"No government anywhere will negotiate with pirates. If any negotiation happens, it must be done not on behalf of the government although the government may facilitate it," he said at the presidential palace compound here on Wednesday.
He said the Indonesian government was communicating with all parties, not only with the Somali government but also others wjo might have contacts with the pirates.
"Certainly we could not tell about it in detail," he said.
Regarding the Somali government`s green light for a military operation Faiza said the Somali government could say anything but the fact is that they could not control its own country.
"We could possible even be accused of helping their political opponents if we conducted military operations," he said.
Chief minister for security affairs Djoko Suyanto shared the same view. He said that communications were carried out by the ship`s owner.
"The government did not take part. They never communicated with the government. But the Indonesian government has from the beginning been communicating with the ship`s owner," he said.
Djoko said negotiations also involved agents from a number of countries such as the US, Britain and Singapore.
"A lot. We chose the best contact points," he said.
He said the right mechanism was still being sought to settle the case. He said the ship`s owner had also expressed its readiness to settle the case.
"We are still finding the mechanism, how to deliver it and to whom. Who will be the contact persons and also what is the channel. The process is still being improved but the priority is the safety of the crew," he said.
Djoko said he hoped they would immediately release the crew but he did not give a deadline.
Besides "Sinar Kudus" there are now 26 ships from 16 others countries being held hostage by Somali pirates with 583 crew including 20 from Indonesia on board.(*)
(H-YH/HAJM/a014)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
