If the Taliban had many surface-to-air missiles, it could dramatically alter an already struggling allied war effort. Shoulder-launched missiles downed scores of Soviet helicopters in the 1980s.
The family of Manohara Odelia Pinot, an Indonesian-American teenager married to a Malaysian prince and reported missing, wants to meet her in a neutral country, despite Malaysia lifting an entry ban on her mother, Daisy Fajarina.
Dewi Sari Asih, Manohara’s sister, said on Friday the ban was lifted on Thursday night after pressure from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and widespread media coverage of the case.
“My mother is talking to our lawyer and family today [Friday],” she said. “We have decided to try and meet Manohara in a neutral place, such as Singapore, or they [the prince’s family] can bring Manohara to Jakarta.”
“We just want to know her real situation and we want them to show goodwill.”
“We also want them to apologize for what they have done,” she added.
Dewi said her mother was hesitant to travel to Malaysia out of fear that she would be detained at the immigration office in Kuala Lumpur, as she said occurred last month.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah confirmed on Friday that the Malaysian government had lifted the entry ban on Manohara’s mother, as requested by Jakarta.
“Now she can go to Malaysia at any time, but whether she can meet her daughter is another thing as it is a private matter between in-laws,” Faizasyah said.
He said the Malaysian government had not specified a reason for the earlier ban.
“The reason could be anything but we don’t know what it was exactly,” Faizasyah said.
Asked about claims of domestic violence against former model Manohara, Faizasyah said the government had taken the issue into account. However, he said, they still had only one side of the story from the mother and no direct testimony from Manohara herself.
“Our embassy in Kuala Lumpur has contacted the Kelantan sultanate and, according to the palace, she [Manohara] is in good condition,” Faizasyah said, adding that the government would only investigated the alleged abuse if there was a direct complaint from Manohara.
National Police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said Indonesian police had taken some steps to help Manohara’s mother. However, he said the police could not investigate the case.
“She [Daisy] contacted the chief detective at the National Police and later we talked with the Malaysian police,” Abubakar said. “But we can only give suggestions as we are not able to investigate the case because it took place in Malaysia.”
Manohara was 16 when she married Tengku Temenggong Muhammad Fakhry, a prince of Kelantan, on Aug. 26 last year.
The alleged kidnapping occurred when the prince’s family and Manohara, her mother and sister were in Saudi Arabia for Islam’s minor pilgrimage, or umroh. Both the families were preparing to return to Malaysia, but once the prince, his family and Manohara were aboard the jet, it took off, leaving Manohara’s mother and sister behind.
Daisy could not be contacted for comment on Friday.
