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Relief as New Zealand pilot freed from captivity in Papua
Calls for a peaceful resolution to the continuing conflict in Papua have grown following the release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens on Saturday, after months of negotiations involving religious and community leaders to secure his freedom from the TPNPB faction that had held him for 19 months.
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New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens (left) poses for a selfie with a police officer on Sept. 21, 2024 at a press conference in Timika, Papua, following his release by a faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) that had held him captive for 19 months. (AFP/Handout/Cartenz Peace Operation)
I
ndonesian and New Zealand authorities rejoiced over the weekend as Philip Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot held hostage for 19 months by a Papuan armed group, walked free on Saturday.
Mehrtens was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was abducted on Feb. 7, 2023 by a faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) led by Egianus Kogoya in Nduga, Papua Highlands province.
Members of the Cartenz Peace Operation, a joint police and military task force assigned to curb armed criminal groups (KKB) and restore peace in the region, picked up Mehrtens on Saturday morning at a village in Nduga. Medical personnel then checked the pilot’s physical and psychological condition before he was transported to Timika, Papua.
Mehrtens’ family thanked the TPNPB, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), for taking care of the pilot while he was in captivity.
They also expressed gratitude to Egianus and his fighters for “keeping Phil as safe and healthy as their means allowed”, and for letting the pilot “get several messages out” during captivity to let his family know that he was alive.
Mehrtens made sporadic appearances in video messages addressing his family and the New Zealand government during his captivity in the Papuan countryside.
"Those messages filled our souls and gave us hope that we would eventually see Phil again," the family on Sunday, as quoted by AFP.
