for the women's release.

Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the ministry was taking emergency measures to secure the release of the women, identified as Rosidah binti Anom and Rosikam binti Aming.

"We are trying to locate their family members to ask them to make a public appeal ... we also have asked prominent religious leaders to appeal to the hostage takers," he said on Friday.

"We expect the hostage takers to release our citizens immediately on humanitarian grounds. These Indonesians are making an honest living in Iraq."

He said the ministry would ask former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who is a noted religious scholar and a former leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, to help in securing the women's release. Abdurrahman has yet to confirm his involvement in the matter.

Ferry Adamhar, the ministry's director general for the protection of Indonesian citizens overseas, was quoted by Detik.com news portal as saying on Friday that Rosidah was from Cianjur and Rosikam from Sukabumi, both in West Java.

The information was provided by Migrant Care, a non- governmental organization, and is being verified by the manpower ministry and the immigration office, Ferry said.

Arab TV station Al-Jazeera reported on Thursday that Rosidah and Rosikam were taken hostage by a militant group calling itself The Islamic Army, the same group that kidnapped French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot.

Marty said the ministry had set up a crisis team consisting the officials from his ministry and the manpower ministry. The team is led by Director General of Protocol and Consular Affairs Djoko Hardono.

Marty confirmed the women were working for G-Bell, an electronics firm based in London. He said the ministry was tracking the employment status of the women with the company.

"We understand that they work for G-Bell and we are trying to confirm this," he said.

Al-Jazeera said the kidnappers had not yet made any demands. Marty said the Indonesian government was prepared if the captors demanded a ransom, but he did not elaborate.

"Based on past events, the captors will make political demands like the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, or an expression of a particular point of view regarding the political developments in Iraq. These are not of Indonesia's concern as we have made our position clear."

"But we are ready should the captors demand a ransom."

Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, strongly opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq and refused to send troops to the country.

Marty said the ministry had repeatedly warned Indonesian citizens to avoid traveling to and working in Iraq. He earlier said only 13 Indonesians were reportedly in Iraq, including eight students and two Indonesian Embassy employees married to Iraqis.

In footage aired by Al-Jazeera on Thursday, the kidnappers said they had taken the two Indonesian women along with six Iraqis and two Lebanese working for an electronics equipment firm, AFP reported.

Four of the presumed captives, all men, were shown in the video, with the captors pointing guns at them. The station later aired more footage showing the two Indonesians.

Manpower minister Jacob Nuwa Wea warned on Friday that he would revoke the permits of local labor suppliers that sent workers to Iraq and any other conflict zone.

"We will revoke the labor suppliers' permits because we forbid the sending of migrant workers to conflict areas," he was quoted as saying by Detik.com.

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