Thursday, March 9, 2023

1) Rebels in Indonesia's Papua call in NZ hostage video for UN mediation


2) Captured NZ pilot in Papua in another video appearance 
3) TAPOL statement on the hostage-taking in Nduga, West Papua

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1) Rebels in Indonesia's Papua call in NZ hostage video for UN mediation
 Reuters

JAKARTA, March 10 (Reuters) - A New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage last month by rebels in Indonesia's Papua region has appeared in videos put out by separatists calling for the United Nations to mediate in the conflict in the resource-rich region.  Pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who works for the small, domestic Susi Air service, was abducted by the armed wing of Free Papua Movement (OPM) on Feb. 7 after landing at an airstrip in the Nduga district.

"OPM requests the United Nations to mediate between Papua and Indonesia to work towards Papuan independence," Mehrtens said in one video, echoing comments in a earlier video statement, in which he said he would only be released if Papua became independent.  

Reuters could not independently verify where and when the videos were taken. Sebby Sambom, a spokesperson for the rebels, said they were shot on March 6.  

Papua, the western half of New Guinea island, has seen a low-level separatist insurgency since the region that was once governed by the Netherlands was brought under Indonesian control following a U.N.-supervised vote in 1969 that separatists say was flawed. 

 Indonesia's chief security minister and other officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the videos.  Since the rebels seized the pilot, officials have sought to use dialogue to secure his release, saying a "law enforcement operation" would be a last resort.

In one of the videos, Mehrtens read out a statement while sitting in a jungle clearing and surrounded by a group of men, some with guns and one with a bow.  Wearing a blue jacket, beige trousers and a camouflage hat, Mehrtens said he had been instructed to read the statement with new demands from OPM.  "No foreign pilots are permitted to work and fly in Papua until Papua is independent," said Mehrtens.  

Hostage-taking of foreigners has been rare in the region, but the conflict has escalated since 2018, with rebels mounting deadlier and more frequent attacks.  In another of the videos, Mehrtens sent his love to his family and asked that any salary he was owed be given to them for food and bills.  

"Try not to worry about me I am being taken care of as well as can be expected given the situation," he said, adding he was getting enough food and water, warm clothes and medicine. 

 "Hopefully we can be together soon," he said.

In a third video, a separatist called on countries such as New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Britain, France, China, and Russia to stop military cooperation with Indonesia.  

Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Angie Teo; Editing by Ed Davies, Robert Birsel 

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2) Captured NZ pilot in Papua in another video appearance 
12:02 pm today  
The West Papua Liberation Army had released a new video of New Zealand hostage, Philip Mehrtens.
The Susi Air pilot was taken hostage on February 7 after landing in the remote region of Nduga.
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 Highland Papua until Papua is independent.
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.
Previously, a West Papua Liberation Army spokesperson said they were waiting for a response from the New Zealand government to negotiate the release of Mehrtens.
Papua independence movement leader Benny Wenda last month called for the rebels to release Mehrtens.
He 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.

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3) TAPOL statement on the hostage-taking in Nduga, West Papua
8 MAR 2023   TAPOL

It has been a month since Susi Air pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens was taken hostage by the National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB) in Nduga, in the highlands of Papua Pegunungan Province. Despite putting the West Papua issue back in the international spotlight, the hostage-taking of civilians is regrettable and unjustified based on international human rights and humanitarian norms.

The incident began after Mehrtens landed a Pilatus Porter PC-6 Susi Air plane at Paro Airport, Paro District, in Nduga Regency, to deliver five Papuans from Timika, 7th February 2023. Troops from the TPNPB’s War Area Command (Kodap) III Ndugama-Derakma ambushed them and released the passengers, setting the plane on fire and taking the pilot  hostage.

The TPNPB promised to release Mehrtens if the government met their main demands, which was recognising West Papua's independence. Otherwise, the TPNPB claimed to be recruiting Mehrtens to train their troops to fly planes.

The government has set up a team composed of police and military for the hostage release operation. Local governments as well as members of churches and local community leaders were also deployed to establish communication with the armed group. But there was no resolution, especially because the TPNPB wanted United Nations mediation.

Two weeks ago the government said it had located the hostages' whereabouts. However, the New Zealand Government called on Indonesia to exercise restraint and to continue to use persuasive methods and to negotiate with Mehrtens’ captors. New Zealand does not want the issue to become of international concern.

Aside from the New Zealand Government's concerns, TAPOL supports the use of negotiation and persuasion as the most sensible path to resolve this situation. The government should not be led by those who wish to launch military operations to rescue Mehrtens, because the track record of similar military operations in the past has resulted in an increase in the number of civilian casualties who were not involved in armed conflict. Indonesia must be careful that the outcome of the 1996 Mapenduma hostage crisis that ended with the special forces storming the place where hostages were held, resulting in the deaths of two hostages and their captors, is not repeated. This incident shows that there is no place for reckless decisions that could put the lives of hostages at risk.

Considering what has happened since the hostage-taking incident has begun, TAPOL states:

  • The act of taking hostages cannot be justified through the lens of humanitarian law and international human rights law. Moreover, the pilot was a civilian and was not involved in the armed conflict between the TPNPB and Indonesian security forces.

  • We hope that Mehrtens  will be treated humanely while in captivity. He must not be subjected to any torture or ill-treatment. His mental and physical wellbeing must be guaranteed by his captors and basic provisions must be granted to him. Torture and ill-treatment are prohibited in any situation, whether during peacetime or in  armed conflict situations, by international human rights and humanitarian law.

  • The Indonesian government must continue to prioritise negotiations while involving competent, authoritative, and neutral international third parties.

  • There should be no place for the involvement of the Indonesian National Military (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), let alone the Military’s Special Forces Command (Kopassus), in negotiations nor influencing decisions related to negotiations. 

  • We urge conflicting parties, in this case the TPNPB and the TNI/Polri, to adhere to the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution, in order to prevent civilians - both the pilot who is being held hostage and other civilians in the surrounding area - who are not involved in the armed conflict from becoming victims of unjustified actions including violence.

  • The Government of Indonesia has a responsibility to guarantee and protect the  human rights of civilians who must be relocated (Internally Displaced Persons / IDPs) due to security problems in Nduga. Apart from fulfilling these guarantees, it must also give serious consideration to admitting international agencies with experience in providing aid to IDPs.

 

ENDS

Contact: info@tapol.org

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