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VP calls for more security for flights into Papua
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A Susi Air plane was reportedly set on fire by rebels on Feb. 7, 2023, at a landing strip in Paro, Nduga, a restive regency in Papua’s central highlands. (Various sources/JP/Swi Handono)
V
ice President Ma’ruf Amin has called for better safeguards for civilian flights into Papua after the recent abduction of a New Zealand pilot by rebel fighters, as a joint security team continues its search in the mountainous jungle region beset by conflict.
The torching of an airplane operated by frontier airline Susi Air and the abduction of its foreign pilot in Nduga regency earlier this week exposed yet another problem, the Vice President suggested on Friday, as he called for security to be tightened around air travel infrastructure in Papua.
“An aircraft that has landed can only be set on fire if there is not enough security. There should have been some security attendance,” Ma’ruf said during a visit to Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
The commercial airplane had landed on an airstrip in Paro district, deep in Highland Papua province, on Tuesday with five local passengers and the pilot onboard, before armed rebels raided the airstrip, took hostages and torched the plane in a gesture of defiance against the government.
The West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization (OPM), claimed responsibility for the attack and demanded that the governments of Indonesia and New Zealand facilitate talks to liberate the region from what they consider an ongoing occupation.
A spokesperson for the rebel group claimed it had released the five Papuan passengers but had held onto the pilot, Captain Philip Merthens, as a bargaining chip.
Jakarta authorities say they believe the foreigner has escaped capture.
