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Ministry reunites four Indonesian hostages with families after rescue from Abu Sayyaf militants
Presiding over a ceremony on Monday to reunite the four rescued fishermen with their families, the Foreign Minister stressed trilateral security cooperation and developing Southeast Sulawesi's provincial economy as two measure for preventing any future abductions.
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A maritime security boat patrols the seas off the northern Malaysian state of Sabah in this undated file photo. (The Star/-)
T
he Foreign Ministry reunited four Indonesian fishermen with their families on Monday after Philippine troops rescued them last month from the Abu Sayyaf group, which had held them hostage for 427 days in the southern Philippines.
“This is the result of collaboration between all elements working together. Thus, I would like to thank [all] those who helped in the rescue, especially to the personnel of the TNI [Indonesian Military] and BIN [State Intelligence Agency],” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told a virtual press conference on April 5, following a ceremony in Jakarta to return the fishermen to their families.
Retno also expressed appreciation for the Philippine government’s efforts, particularly the Western Mindanao Command that “cooperated in rescuing” the Indonesian hostages.
Arsad Bin Dahlan, 41, Arizal Kasta Miran, 30, Andi Riswanti, 26, and the youngest, 15-year-old Khairuldin, were four of five Indonesians whom the Islamist militant group kidnapped for ransom last January in the waters off the Malaysian island of Tambisan, about 10 minutes from Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines’ southernmost island province.
The group held the five Indonesians hostage in the southern Philippines, where it is based, until Philippine security forces rescued four hostages in separate operations on March 18 and 21. One hostage was killed last October, reportedly while trying to escape during a shootout between Philippine troops and Abu Sayyaf militants in the coastal town of Patikul in Sulu province.
Speaking at Monday’s press conference, Arizal recalled the evening more than a year ago when seven members of the Abu Sayyaf group boarded the fishing vessel on which he was one of an eight-man crew. The militants seized the entire crew and held them captive on Setangkai Island, Sulu.
“Our day-to-day lives were miserable. We didn’t eat for two or three days [at a time] and we were so scared for our lives,” he recounted.
