Muhammadiyah chairman warns govt against negotiating with pirates

Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsudin said he regretted the government's recent decision to open negotiations with Somali pirates in efforts to release Indonesian cargo ship MV Sinar Kudus and its 20 crew members, adding that such negotiations would be fruitless.

“Negotiating with such groups would only inspire others to commit similar crimes in the future,” Din said Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Instead, he said, the government should be firm in tackling this problem.

“To this day, I fail to see the government acting firmly on this particular matter. All they could announce is that the crews are in a good condition. Well, that’s not enough,” he said.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Adm (ret) Djoko Suyanto has recently said the government had been working all-out in efforts to find the best way to release the crew members, including negotiating a ransom with the pirates.

As precaution, two groups of Indonesian military elite forces, the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) and the Navy’s Jala Mangkara Detachment, as well as with two frigates, have been deployed to Somalia waters.