Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua region on Wednesday said they would like to release a New Zealand pilot taken hostage nearly a year ago, but officials in Jakarta and Wellington were delaying negotiations for his freedom.
In response, a government spokesman said authorities did not trust the claim by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), which had initially demanded that Papua be freed from Indonesia in exchange for pilot Philip Mehrtens, and later agreed to negotiate with a third-party mediator.
Rebels in Nduga regency captured the pilot on Feb. 7, 2023, after attacking his plane and setting it on fire. Mehrtens is the longest they have held anyone captive.
“We at TPNPB headquarters agreed to release the New Zealand pilot, because he was a pilot from our neighboring country and most Australians and New Zealanders are supporters of an independent Papua,” rebel spokesman Sebby Sambom said in a statement.
“And we also detained him not as an enemy, but as a friend living with TPNPB troops.”
BenarNews contacted Sambom for details about Mehrtens’ potential release.
“We’re trying to find the best solution,” he told BenarNews.
Sambom said the group had tried to negotiate with the governments of New Zealand and Indonesia.
Indonesian military has made efforts to search for Mehrtens but has been unsuccessful.
Four Indonesian soldiers were killed last April when rebels ambushed security forces who the military said were conducting an operation to rescue the pilot.
Mehrtens, a pilot for Susi Air, a small airline operating in remote areas of Indonesia, was kidnapped after his plane landed in Paro district, Nduga regency. The rebels freed five passengers.
The Liberation Army has been seeking independence from Indonesia since 1963, when Papua, a former Dutch colony, was annexed by Jakarta. The Free Papua Movement has waged a low-level guerrilla war against Indonesian rule ever since.
Indonesia considers Papua as sovereign territory and has rejected any calls for a new referendum. It also deployed thousands of troops and police to quell unrest, which often resulted in human rights violations and civilian casualties.
No follow-up discussions
Government spokesman Bayu Suseno, who works for a military and police task force dealing with the Papua insurgency, doubted the sincerity of Sambom’s statement that the rebels would like to release the pilot.
“They want to release him? When? Why trust armed criminals?” Bayu told BenarNews.
He said the government had tasked Nduga regency’s leader Edison Gwijangge, who is related to rebel leader Egianus Kogoya, to talk to the Liberation Army, but no deal had been reached.
“We put the pilot’s welfare and safety first,” Bayu said.
Meanwhile, Papua police spokesman Benny Ady Prabowo said he was unaware of any plan to free the pilot.
Indonesian military information chief Nugraha Gumilar and presidential adviser Theo Litaay did not respond to BenarNews requests for comment.
Sambom said the rebels held a high-level meeting in April 2023 with a New Zealand delegation in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, but there have been no follow-up discussions since.
He also said rebels received a positive response from Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to a letter they sent him last May, but there was no further action.
“We think that the New Zealand government and the Indonesian government are both unable to talk with us about freeing the Kiwi pilot, and they don’t understand humanity, because for the sake of humanity we have to talk to free the New Zealand pilot,” Sambom said.
The New Zealand government has not commented on the latest statement by the rebel spokesman. Its foreign ministry previously said it was working with Indonesian authorities to secure Mehrtens’ release.
Papua issue ‘not easy to solve’
Adriana Elisabeth, a Papua researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency, said the government is more concerned about the upcoming Feb. 14 presidential election than it is about the hostage situation.
“Whoever becomes president, the Papua problem will be a challenge that is not easy to solve. The pilot case is just one aspect of the Papua conflict,” she told BenarNews.
Adriana said the release was delayed because the rebels’ demand for independence in exchange for the hostage could not be met.
She added that the only path to a solution was a political dialogue held on the condition that the hostage is freed.
“Without an agreement on this, it is hard to find a solution,” Adriana said.
Yan Christian Warinussy, spokesman for the Papua Peace Network NGO, said there had been no serious effort to free Mehrtens.
