Jakarta, <strong><em>NU Online</em></strong><br />
The captain of a ship carrying 20 Indonesian sailors kidnapped by Somali pirates almost a month ago made an impassioned plea to the president to intervene on Sunday.<br />
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“To the Indonesian government, please rescue us,” Slamet Jauhari said by telephone. The pirates were demanding $2.5 million in ransom, he said, and had threatened to raise the amount unless they received confirmation from the ship’s owner or the Indonesian government that the money would be paid.<br<> />
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“I am asking the Indonesian government, Bapak SBY or any businessman who has the money, please save my crew,” Slamet said, referring to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono by his initials.<br />
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The government will only say that efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the sailors who have been held hostage aboard the Indonesian ship Sinar Kudus since March 16.<br />
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The sailors were taken hostage in the Gulf of Aden while en route to Amsterdam after Somali pirates ambushed their vessel, which is carrying 8,300 tons of nickel worth about Rp 1.5 trillion ($175 million) produced by Aneka Tamabang.<br />
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“The Indonesian government is deeply concerned with this situation and we are investigating options to settle this problem as soon as possible,” Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.<br />
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Marty said the ship’s owner had been in constant communication with the pirates, but he declined to comment further on the efforts as he did not want to jeopardize the hostages’ lives.<br />
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In his telephone interview with Metro TV on Sunday, Slamet said he was in good health but 12 of his crew members were ill. “There is no clean water, we are only fed once a day and 12 of my crew are mentally crushed,” he said.<br />
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The family members of the sailors have also been pleading for action on the case.<br />
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“I am very worried with the situation there. My husband said the crew are very stressed as they have been held hostage for 23 days,” Yunita, the wife of one of the sailors, said at their house in Kediri, East Java, on Saturday.<br />
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Slamet’s wife, Isyam Yuni Astuti, said she had sent a letter to the president requesting help.<br />
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Col. Hartind, a spokesman from the Ministry of Defense, told the Jakarta Globe that negotiations were ongoing and the government so far had no plans to send Navy commandos to rescue the Indonesian crew, a move South Korea took when one of its freighters, Samho Jewelry, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean in January. Two Indonesians were reportedly among the crew on board that freighter.<br />
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Theo L. Sambuaga, from the Golkar Party, suggested the ransom be paid. “If the demand is not met, our countrymen will be killed one by one,” he said. “What is important at the moment is to rescue our 20 citizens before they are murdered or die of illness.” (ant/dar)
Kidnapped Indonesian sailors plea for government&#039;s help
