Instead, he said authorities had chosen to allow negotiations with the rebels to continue, as fears grew that the use of force in the rescue attempt would only repeat the errors made in previous operations that went awry.

“What’s happening now is a law enforcement operation and not a military operation. We have opted for a law enforcement approach because there is a foreigner involved. We will continue with persuasion,” Yudo was quoted by Kompas daily as saying in Denpasar, Bali.

Another reason not to launch a military operation, he said, was to ensure that any action taken was conducive to a peaceful Papua and that no locals would be harmed.

He said that currently, Namia Gwijangge, the acting local regent, together with other local religious and tribal leaders, was still negotiating with the separatist group.

The statement came on the 15th day since New Zealand national Phillip Mehrtens, a pilot for frontier airline Susi Air, was abducted shortly after landing a commercial flight in the remote Nduga regency in the newly created province of Papua Highlands on Feb. 7.

Mehrtens, 37, was abducted by a local cell of the West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) led by Egianus Kogoya, which has demanded that Indonesia recognize Papuan independence in return for his release.

The TPNPB shared photographs and videos of the pilot last week surrounded by about a dozen fighters, some armed with guns and bows and arrows. Mehrtens is heard saying that his captors asked for the TNI’s withdrawal from Papua, otherwise he would be held for life.

The government insists Papua is and will remain part of Indonesia.

Avoiding violence

Observers had grown wary of Jakarta’s insistence on keeping the military option on the table, especially after reports emerged that security forces were zeroing in on Mehrten’s location and had his captors surrounded.

Deka Anwar, an analyst with the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), said that prioritizing diplomacy over possible conflict was the right choice, since military action might be more detrimental in the long run.

“I think it would be nearly impossible for the TPNPB to have their demand for an independent Papua fulfilled […] But, as long as they are willing to negotiate, the government’s end game of freeing [Mehrtens] should be feasible,” Deka told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

A military rescue operation, on the other hand, would only harm civilians caught in the crossfire, the security researcher said. This is due in part to Nduga’s densely forested and mountainous terrain that makes it difficult for security forces to reach the rebel group.

“[Hurting civilians] might lead to a humanitarian conflict in Nduga. This, in turn, would only increase Papuan’s dislike of the central government and increase the appeal of separatist groups seem more app,” the security researcher said.

On Tuesday, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD revealed that the authorities had encircled the group holding the pilot hostage.

However, he claimed that New Zealand intervened before a military operation could be carried out.

“The New Zealand government came here and said, ‘we ask that there be no violence because it involves one of our own [...] so that this doesn’t turn into an international problem,’” Mahfud said at a public dialogue in Jakarta.

“With that, we are still handling the situation. Let us wait and hope for a resolution,” he added.

The New Zealand foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Wellington has in the past underlined the importance of its citizens’ welfare.

Simmering tensions

The incident is the first in nearly three decades to involve a foreign hostage, and violates a deal in November 2022 on a humanitarian pause that was agreed between the ad hoc National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the state-backed Papuan People’s Assembly and the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, a forum for Papuan self-determination.

Conflict between security forces and indigenous Papuan rebels has simmered for decades in the country’s easternmost region, which remains among the most impoverished despite its rich mineral deposits.

More recently, flaring tensions amid the stalemate in the pilot’s rescue mission have forced authorities to evacuate local residents from parts of Nduga.

Head of the Praja Wira Yakthi Military Command (Korem) in Jayapura, Brig. Gen. Juinta Ontoh Sembiring, said that 18 civilians from Nduga’s Alma village were evacuated on Monday.

“[We] received news that the cell led by Egianus had begun to split into several groups and was looking to take hostages again,” Juinta said in a statement on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

“Alama village was right in the path of the group, leaving the locals there feeling nervous.”

Also on Monday, a joint team of police and military personnel confiscated a number of assets, including weapons and documents, thought to belong to the TPNPB in Nduga.

It had also secured Nduga’s Paro airstrip where Mehrtens’s aircraft was attacked, Tempo.co reported.

Senior Papua expert Adriana Elizabeth of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) blamed Mahfud’s comments for having inflamed tensions. The senior minister said earlier that the government would not rule out “other approaches” apart from peaceful negotiations.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this rescue mission will end up becoming a military operation,” Adriana told the Post on Tuesday. (tjs)

Popular

Prone to fire and fresh air problems, people in Tambora figure out life in a slum area

Tycoon Musk touches down in Bali for Starlink launch

Red tape constrains AC supply as Jakarta heat drives demand