Two Indonesians Attacked by Tamil Tigers
Tuesday, 23 January, 2007 | 17:26 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Two Indonesians working as part of a ship crew at Sri Lanka were reported victims of assault of Tamil tiger guerrillas, Sunday (01/21). The City of Liverpool, the vessel, which was crossing the North Sea of Sri Lanka, was suddenly attacked by a boat containing bombs. The attack damaged the ship's deck and injured two of its crew members.

In order to find out the details of the incident, according to the Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda, his party yesterday (01/22) contacted the Embassy of Republic of Indonesia at Colombo. “Yes, there were two Indonesians working on the City of Liverpool. At the moment, we are confirming their names,” said Hassan yesterday (01/22).

Hassan said one of the attacked Indonesians was not seriously injured. For the time being, the Indonesian Embassy at Colombo is attempting to meet both Indonesians.

In order to gain access to the region, said Hassan, Indonesia is waiting for an agreement from Sri Lanka's military. The agreement is required since the incident took place in a conflict-prone area.

Hassan said that actually he planned to visit Sri Lanka on February 6. However, at the same time, Sri Lanka's Foreign Affairs Minister will be visiting Europe. Therefore, Hassan's visit is delayed. “One of the purposes of the visit will be to exchange thoughts on conflict solving,' said Hassan.

The reason is that during the visit of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to Indonesia last year, Sri Lanka expected that Indonesia would share its experience as regards the solving of the Aceh conflict. “They want to learn and use our experience as a comparison,” said Hassan.

Titis Setianingtyas