"I asked the government to take effective efforts to release them but priority must be given to their safety," he said here on Wednesday.
He said the hostage taking was a crime and therefore the hostages had to be released.
Marzuki believed the government is still making efforts to release the crew of Sinar Kudus ship. "This is the responsibility of the Indonesian government in protecting its citizens," he said.
He said people however had to understand that there were things that could not be made public with regard to efforts for their release.
The Sinar Kudus belonging to PT Samudra Indonesia carrying nickel ore for Rotterdam, the Netherlands was pirated while in the Somali waters on March 16.
Twenty crew on board had been held hostage by the pirates who had asked for a ransom in exchange for the release of crew.
International law observer Hikmahanto Juwono meanwhile said it was time now for the public to give the government time and room for carrying out its duty.
The government has already expressed its commitment to save the crew and so the public had to give it time to carry it out, he said to ANTARA.
He said public criticisms on the government over the handling of the case must not become counter-productive for the efforts. "Do not let the government be forced to unveil secret information that would make their strategy known," he said.(*)
(H-YH/HAJM/a014)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
