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

Phillip Mehrtens has finally been freed almost 20 months after he was taken hostage by separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papuan highlands.

NZ pilot Phillip Mehrtens with Indonesian police and security officials from Operation Peaceful Cartenz at police HQ in Timika after his release.

New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has finally been freed, almost 20 months after he was taken hostage by separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papuan highlands.

The 38-year-old father of one was picked up by Indonesian security forces from an agreed location in Nduga Regency, where he was first kidnapped by armed rebels from the West Papuan National liberation Army (TPNPB) in February 2023 after landing his commercial passenger plane on a remote airstrip.

Footage released by authorities within hours of his rescue on Saturday morning showed a gaunt and emotional Mr Mehrtens speaking with his Bali-based wife in a tearful video call from Brimob police headquarters in the Papuan capital Timika.

Dressed in green shirts and tshirt with a long beard and traditional beads around his neck, Mr Mehrtens burst into tears on seeing his wife who could be heard in the video urging him to “hang in there”.

Bayu Suseno, a spokesman for the joint police and military Operation Peaceful Cartenz tasked with securing his release, said Mr Mehrtens “was overjoyed during the video call with his wife and family, informing them of his release”.

“Today, we successfully picked up Pilot Philip Mehrtens in the Yuguru area of Nduga Regency using a helicopter. He is currently in a special room undergoing health and psychological mitigation,” Dr Bayu said.

“This is the result of the hard work of our small team, which has been communicating with the Egianus Kogoya group through religious leaders, community leaders, youth leaders, and church leaders”.

“Earlier, I had the opportunity to meet Pilot Phillip and talk with him briefly. In essence, Pilot Phillip is very happy to breathe free air after being held for so long by the KKB (armed criminal group). In general, his health condition is good. Some some time ago, he experienced asthma but now his condition has improved.”

Dr Bayu gave special thanks to President Joko Widodo who told reporters in Jakarta “our patience in not resorting to repressive actions has allowed us to prioritise the safety of the hostage pilot”.

New Zealand foreign minister Winston hailed the “whole of government effort” to free the Kiwi pilot in a statement issued soon after his release which also appealed for privacy for the family.

“We are pleased and relieved to learn that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family. This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones,” Mr Peters said.

“The case has taken a toll on the Mehrtens family which has asked for privacy.”

The former Jetstar pilot was taken hostage by the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) as a bargaining chip for its push to secure independence from Indonesia.

After initially declaring h”Mr Mehrtens would not be released until the Indonesian government granted autonomy to the resource-rich region formerly known as West Papua, rebel leaders have spent months convincing notorious local TPNPB commander Egianus Kogoya to agree to his release.

Phillip Mehrtens with Indonesian police and security officials from Operation Peaceful Cartenz at police HQ in Timika after his release.

The NZ government’s refusal to negotiate with the fighters, persistent pressure from months of Indonesian military aerial strikes on Nduga and a global focus on conflicts elsewhere are all believed to have contributed to the decision to release him.

In successive proof of life videos since his capture Mr Mehrtens has looked increasingly gaunt despite assuring his family he was well.

Last week, TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom released a statement outlining a proposed plan for the pilot’s release that included demands that the government allow media “open access”.

Foreign media are largely barred from visiting the heavily-militarised series of Indonesian provinces which occupy the western half of the island of New Guinea where a long-running and deadly insurgency has intensified in recent years.

In 2018 Egianus Kogoya’s group claimed responsibility for a a massacre of at least 19 Indonesian road workers constructing a bridge in Nduga province.

At least 13 miners were killed in attacks by the same group in October last year while another New Zealand pilot, Glenn Malcolm Conning, was killed last month after landing his helicopter in a remote part of Central Papua province last month.

The TPNPB denied responsibility for his killing.

Just hours before Mr Mehrten’s Saturday morning release, the TPNPB issued an open letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres confirming its commitment to ensure he was released “in accordance with international standards for human rights protection”, and urging UN involvement in the process to an an extra “layer of assurance that this process unfolds smoothly”.

But it was not clear on Saturday who had ultimately secured his release.

Mr Mehrtens kidnapping has brought renewed attention to the ongoing struggle by Papuan rebels for the right to a referendum on self determination, more than half a century after the Indonesian government staged the widely-discredited ‘Act of Free Choice’ in which only 1025 people hand picked by the military were permitted to take part.

Many Papuans now refer to that 1969 referendum as the act of no choice.

A new Human Rights Watch report released this week documented dozens of recent cases in which peaceful acts of civil disobedience by indigenous west Papuans, such as raising the banned “Morning Star” flag are met with police and military brutality and long jail sentences.

In 2022, UN human rights experts called for urgent and unrestricted humanitarian access to the region because of serious concerns about “shocking abuses against Indigenous Papuans, including child killings, disappearances, torture and mass displacement of people”.