Hope of pilot Philip Mehrtens rescue from Papua despite casualties

Analysts warn Papua’s separatist insurgency is growing in strength amid a rising death toll from the ongoing military operations to rescue captured NZ pilot Philip Mehrtens.

New Zealand pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens with his captors. Picture: Twitter

The Indonesian military says it knows where New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens is being held hostage by Papuan separatist rebels and will intensify its rescue operation, despite rising casualties in the wake of a deadly weekend attack on security forces.

The West Papuan National Liberation Army (TPNPB) claimed on Sunday to have killed nine soldiers in Saturday’s strike on Indonesian military and police in the Yal district of Nduga, the centre of clashes between the state and rebel fighters in the ­Papuan highlands.

The military said it could confirm only one casualty because of the remote location of the attack and poor communications, though an internal “preliminary” military report seen by The Australian suggested six soldiers may have been killed and nine taken hostage. Another 21 scattered into the jungle.

Despite clashing narratives, analysts say a string of recent attacks shows the insurgency is stronger than previously thought, with TPNPB armed groups also staging attacks outside Nduga – where Mr Mehrtens, 37, was captured on February 7 after landing a routine passenger flight – and in other highlands areas and the central Papuan region.

“It shows (rebel leader) Egianus Kogoya’s group is bigger than we thought. With more successful attacks and better access to firearms, he can equip more fighters with good weapons,” Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict research analyst Deka Anwar told The Australian.

Mr Anwar said the rebels – also responsible for killing 21 mostly civilian road workers in Nduga in 2018 – appeared to be motivating copycat attacks on the military by other armed groups.

Thousands of soldiers were deployed in the wake of that massacre to hunt down Kogoya who was, increasingly, being romanticised online by young indigenous Papuans as a Che Guevara-style rebel leader.

“I don’t know what more they (military) can do in Nduga. They can’t risk sending helicopters in because it’s so foggy and if they fly low they’ll get shot at or crash into mountains,” Mr Anwar said.

“You can only walk, but it’s not their territory. This is like Vietnam. You can’t venture too far from your military post because you’ll get picked off one by one.

“The government wants to get rid of this group but they’re losing control of the entire region and I think we all agree it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

Jakarta insists it is pursuing a “soft approach” to securing Mr Mehrtens’ freedom through local Papuan intermediaries, although there is concern the military’s dogged pursuit of the rebels is hampering negotiation efforts.

Some analysts have warned the government must begin negotiating directly with the group to avoid a “worst-case scenario” in which it is forced to reimpose a military emergency in parts of the Papuan Highlands, a move Jakarta is desperate to avoid in the lead-up to the February 2024 elections.

Asked about the rising death toll on Sunday, Indonesian military spokesman Julius Widjojono said a thorough evaluation would be conducted into the latest attack in which members of a rescue task force were ambushed as they approach the kidnappers’ camp, and one soldier fell down a ravine to his death.

But he added: “The next operation will be intensified with command control remaining in the hands of the TNI (Indian Armed Forces) commander.

“We now know the pilot’s ­location, and the operation is ­becoming more focused”.

TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom said the group had repeatedly called for peaceful negotiations with Indonesia and New Zealand – though only last week it dropped its demand for Jakarta to recognise Papuan independence before Mr Mehrtens is released.

The military and police had ignored their requests, and instead launched “massive military operations in Ndugama”, killing a pregnant woman and two TPNPB fighters, he claimed.

“Therefore, TPNPB forces under the command of Egianus Kogoya began to retaliate.”

Additional reporting: Dian Septiari