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15 suspects named in Papua hostage case
Papua Police have named 15 people as suspects of an arson attack on a Susi Air plane and the subsequent kidnapping of its New Zealander Pilot, all linked to a Papuan separatist group.
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P
apua Police have named 15 people as suspects in an arson attack on a Susi Air plane and the subsequent kidnapping of its New Zealander Pilot, all linked to a Papuan separatist group.
Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo said all the suspects were currently at large and were connected to the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
“The 15 people are part of the armed rebel group led by Egianus Kogoya,” Benny told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Susi Air pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens has been held hostage by the armed rebel group since Feb. 7 after landing at an airport in the remote district of Paro, Nduga regency in the newly formed Papua Highlands province. The group burned the Susi Air aircraft and captured several Indonesian passengers, who were later released.
They demanded Jakarta recognize Papuan independence in return for Mehrtens’ release and have used the ongoing hostage crisis as a way to internationalize its political cause.
Papua general criminal directorate chief Sr. Comr. Faizal Ramdhani said police had gathered testimonies from at least five witnesses and investigated videos that were previously published by the West Papua National Liberation Army’s (TPNPB) OPM spokesperson Sebby Sembom.
The case was previously handled by the Nduga Police before being recently handed over to the Papua Police where it will be forwarded to the Damai Cartenz task force, which was assigned to maintain public order and security using a preventive approach in Papua.
“We have put the 15 people on the wanted list," Faizal said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.
The Jakarta Post contacted Sebby Sembom, but he was not immediately available for comment.
The TPNPB have shared photographs and videos of Mehrtens surrounded by about a dozen fighters, some armed with guns and some with bows and arrows. In the videos, Mehrtens is heard saying his captors asked for the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) withdrawal from Papua, otherwise he would be held for life.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said last week that the safety of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens was the top priority. The President said military officials were carefully weighing their options on how to secure the release of Mehrtens.
TNI commander Adm. Yudo Margono previously said the Indonesian security forces were set to conduct a long-term operation to rescue the New Zealand pilot and had no plan to deploy additional troops to the restive regency to help with the rescue operation, which he said would continue to be carried out “persuasively” to protect local civilians.
He repeatedly underlined that the TNI considered the hostage issue a law enforcement operation, not a military operation, and would continue to prioritize the persuasion approach.
On March 8, Yudo Margono said he had turned down New Zealand's offer of assistance in an operation to release the pilot. Yudo did not provide further details on what kind of assistance was brought to the table, except “diplomacy”. Prior to the offer, New Zealand diplomats had reportedly traveled to Papua to monitor the negotiation process by Indonesia.
The authorities had chosen to allow negotiations with the rebels to continue as fears grew that the use of force in any rescue attempt would only lead to a repeat of errors made in previous operations that went awry.
Nduga acting regent Namia Gwijangge and local religious and tribal leaders have also been assigned to negotiate with the captors for the pilot release.
