New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity

Mehrtens was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was snatched by rebels in Papua last year – Copyright CARTENZ PEACE TASK FORCE/AFP Handout

Dessy SAGITA

New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been released from captivity by rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua region and is in good health despite the 19-month ordeal, Indonesian and New Zealand authorities said Saturday.

Mehrtens, 38, was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was snatched by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) insurgent group at Papua’s Nduga airport on February 7 last year.

A joint task force of police and military forces collected Mehrtens in a village of Nduga district early Saturday before he was given medical and psychological checks and flown to the Papuan city of Timika, said the unit’s head Faizal Ramadhani.

“Today I have been freed. I am very happy that shortly I will be able to go home and meet my family,” Mehrtens told reporters in Timika, speaking in Indonesian.

“Thank you for everybody who helped me today, so I can get out safely in a healthy condition.”

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Mehrtens was “safe and well” and had been able to speak with his family.

“This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones,” Peters added.

Mehrtens was providing vital air links and supplies to remote communities at the time of his abduction.

Faizal said in a press conference that the pilot would be flown to the capital Jakarta, without saying where he would go next.

The task force also released footage of an emotional Mehrtens taking a phone call from his family, with one unidentified loved one heard saying “hang in there”.

– Video addresses –

His release came after intense diplomatic efforts by Wellington and Jakarta.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Saturday that Jakarta had secured Mehrtens’s safety through negotiation, not force.

“We prioritised the safety of the pilot who was held hostage. It took a long process and I appreciate the authorities,” he told reporters.

Rebels had demanded Indonesia recognise Papuan independence in return for his freedom.

The TPNPB did not respond to a request for comment on his release.

The rebels had at one point threatened to kill Mehrtens if talks were not forthcoming. The group had said foreign nationals were targets because their governments had ties with Indonesia.

The Indonesian military had said armed separatists ambushed soldiers searching for Mehrtens in April, killing at least one.

In February 2023, TPNPB rebels set fire to a Susi Air plane and released five passengers, but held on to Mehrtens.

During his captivity in the Papuan countryside, the New Zealander made sporadic appearances on video, likely under duress, to address his family and his government.

The rebels said he was in good health throughout, but his appearance changed drastically over time, with the pilot becoming gaunt, long-haired and bearded in proof-of-life videos in which he asked for medication to aid his asthma.

Mehrtens appeared in good physical condition in handout images published by Indonesian authorities on Saturday.

– ‘Gentle man’ –

Mehrtens, a father of one, grew up in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

During his captivity, he was described by friends as a “kind and gentle man” who was helping Papuans by flying into remote areas not accessible by road and that many would not fly to, according to New Zealand media outlets. 

Indonesia maintains a heavy military presence in resource-rich but underdeveloped Papua to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.

Rebel attacks in the region have risen in recent years and flying is the only way to reach remote mountainous areas there.

Another New Zealander pilot, 50-year-old Glen Malcolm Conning, was shot dead last month after landing in the region with two Indonesian health workers and two children, all of whom survived.

Papua’s Melanesian population shares few cultural connections with the rest of Indonesia and the military has long been accused of gross human rights abuses there.

The former Dutch colony declared independence in 1961, but neighbouring Indonesia took control two years later, promising a referendum. In 1969, a thousand Papuans voted to integrate into Indonesia in a UN-backed vote.

Papuan independence activists regularly criticise the vote and call for fresh polls, but Jakarta says its sovereignty over Papua is supported by the United Nations.