Peace Efforts First Priority in Releasing NZ Pilot
A peaceful approach through dialogue is being taken to release Captain Philip Mehrtens, a Susi Air pilot who was taken hostage by an armed criminal group in Papua.
By
Kompas Team
·5 minutes read
KOMPAS
Susi Air plane catches fire in Papua Mountains.Philip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by an armed criminal group or KKB led by Egianus Kogoya..
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — A joint team of the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police (Polri) and the Cartenz Peace Task Force are trying to release Philip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot held hostage by the armed criminal group or KKB led by Egianus Kogoya. Religious and community leaders in Paro District, Nduga regency, Papua Highlands province, are also trying to establish communication with the KKB so that Mehrtens can be released soon.
TNI chief Adm. Yudo Margono, said in Jakarta on Wednesday that Mehrtens' whereabouts had been detected.
Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo said efforts to rescue the pilot of the Susi Air plane were continuing.
Mehrtens flew a Susi Air plane from Mimika, Central Papua province, to Nduga, Tuesday morning. Susi Air management lost contact with the flight crew a few minutes after the plane landed at Paro Airport, Nduga.
The Susi Air plane with registration number PK-BVY was allegedly set on fire by the KKB when it was about to evacuate 15 infrastructure workers in Paro. The evacuation plan was carried out after they received threats from Egianus.
Five passengers on the plane were released, namely Demanus Gwijangge, Minda Gwijangge, Pelenus Gwijangge, Meita Gwijangge and a baby named Wetina (Kompas, 8/2/2023).
Meanwhile, the 15 infrastructure workers who received threats and were allegedly taken hostage by the KKB were successfully evacuated by a joint TNI-Polri team from Nduga to Mimika, Wednesday.
Spokesperson for the Free Papua Organization National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM), Sebby Sambom, said Mehrtens was in good health until now. "The TPN-OPM will negotiate the release of Philip [Mark Mehrtens] with the Indonesian government," said Sebby.
Best approach
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said Indonesia would take the best approach to save Mehrtens. This was conveyed by Retno when speaking with New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, Wednesday morning.
“I have communicated with the New Zealand Foreign Minister this morning in Canberra. I convey that Indonesia will do the best for its citizens," said Retno to Kompas, yesterday.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he had heard of the matter. The New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta is following up on the matter. "I have not received a detailed report. Handling is being coordinated," said Hipkins.
We do not yet know the condition of the Susi Air pilot due to limited access to telecommunications networks in the Paro area.
New Zealand's Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs has prepared consular assistance for Mehrtens and his family. Meanwhile, the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta stated that it could not comment further regarding the hostage-taking.
Contacted separately from Jayapura, Papua, Head of Public Relations of the Papuan Police Sr. Comr. Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo added that a joint TNI-Polri team was trying to find Mehrtens.
"We do not yet know the condition of the Susi Air pilot due to limited access to telecommunications networks in the Paro area. The joint TNI-Polri team is still trying to find him," said Ignatius.
DOKUMENTASI KOMPAS TV BIRO SORONG
The pilot flight was carried out by the Ministry of Transportation and the airline Susi Air at Domine Eduard Airport (DEO) Osok Sorong, Southwest Papua, Tuesday (17/1/2023).
Workers evacuated
Peace efforts are also being pursued through dialogue. The success in evacuating 15 infrastructure workers on Wednesday was also thanks to the initiative of religious and community leaders in Paro.
Commander of Military Resort 172/Praja Wira Yakhti Brig. Gen. Juinta Omboh Sembiring appreciated the people of Paro for saving the 15 workers.
The KKB threatened to kill the workers for entering Paro without their permission. The workers were rescued by local religious and community leaders and could be evacuated by a joint TNI-Polri team at Mount Wea, Paro district.
"We really appreciate the help from the community. This shows that there are still people who do not approve of terror acts carried out by Egianus Kogoya’s group," said Juinta.
Deputy head of the Papua Regional Police Brig. Gen. Ramdani Hidayat confirmed that the 15 workers had been in Timika, the capital city of Mimika. The workers in charge of building the health center in Paro are in healthy condition but traumatized.
The evacuation was carried out using three helicopters and led by head of the Nduga Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Rio Panelewen. The evacuation started at 7:40 a.m. Eastern Time Zone (WIT). "The 15 workers were evacuated using two helicopters owned by the National Police and one TNI helicopter. They arrived in Timika at 2:20 p.m. WIT and immediately underwent examination at the Mimika Regional General Hospital," Amdani said.
Stop violence
This is not the first time that the KKB has carried out acts of violence in Papua. At the end of December 2018, 16 workers from PT Istaka Karya, a contractor working on roads and bridges in Nduga, became victims. In early 2019, more than 500 families, including children, fled to the forest and their families outside Nduga, especially Wamena, Jayawijaya regency (Kompas, 5/12/2018).
The TPN-OPM had also taken hostages under the leadership of Kelly Kwalik and Daniel Kogoya in 2016. They took 26 people hostage consisting of the Lorentz Nature Reserve research team and local residents in Mapenduma village, which used to be part of Jayawijaya regency, on 8 Jan. 1996. Seven of 26 of the hostages were foreigners from Britain, the Netherlands and Germany.
Sebby Sambom said the kidnapping of Mehrtens repeated their actions at Mapenduma in 1996.
The TPN-OPM together with the Indonesian government must find a solution to stop the prolonged conflict in Papua.
The spokesperson for the Papua Peace Network, Yan Christian Warinussy, emphasized that the TPN-OPM action was not an ideological struggle. Their actions are criminal acts because they attack innocent citizens. He asked the group to stop its actions and promote peaceful dialogue with security forces.
"The TPN-OPM together with the Indonesian government must find a solution to stop the prolonged conflict in Papua. In our opinion, the best solution is peaceful dialogue between the two warring sides," Yan said. (FLO/AP/RAZ/JOZ/EDN/CAS)
