New Zealand pilot held hostage by rebels in West Papua

Rebels in Indonesia’s West Papua region have released a series of videos of themselves with a pilot who was taken hostage last week.

Phillip Mark Mehrtens, of Christchurch in New Zealand, was captured last Tuesday by independence fighters from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Organisation.

They stormed his single-engine plane shortly after it landed at a small airport in Paro.

The plane, operated by Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, was carrying five passengers and about 450kg of mining supplies.

The rebels released the indigenous Papuan passengers and set fire to the plane, rebel spokesperson Sebby Sambom said.

The pilot was scheduled to pick up 15 construction workers who had been building a health centre in Paro after a group of rebels, led by Egianus Kogoya, had threatened to kill them, said Nduga district chief Namia Gwijangge.

Mr Gwijangge, who was one of the passengers, said: ‘Our plan to evacuate the workers angered the rebels, who responded by setting fire to the plane and seizing the pilot.

‘We deeply regret this incident.’

Kiwi pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens was taken hostage by a group of seperatists in Indonesia (Picture: West Papua Liberation Army)

The group yesterday released photos and videos of several gunmen setting fire to the plane on the runway. 

Sitting in the plane’s cockpit, Kogoya said he took the pilot hostage as part of their struggle ‘to free Papua’ from Indonesia.

Another video showed a man identified as Mehrtens standing in a forest surrounded by a group of people armed with rifles, spears and bows and arrows. 

In a third video, the man was ordered by the rebels to say: ‘Indonesia must recognise Papua is independent.’

‘I took him hostage for Papua independence, not for food or drinks,’ Kogoya said in the video with the man standing next to him. 

‘He will be safe with me as long as Indonesia does not use its arms, either from the air or on the ground.’

The group claim they will hold Mr Mehrtens hostage until the Indonesian government recognises West Papua’s independence (Picture: West Papua Liberation Army)

The Indonesian government is preparing plans to negotiate Mr Mehrtans’ release (Picture: West Papua Liberation Army)

Coordinating minister for political, security and legal affairs Mohammad Mahfud said the government was making every effort to persuade the rebels to release Mehrtens ‘because the priority is the safety of the hostage’.

‘Taking civilians hostage for any reason is unacceptable,’ he said in a video statement last night.

He emphasized the government’s view that Papua is part of Indonesia.

‘Papua will forever remain a legitimate part of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia,’ Mr Mahfud said.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement: ‘We are aware of the photos and video circulating but won’t be commenting further at this stage.’