TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir on Friday, September 18, 2015, revealed the chronology of how two Indonesian nationals were release from the hands of their kidnappers.
Two Indonesian nationals, Sudirman and Badar, were taken hostage by armed militias since September 12, had been released late Thursday, September 17, 2015.
“Based on information we received, the Papua New Guinean army and the OPM agreed to meet Thursday noon,” Arrmanatha said at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Arrmanatha added that when the forces arrived at the agreed location, the group was not seen and escaped into the deep forest. The security forces, Arrmanatha said, chased the group into the woods until evening. At 7:30 p.m. local time, both hostages had been retrieved by the Papua New Guinea army.
“They manage to retrieve the two Indonesian nationals with minimum force,” he said.
The wellbeing of the two hostages confirmed when they arrived at the Indonesian Consulate General in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea.
Arrmanatha added the team in Papua New Guinea had initiated a negotiation to release the two Indonesian nationals since Tuesday, September 15, 2015, or three days after their kidnapping, by scheduling a meeting with spokesperson of the abductors.
On Thursday, Armanatha said, the Papua New Guinea Army deployed personnel to search them directly into the forest. He did not explain whether the hostage release involve fire exchanges between the army and the group.
“The information will be communicated by the Papua New Guinea team to [the Indonesian] consulate during a briefing,” he added.
Arrmanatha ensured that the team had prioritized non-violent negotiation and persuasion to release the hostages as requested by Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi. Armanatha said that during the process to release the hostages the Indonesian Military was on standby at the border.
“The Papua New Guinea team said that they would try their best to help with the situation. If they couldn’t handle it, they would have asked for help from the Indonesian government,” Arrmanatha added.
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