TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Four Indonesian citizens (WNI) who were held hostage together with 22 other people in the islands of Seychelles, Somalia, have been successfully released. Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno LP Marsudi said that the release was the result of a long process.
”This release has gone through an intensive lengthy negotiation with the boat crew,” Retno said on Monday, October 24, 2016.
The Somalian pirates had released 26 people from Indonesia, China, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. They had been held hostage since March 2012 when the Nahan 3 boat pirated near the Seychelles, Indian Ocean.
According to Retno, the release attempt started from the Southern hemisphere of the Seychelles Islands, Indian Ocean. And then the hostages were brought in with a small boat to the regions of Hobyo, 511 kilometers from Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital.
The hostages were then taken to a safe house in Golkayo Town in the southern regions of the Seychelles Islands after stopping by in Budbud, 288 kilometers from Mogadishu. “The journey on land took six hours,” she said.
From Golkayo Town, the hostages were then transported on a United Nations Humanitarian Flight to Wajir Airport at the border of Kenya and Somalia. They arrived in the location at 15.30 local time.
After that, the hostages were transported to Nairobi Airport, Kenya, and arrived at 17.32 local time or 21.30 Indonesian Western Time. “Finally the hostages were out of Somalia. The team from various countries were waiting,” Retno said. Currently, the hostages are in Nairobi to carry out an inspection and rehabilitation.
ARKHELAUS W
