REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto said as a sovereign state, Indonesia would not comply with the Abu Sayyaf militant group's demand to pay ransom for release of hostages.
"Indonesia will not bow before the abductors to pay any ransom. We are a great and sovereign country," Wiranto stated here on Tuesday.
The armed groups kidnapped foreign citizens, including those from Indonesia, mostly for financial reasons, the minister noted.
Referring to the case of three citizens who were released on Sunday (Sept 18), the minister urged the community to stop speculating about any possible ransom paid by the government to secure their release.
"The important thing is that the hostages are now free and safe. We should not argue about ransom payment. There are things that cannot be expressed widely," the minister emphasized.
Three Indonesian hostages who were being held by the Abu Sayyaf militant group in the Philippines were released early Sunday.
They are Lorens Lagadoni Koten, 34, Teodorus Kopong Koten, 42, and Emanuel Arakian Maran, 46.
The three Indonesian sailors were on board a Malaysian-flagged fishing boat when they were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants on July 9 in Lahat Datu waters of Malaysia.
The minister stated that the Indonesians were under the protection of the Indonesian Embassy in Manila.
The three Indonesian sailors' release came as a result of the negotiation process undertaken by the Philippines government, in co-ordination with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu had earlier affirmed that the Indonesian and Philippine governments did not pay even a single cent as ransom.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry will soon bring them back to Indonesia.
The Indonesian government strongly believed in Manila's seriousness in rescuing the Indonesian hostages, Ryacudu disclosed.
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