Kidnapped New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens is safe: Papua separatist rebels

Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s Papua province have abducted a New Zealand pilot from a remote runway — and released horrifying photos and video of him Tuesday surrounded by armed rebels as they warned he would stay “safe” as long as the country doesn’t retaliate against them.

Phillip Mark Mehrtens, 37, was taken hostage Feb. 7 in Paro, part of the Nduga district, by members of the armed West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB), an aggressive branch of the Free Papua Movement.

In one of the videos sent to The Associated Press Tuesday by rebel spokesperson Sebby Sambom, a man identified as Merhtens can be seen surrounded by individuals armed with rifles, bows, and spears. 

In another clip, the hostage is ordered to say “Indonesia must recognize Papua is independent.”

At the time of his abduction, Mehrtens, a pilot for the Indonesian airline Susi Air, was scheduled to pick up 15 construction workers building a health center in Paro after the rebels threatened to kill them.

Located in the Indonesian highlands, flying is the only practical way to access parts of Nduga. 

One of the five passengers on the plane when it landed in Paro was district chief Namia Gwijangge, who later described how the incensed rebels set fire to the plane and seized Mehrtens.

 “We deeply regret this incident,” Gwijangge said of the confrontation, which was also captured in a video released by the rebels.

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Sambom confirmed that the rebels released the five other passengers on the plane because they were indigenous Papuans.  

“I took [the pilot] hostage for Papua independence, not for food or drinks,” TPNPB leader Egianus Kogoya says in one of the videos, in which he appears alongside Mehrtens.

“He will be safe with me as long as Indonesia does not use its arms, either from the air or on the ground.”

Papua police chief Mathius Fakhiri told reporters in Jayapura that law enforcement was collaborating with community leaders, including tribal and church figures, to negotiate with the rebels.

Mehrtens’ kidnapping is the latest in a decades-long power struggle that began in the 1960s, when Papua ceased to be a Dutch colony and was subjugated by Indonesia after a brief stint of independence.

According to the BBC, the region has been jockeying for sovereignty since a UN-supervised vote confirmed Indonesia’s control in 1969.

In a video statement released Tuesday, however, Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Mohammad Mahfud appeared unbowed by Kogoya’s threats.

While Mahfud called Mehrtens’ abduction “unacceptable” and pledged that “the priority is the safety of the hostage,” he also reiterated Papua’s role as part of Indonesia.

“Papua will forever remain a legitimate part of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia,” he said.

With Post wires