NZ Warned of Possible Indonesian Retaliation After Pilot Released

New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens (C), who was snatched by rebels in Indonesia's restive region of Papua in February last year, speaks during a press conference following his release in Timika, Central Papua on September 21, 2024. New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been released from captivity by rebels in Indonesia's restive region of Papua and was in good health despite the 19-month-long ordeal, Indonesian and New Zealand authorities said on Sept. 21. Endy Langobelen/AFP via Getty Images

The release of New Zealand helicopter pilot Phillip Mehrtens by West Papuan rebels has sparked fears of a possible military response from Indonesia.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has voiced concerns but the Indonesian government has dismissed these fears as “baseless.”

West Papua, part of Indonesia since 1963,  has been the site of ongoing conflict between local rebels and the Indonesian government.

Briefly an independent country when the Netherlands withdrew from the region, it was invaded by the Indonesian military and, in 1963, a U.N.-brokered agreement—in which the people of West Papua had no say—made the area an Indonesian territory.

It has been the scene of sporadic fighting ever since.

Mehrtens was held captive for nearly 600 days by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in Nduga province before his release earlier this week.

The TPNPB said the New Zealand government had paid a bribe to secure his freedom, a claim denied by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters.

The ULMWP is concerned Indonesia will launch a military assault in Nduga province, putting thousands of innocent lives at risk. Its Vice-President Octovianus Mote has asked the New Zealand government to keep watch on Indonesia in case it acts against West Papua.

“The New Zealand government, they really have to pay attention, not only because we took care of [the] New Zealander, we treated him as our family, but New Zealand is our family, anyway we are Pacific Islanders,” Mote said.

Indonesia Rejects Accusations

The Indonesian government, however, had been humiliated by the release because it allegedly attempted to rescue Mehrtens by force in March last year, failing to do so but resulting in causalities on both sides.

It had also tried to portray the TPNPB as a criminal organisation, but Mehrtens was treated well throughout his time as a hostage, Mote said.

“The way we released him freely, not through the police and military operation, that’s another humiliation.”

While Indonesia denies planning an attack, it has done so in similar circumstances in the past. In 1996, the Free Papua Movement took 26 hostages from the World Wildlife Fund. Two kidnapped Indonesians were killed, and the remaining hostages were freed within five months.

Once they were safe, Indonesia’s military launched a large-scale attack in retaliation.

A spokesperson for the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington said the government is “of the view that this is a baseless accusation.”

“The Indonesian military holds a high regard to its integrity to ensure the security and welfare of the people in the region, especially those who live under the threat of continuous attacks and terrors by the armed criminal groups,” they told RNZ.

“The threat from an insurgency does not provide a legal justification for the broad brush and abuse of military force. Indonesian armed forces are receiving human rights and the law of war seminar and training as part of a wide program.”

They said the Indonesian government was committed to “its long-standing policy of respecting and promoting Human Rights” and has a strict zero-tolerance policy for any misconduct by its security forces.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher said he was unaware of the ULMWP’s concerns.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of those comments. I appreciate it’s a challenging situation there, and there’s an internal conversation there, but we respect Indonesian sovereignty,” he said.