Govt 'too slow' to rescue RI hostages

Tony Hotland and Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Stunned by reports of the killing of an Indonesian held hostage by Philippine pirates for over a month, the House of Representatives slammed the government for failing to make rescue efforts.

Speaking after a hearing with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Friday, House Commission I overseeing foreign affairs said the government was slow and had been discriminatory in its response to the case.

Ahmad Resmiadi, 32, was reported to have been killed on Friday by his kidnappers after the Indonesian government missed a May 11 deadline to surrender 200,000 pesos (US$3,684) in ransom.

Ahmad, along with Erikson Hutagaol and Yamin Labuso, was kidnapped by five armed Philippine pirates on March 30 while aboard a Malaysian tugboat Bonggaya in the Philippines' Tawi-tawi waters.

Family members later shared their story with Kontras after getting a cold response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' director for protection of Indonesians Ferry Adamhar.

"The ministry said they already knew about the abduction, but they were preoccupied with the Asian-African Summit and flatly promised to inform the foreign minister," said Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid.

Usman said family members had reported the case to the Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia and even sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

House Commission chairman Theo L. Sambuaga said the House would immediately contact the Philippine parliament to seek ways to increase the pressure to help free the remaining hostages.

Theo criticized the foreign ministry for making inadequate rescue efforts compared to previous kidnapping cases, such as the recent kidnapping of two journalists in Iraq, that took only days to resolve.

Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the Indonesian embassy in the Philippines had made contact with the kidnappers, and foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda had also written to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) separatist group in the southern Philippines.

"When (the Indonesian office there) asked about the hostages, we were informed that they needed medical supplies. But there was no statement if any hostages had been killed or not," Marty said.

He blamed geographic and security problems for hampering rescue efforts. He also affirmed that Indonesia would not concede to any demands for ransom.

"There have been communication problems. The kidnappers sent short text messages saying that they often didn't get signals," he explained.

Marty asked the owner of the tugboat to share the responsibility for getting the hostages released. He also dismissed criticism that the ministry was discriminatory in handling the case.

"We don't have any intention to be discriminate in our service. We share our concern with the public, and we're very serious in our work to free Indonesian hostages.

"But we don't think it's necessary to announce our steps to free the hostages. It could endanger the hostages, so we don't think such public announcements are prudent," he asserted.