JAKARTA (AFP) – New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been released from captivity by rebels in Indonesia’s restive region of Papua and was in good health despite the 19-month-long ordeal, Indonesian and New Zealand authorities said Saturday.
Mehrtens was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was snatched by rebels at Nduga airport in the restive region on February 7 last year.
“Today we have picked up pilot Phillip who is in good health and we flew him from Nduga to Timika,” Faizal Ramadhani, head of a special unit formed to handle rebels in Papua, said in a statement. A joint task force of police and military picked up Mehrtens in a village of Nduga district early Saturday, Faizal said.
The released hostage was then given medical and psychological checks before he was flown to Papua’s city of Timika. The New Zealand government said Mehrtens was doing well and had spoken to his family, which had been assisted by Wellington.
“We are pleased and relieved to confirm that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones.”
Mehrtens was providing vital air links and supplies to remote communities at the time of his abduction by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) insurgent group. His release came after intense diplomatic efforts by Wellington and Jakarta.
The Indonesian task force would hold a press conference later on Saturday, Faizal said.
Rebels had demanded Indonesia recognise Papuan independence in return for his freedom.
A New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said it would comment later. The TPNPB did not respond to a request for comment.
Video addresses
Last year, the independence fighters of the TPNPB set fire to the Susi Air plane, released five other passengers but held on to Mehrtens.
During his months-long ordeal 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 his captivity, but his appearance changed drastically over time, becoming gaunt, long-haired and with an unkempt beard in proof-of-life videos where he asked for medication to aid his asthma.
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 available option 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 United Nations-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 UN.
