Papuan Rebels Demand Negotiations With New Zealand Govt After Abducting Pilot

The rebel group says the pilot is safe

A Susi Air Cessna C208B Grand Caravan aircraft prepares for take off at Halim airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 10, 2011. (Bay Ismoyo/AFP via Getty Images)

An armed separatist group in Indonesia’s Papua province has demanded negotiations with New Zealand’s government for the release of their pilot who they abducted on Feb. 7, according to multiple reports.

The pilot was identified as Philip Mehrtens, a citizen of New Zealand. He was kidnapped by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), who stormed his commercial plane after it landed at Paro village in the Nduga.

The plane, operated by Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, was carrying five passengers. The rebel group reportedly released the five indigenous Papuan passengers and set fire to the plane.

TPNPB has said that Mehrtens would not be released until the Indonesian government recognizes Papuan sovereignty. The group was classified as a terrorist group by the Indonesian government in 2021.

The rebel group’s spokesperson, Sebby Sambom, said on Tuesday that Mehrtens is safe.

“He’s staying with our friends and family at the … headquarters. He has good skills, and we will look after him, and he will train our soldiers for how to fly an aircraft,” Sambom was quoted as saying by RNZ.

He said the group targeted New Zealand because it supplies Indonesia with weaponry and trains Indonesia’s military. TPNPB urged “face-to-face” negotiations with New Zealand’s government for the pilot’s release.

Sambom did not specify the demands that the group made of New Zealand in exchange for Mehrtens’ release.

ABC News reported that TPNPB wanted New Zealand to facilitate “peaceful negotiations” between the West Papuan separatists and Indonesia’s authorities, while also involving the United Nations Security Council.

Akouboo Amatus Douw, chairman of TPNPB’s diplomatic council, said the separatist group would formally send its demand to New Zealand and urged New Zealand to cease its assistance to Indonesia.

Douw said that Mehrtens will not be freed until their demands were fulfilled.

“Countries who are supporting and training the military and police to Indonesia must stop. More specifically, [that means] New Zealand and Australia,” Douw told the news outlet.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said last week that his country’s embassy in Indonesia was leading its response to the hostage taking.

“Consular support is being provided to the family,” Hipkins said. “You’ll be familiar with the fact that in these kinds of cases, we keep our public comments to a bare minimum.”

Hipkins was referring to a policy of avoiding any discussion that could further endanger hostages or detainees during diplomatic efforts to secure their release.

Decades of Conflict

West Papuan separatist forces have clashed with Indonesian authorities after the Dutch, and the United Nations handed over governance of the region to the Indonesians in 1963 under the New York agreement.

According to the agreement, the United Nations would oversee a referendum in 1969 where the people would choose whether to remain a part of Indonesia or become independent.

The result—to be integrated into Indonesia—was rejected by the Free Papua Movement due to its allegations that there was strong evidence showing the vote was rigged.

The separatist movement, however, has gained momentum following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, causing the escalation of violent conflict in 2018.

Civilians have fallen victim to the armed conflict between separatist forces and the Indonesian authorities, with the United Nations estimating that since December 2018, between 60,000 and 100,000 people have been displaced as a result of violence.

The U.N. has raised concerns with the Indonesian government of allegations of security forces carrying out extrajudicial killings, inhuman treatment, and human rights abuses towards the native Papuans.

Meanwhile, the TPNPB have executed civilians who they claim were Indonesian military dressed in plain clothing. The targeting of civilians, primarily workers in government projects and non-Papuan citizens and migrants, has increased since 2020.

Rebecca Zhu and The Associated Press contributed to this report.