“Both sides need to be sincere,” he told BenarNews.
Several democratic, progressive and socialist organisations in Indonesia and in the Melanesian region of West Papua have come together in solidarity with Palestine and formed an alliance called the People’s Movement for Palestinian Independence (GERAK Palestine).
In a statement released by GERAK Palestine, the group declared full support for the Palestinian people to resist oppression and for their right to the return to their land, reports Arah Juang.
GERAK Palestine has also demanded an end to all aggression and an end to Israel’s war on Gaza that has killed more than 26,000 people so far — mainly women and children — and attacks on the West Bank with the arrest and imprisonment of Palestinian people.
The movement also wants the Indonesian government to cut all indirect diplomatic, economic and political ties with Israel and Zionist entities. It has also called for a “secular, democratic, just and independent Palestine”.
The alliance has held many actions in several Indonesian cities, but only gave details on those in November in its statement.
On Sunday, November 19, in Bojonegoro, East Java, the Socialist Youth League (LPS) joined GERAK Palestine to organise a campaign in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
A stall was opened in front of the Bojonegoro regency government offices on Car Free Day and leaflets and stickers were distributed with banners being displayed demanding “One State and an Independent Palestine”.
Papuan students
In the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar, the Student Struggle Center for National Liberation (PPMPN), the Indonesian Student Union (SMI), the Papua Student Alliance (AMP) and other organisations joined GERAK Palestine to hold an action with political speeches and poetry readings.
Earlier on November 16, the alliance held actions in the form of public discussions and a consolidation.
In Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, the Communal League joined with GERAK Palestine in a social media campaign and setup information stall providing readings on Palestine. The activists also handed out leaflets and issued a statement.
On Monday, November 13, in Jayapura, Papua, several different organisations joined GERAK Palestine to hold a consolidation and discussion on Palestine at the Green Papua Secretariat.
Following this, on November 15, alliance activists held a discussion around the theme “Update on the Palestinian Situation, Against Imperialism”.
On November 17, activists held a second more detailed discussion on the same theme and heading off for an action.
On Sunday, November 19, a free speech forum was held in the afternoon at the Sinak Student Dormitory featuring political speeches, songs of struggle and poems.
Police crackdown
In Sorong, South-West Papua, on November 21, several organisations joined an action with GERAK Palestine to launch an action. A police crackdown also claimed that the action was not in the context of solidarity with Palestine but was part of a pro-independence action for the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
In the Central Java city of Yogyakarta, several different organisations joined GERAK Palestine to hold a demonstration demanding full independence for Palestine. The action began with a long-march from the Abu Bakar Ali parking area through the Malioboro shopping district to the zero kilometre point in front of the Central Post Office.
The protesters carried posters and held speeches condemning Israel’s brutal actions in Palestine.
In Ternate, North Maluku, several organisations and students groups from a number of different campuses joined GERAK Palestine to hold a solidarity action and support Palestinian independence.
In Semarang, Central Java, activists from the Semarang XR Youth Resistance and IDPAL joined together to demand Palestinian independence during an action at the Semarang Water Fountain.
In Jakarta, a Palestine solidarity action was attended by around 100 people from different organisations. The police however prevented protesters from displaying banners and posters as symbols of solidarity.
At the end of the rally, the protesters read out a statement in solidarity with Palestine and demanded that the Indonesian government cut all diplomatic, economic and political ties with Israel.
On November 21 the Bali Committee of the Democratic National Student Secretariat (SDMN) and the Women’s Studio (Sanggar Puan) held online and offline discussions under the theme “Palestinian Genocide and the Feminist Response” focusing on the history of settler-colonialism carried out by Israel, the international politics surrounding the War on Gaza, the genocide committed by Israel against Palestine and gender-based violence in war and conflict.
Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News from Arah Juang. The original title of the article was “Aksi Serentak Nasional Gerakan Rakyat untuk Kemerdekaan Palestina”.
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