‘They’ll shoot me in two months,’ says New Zealand pilot captured in Indonesia’s Papua

Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region have threatened to shoot a New Zealand pilot they took hostage if independence talks do not begin within two months.

Philip Mehrtens was kidnapped earlier in February this year after he landed his plane at Paro airport in the remote highlands of the Nduga regency in Papua – a region at the heart of a decades-long war led by separatists against Indonesia.

He was taken hostage by the soldiers of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the militant wing of the Free Papua Organisation.

In a new video released on Friday, Mr Mehrtens is seen talking to the camera, saying the separatists want countries other than Indonesia to engage in dialogue on Papuan independence.

“If it does not happen within two months then they say they will shoot me,” Mr Mehrtens said in the video shared by Papuan rebel spokesperson Sebby Sambom and verified by Deka Anwar, an analyst at the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC).

Following the latest clip, New Zealand’s ministry of foreign affairs said they are “doing everything we can to secure a peaceful resolution and Mr Mehrtens’ safe release”.

While Indonesia’s authorities said they are trying to negotiate with the rebels to secure the pilot’s peaceful release, military spokesperson Julius Widjojono said that they will continue to carry out measurable actions consistent with standard operating procedure.

Papua, the world’s third-largest island country and a resource-rich region, was formerly a Dutch colony before it was controversially brought under Indonesian control in a widely criticised vote overseen by the United Nations in 1969.

Its eastern-most provinces have been battered with a low-level battle for independence, but the conflict escalated significantly since 2018, with pro-independence fighters conducting deadlier attacks.

The 37-year-old Christchurch native was kidnapped after his small passenger plane, belonging to Indonesia’s Susi Air, landed in Nduga with five passengers.

But shortly after landing, the rebels stormed into the plane and kidnapped him to use him for negotiations on the longstanding dispute.

The Free Papua Movement’s Diplomatic Council sent a letter to the New Zealand government, specifying their demands.

Its head of foreign affairs, Akouboo Amatus Douw, said Mr Mehrtens was lucky he was not killed instantly after flying into the region.

“We also respect his family, how they’re feeling,” Mr Douw said. “We say sorry but the family need to understand about the suffering of West Papuan people... more than 60 years.”

More recently, Rumianus Wandikbo of the TPNPB called on countries like New Zealand, Australia and other Western nations to kickstart talks with Indonesia and the separatists.

“We do not ask for money... We really demand our rights for sovereignty,” he said in a separate video.