By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA (AA) – Indonesia’s president is to invite senior Malaysian and Philippines officials to Jakarta to discuss how to rescue hostages held by militants in the Philippines’ troubled south.
The remarks Tuesday by Joko Widodo come a day after Philippine police confirmed that a Daesh-linked group had beheaded a Canadian hostage after their ransom demands were not met.
A total of 14 Indonesians have also been kidnapped in waters off southern Mindanao in past weeks, with a ransom of 50 million pesos ($1 million) demanded for the release of 10 sailors kidnapped in late March.
“This week, we will invite the Malaysian military chief and foreign minister, and the Philippine military chief and foreign minister to discuss the possibility of a joint patrol to ensure that the sea lane is safe,” Widodo said Tuesday.
“We must understand that the other cases which have lasted for six and eight months have not been resolved either,” national news agency Antara quoted him as saying at the presidential palace.
Assuring that the ten Indonesians believed to be held by the Abu Sayyaf were in good condition, he stressed that Indonesia’s government “will never compromise with things like that [ransom].”
Kompas.com also reported Widodo as saying that his government continued to coordinate with the Philippines, where Indonesian security forces could not enter without the approval of Manila’s parliament.
He added that rescue efforts were also hindered by constant changes in the captors’ operation area in Mindanao.
The Philippines’ military and national police have vowed to track down the Abu Sayyaf killers of Canadian John Ridsdel — who had been kidnapped with two other foreign nationals and a Filipina from a marina in Mindanao in September.
The kidnappers had threatened to behead one of them if a ransom of P300 million pesos ($6 million) for each of the foreigners was not paid by 3 p.m. (0500GMT) Monday.
In early April, Filipino gunmen also abducted four Malaysians from a boat off Malaysia’s eastern state of Sabah.
Kidnap-for-ransom gangs frequently operate in the Philippines’ Zamboanga Peninsula and the island provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.
They are known to hand over their captives to the Abu Sayyaf and negotiate for a ransom that, if paid, is shared with the group.
The kidnappers use isolated sea-lanes and coastal areas to grab their victims, who are then held captive in isolated villages in the peninsula.
