Update on Indonesia's Sumud Flotilla Delegation Rescued from Israeli Abduction
An update from one of the nine delegations of Global Peace Convoy Indonesia (GPCI), which is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) to Gaza, Palestine, reveals the latest condition after several convoys were halted and abducted by Israeli forces on Monday morning local time (18 May).
Herman Budianto Sudarsono, a GPCI member from Indonesia who survived the ambush, said that he and several other convoy members on different ships are currently still alert.
Herman is currently aboard the Zapyro with one other Indonesian colleague; they survived because they managed to evade the ambush a few hours earlier. He reported his condition online from a ship in the Mediterranean around 20:00 local time.
“Thank God our team is led by captains; the crew are incredibly experienced. They could manoeuvre to avoid the pursuit by the IDF earlier,” Herman said in a video call from the GPCI office in Jakarta, Monday (18 May).
He said that the previous night, Israel had scouted the convoy using several drones. By morning, Israel deployed their warships followed by small boats carrying troops to intercept the GSF flotilla.
“Those boats deployed lifeboats that moved in to approach and chase our ships,” he said.
GPCI confirmed that 17 ships had been intercepted, five of which were Indonesian delegations. At present, Herman said, the GSF vessels have dispersed to avoid Israeli interception.
However, he remains vigilant and has activated emergency protocols, even though the Israeli military ships are no longer visible.
“We cannot see the ships either, because we dispersed to widen our spread; the other ships’ strategy is to spread out, and we will return to the point we are heading to,” he said.
Data from GPCI up to around 20:00 local time shows a total of 17 ships intercepted by Israeli forces during the voyage, five of which were ships carrying nine GPCI delegates. GPCI is Indonesia’s group within the humanitarian mission GSF.
The five ships referred to are the Josef, Ozgurluk, Zapyro, Kasr-1, and BorAlize. Of the nine Indonesians aboard, five delegates have been abducted or detained by the Israeli soldiers or the IDF. They come from various backgrounds, from activists to journalists.
The five are: Bambang Noroyono (Republika journalist) on BorAlize, Andre Nugroho (Tempo journalist) on Ozgurluk, Rahendra Herubowo (Inews journalist) on Ozgurluk, Thoudy Badai (Republika journalist) on Ozgurluk, and Andi Angga Prasadewa (Rumah Zakat).
Meanwhile, four other Indonesian delegates on the mission are confirmed to still be sailing. They are Herman Budianto and Ronggo Wirasanu from Dompet Dhuafa on Zapyro, Asad Aras Muhammad and Hendro Prasetyo on Kasr-1.
(thr/dal)