By Ainur Rohmah
TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) – Indonesia’s government reiterated Wednesday that it would not pay a ransom for four nationals believed to remain captive in the Philippines’ Muslim south, after 10 others were released by Daesh-linked militants over the weekend.
“We do not want [to pay] any [ransom] because if we pay them, it [kidnappings] will be repeated,” national news agency Antara quoted Vice President Jusuf Kalla as saying.
On Sunday, the Abu Sayyaf turned over 10 Indonesians, who were abducted in late March from a tugboat off the Philippines’ Tawi-Tawi province, to the governor of the nearby island province of Sulu.
Their release came six days after the Abu Sayyaf beheaded a Canadian hostage, 68-year-old John Ridsdel, after a 300-million pesos ($6 million) ransom failed to be paid.
Four other Indonesians are believed to be held captive in the south Philippines, where armed groups — including those linked to the Abu Sayyaf — are holding other foreign and Filipino hostages.
An Indonesian negotiator who has been working for its nationals’ release, Major Gen. Kivlan Zein, said Wednesday that “perpetrators requested [a ransom] of 200 million pesos [over $4 million]” for the four Indonesian captives, according to detik.com.
“We hope they can be released the same way the 10 [other hostages] were freed,” said Zein, who has insisted that the earlier release was a result of “purely negotiation” rather than a ransom payment.
Zein, who has contacted the men’s alleged kidnapper, said security and intelligence officials have narrowed down their location to a 30-kilometer (18.6-miles) area in Sulu.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said different groups were responsible for the separate incidents in which the Indonesians were captured.
“The location of the four hostages was observed from time to time,” kompas.com quoted her as saying.
Marsudi is set to meet Thursday the foreign ministers and army chiefs of the Philippines and Malaysia to discuss ways the neighboring countries can strengthen regional maritime security and crack down on piracy.
