"The TNI is ready but the government is now opting to negotiate. If the negotiations fail, the TNI is ready to send troops," Suhartono told newsmen after officiating at a ceremony to dedicate the Seroja epigraph at the Seroja housing complex in Bekasi.
The epigraph was made in remembrance of Indonesian servicemen who gave their lives in Operation Seroja, the codename for the TNI`s operations in East Timor in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Regarding the possibility of mounting a rescue operation in Somalia, Suhartono said several options could be considered by the the TNI for freeing the 20 sailors being held hostage by Somali pirates.
However, he noted, the government had already chosen to negotiate with the pirates on the ground that it offered the best chance of securing the hostages safe releases.
Suhartono said the Indonesian government was now working out the mechanism for delivering the ransom of 3.0 million US dollars as demanded by the pirates. The pirates had lowered the ransom from 3.5 million US dollars as of March 16, 2011.
The "MV Sinar Kudus" was on its way to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with a cargof of nickel from Pomalaa, Sulawesi, when it was boarded ad hijacked by Somali pirates. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
