RI sailor held hostage in RP freed
RI sailor held hostage in RP freed
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After six months being held hostage by Philippine Islamic
militants, Indonesian sailor Ahmad Resmiyadi was finally released
on Sunday.
Ferry Adamhar of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the
release, but declined to provide details. He was quoted by news
portal detik.com as saying that Ahmad was scheduled to arrive in
Jakarta late on Monday and would be reunited with his family.
Other officials of the ministry could not be reached for
comment.
Ahmad was one of the three Indonesian seamen kidnapped late in
March by a Philippine militant group calling itself the Jamiat al
Islamiah of Southern Mindanao after their Malaysian-flagged boat
was attacked off Malaysia's Sabah region.
Philippine troops in June managed to free two hostages, Yamin
Labaso and Erikson Hutagaol, after troops clashed with the
kidnappers on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, a known
stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group of Islamic militants, which in
turn has been linked by the United States and Philippine
governments to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
The Abu Sayyaf has been on the run from Filipino troops in the
southern Philippines since 2000, when they made international
headlines after abducting and holding for ransom dozens of
European hostages.
Apart from kidnappings, the Abu Sayyaf is also blamed for the
Philippines' worst terrorist bombings, including a firebomb on a
ferry that killed more than 100 people in Manila Bay last year.
It is not clear whether money was paid to the kidnappers for
the release of Ahmad, with the militants reportedly demanding a
US$790,000 ransom.
Security analysts have said that while the Abu Sayyaf may be
on the run, it could also be building links with foreign
militants from the Jamaah Islamiyah regional terror network who
have sought refuge in the southern Philippines island of
Mindanao.
AP reported last week that Muslim militants in the Abu Sayyaf
group and their Indonesian allies have been trying to solicit
money from unidentified Middle Eastern financiers to buy weapons
and fund new terror attacks, according to government reports.
Details of the fund-raising effort and planned attacks were
obtained by Philippine security officials from their Indonesian
counterparts, who recently captured two suspected militants with
knowledge of Filipino rebel activities, the reports said.
Such continuing collaboration indicates ongoing operational
ties between militants in the Philippines and Indonesia, despite
years of counter-terror crackdowns in the two neighboring
countries.