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New Zealand calls for release of pilot kidnapped in Papua
Hipkins said New Zealand’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs was leading the response by working with Indonesian authorities.
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ew Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Wednesday called for the release of a Kiwi pilot kidnapped six months ago by separatists in Papua.
New Zealander Phillip Mehrtens was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air in February when he was snatched by rebels at an airport in Nduga.
“Phillip is a much-loved father, husband, brother and son,” Hipkins told reporters in Auckland.
“I want to urge, once again, those who are holding Phillip to release him immediately.
“There is absolutely no justification for taking hostages.
“The longer Phillip is held, the more risk there is to his well-being and the harder this becomes for him and for his family.”
Hipkins said New Zealand’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs was leading the response by working with Indonesian authorities.
The prime minister also said he had spoken with Mehrtens’ family this week “to assure them that the government is doing all it can to bring Phillip home”.
“I acknowledge this is an incredibly challenging time for them,” he said. “Phillip’s safety and well-being remains our top priority.”
The rebels who kidnapped Mehrtens are from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
They previously demanded that Indonesia recognize Papuan independence in return for the New Zealander’s release.
According to the Indonesian Military, armed separatists had ambushed its soldiers searching for Mehrtens in April, killing at least one soldier.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in July that the government had been working very hard to secure the release of the New Zealand pilot.
Speaking at a press conference in Jayapura during a tour of the province following his sojourn to neighboring Papua New Guinea, President Jokowi said he could not openly talk about what measures were being taken to deal with the hostage crisis.
He also said there had been successive meetings to discuss ways to seek the release of Mehrtens.
“We’re not sitting idly by. We have tried really hard [...] but we can’t disclose what we have done on the ground,” Jokowi said.
