The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) has released a new video about New Zealand hostage pilot Philip Mehrtens and a Papuan news organisation, Jubi TV, has featured it on its website.
The Susi Air pilot was taken hostage on February 7 after landing in a remote region near Nduga in the Central Papuan highlands.
In the video, which was sent to RNZ Pacific, Mehrtens was instructed to read a statement saying “no foreign pilots are to work and fly” into the Papuan highlands until the West Papua is independent.
- READ MORE: Sebulan disandera, TPNPB rilis video dan foto kondisi terbaru pilot Susi Air (After a month of being held hostage, TPNPB releases videos and photos of the latest condition of the Susi Air pilot)
- Other NZ hostage pilot reports
- Other West Papua reports
He made another demand for West Papua independence from Indonesia later in the statement.
Mehrtens was surrounded by more than a dozen people, some of them armed with weapons.
RNZ Pacific has chosen not to publish the video. Other New Zealand news services, including The New Zealand Herald, have also chosen not to publish the video.
Jubi TV item on YouTube
However, Jubi TV produced an edited news item and published it on YouTube and its website.
Previously, a West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) spokesperson said they were waiting for a response from the New Zealand government to negotiate the release of Mehrtens.
A Papua independence movement leader, Benny Wenda, and church and community leaders last month called for the rebels to release Mehrtens.
Wenda said he sympathised with the New Zealand people and Merhtens’ family but insisted the situation was a result of Indonesia’s refusal to allow the UN Human Rights Commissioner to visit Papua.
But Commander Ramadani said that the security forces would continue the negotiation process.
According to Commander Ramadani, efforts to negotiate the release of Mehrtens by the local government, religious leaders, and Nduga community leaders were rejected by the TPNPB.
“We haven’t received the news directly, but we received information that there was a rejection,” said Commander Ramadani in Jayapura on Tuesday.
“The whereabouts of Egianus’ group and Mehrtens are not yet known as the situation in the field is very dynamic,” he said.
“But we will keep looking.”
Republished with permission from RNZ Pacific and Jubi TV.
Key points:
- The video message was released on Friday morning by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB)
- Captain Philip Mehrtens says he has been taken care of "as well as can be expected"
- New Zealand's ambassador to Indonesia last week offered assistance to Indonesia to help free the pilot
It is now more than a month since Captain Philip Mehrtens was seized and taken hostage after he landed a small Susi Airlines plane last month in the remote highlands of central Papua.
In a video message released on Friday morning by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), Captain Mehrtens says he has been "really worried" about Maria and Jacob, his wife and young son.
With a trembling voice, he assured them he is being looked after as well as possible. "Maria and Jacob, I love you and miss you both very much," he said in the video.
These walks likely refer to measures the rebels have taken to avoid detection by Indonesian military forces.
Indonesian authorities last month claimed they knew the pilot's exact location and were about to launch a rescue mission, until New Zealand asked them to abandon the plans to avoid any violence.
The 37-year-old pilot also asked for his salary to be paid directly to his family so they would "have money for food and bills".
New Zealand's ambassador to Indonesia, Kevin Burnett, last week offered assistance to Indonesia to help free the pilot.
But Indonesia's military commander, Admiral Yodo Margono, turned the offer down, saying he is still able to complete the rescue mission.
He says Indonesian forces will continue with "persuasion and patience", so as to protect local civilians in the area.
However, Indonesian media reports last month said New Zealand had sent diplomats to the area to assist in efforts to secure Mr Mehrtens's release.
The rebel group, which is the armed wing of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM), insists it will not release the pilot until Indonesia grants full independence over the entire Papua region.
West Papua
The Indonesian provinces of West Papua and Papua where rebels have held the pilot hostage.
Armed Papuan groups have been fighting their integration with Indonesia since the 1960s, but their fight
has become more violent in the past few years, with other hostages taken and dozens of people killed in clashes between rebels and Indonesian forces.
In another video recording, Mr Mehrtens conveyed a message from the rebels to the Indonesian government.
"OPM requests the United Nations to mediate between Papua and Indonesia to work towards Papuan
independence. OPM will release me after Papua is independent."
The separatist group also used the New Zealander to warn other foreign pilots not to come to Papua.
In a third video, one of the rebels called on New Zealand to raise the ongoing conflict in Papua with the UN Human Rights Commission.
A spokesperson for New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the ministry was aware of the video.
"We continue to do everything we can to secure a peaceful resolution and the safe release of the hostage," the spokesperson said.
"We are also supporting the family of the New Zealander, both here in Aotearoa and in Indonesia. They have
asked for privacy at this incredibly challenging time."
'What happened was a surprise'
The founder of Susi Airlines last week said she would "fight with everything" to secure the pilot's freedom.
"What happened was a surprise, and I am deeply concerned and astounded," said Susi Pudjiastuti.
Sebby Sambom, a spokesman from the rebel group, gave a separate assurance that Mr Mehrtens is "fine, safe and healthy".
In 2021, Indonesia designated Papuan separatist rebels as a terrorist group.
It says Papua has been its territory since a 1969 United Nations-sponsored vote backed the region's integration into Indonesia.
Pro-independence groups say the vote was a sham because it involved only 1,025 hand-picked people.
Last year, UN human rights experts expressed serious concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in Papua and West Papua, citing "shocking abuses against Indigenous Papuans, including child killings,
disappearances, torture and mass displacement of people".
They called for "urgent humanitarian access to the region", and urged the Indonesian government
to "conduct full and independent investigations into abuses against the Indigenous peoples".
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