JAKARTA: 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 on 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 Feb 7 last year.

A joint task force of police and military forces collected Mehrtens in a village of Nduga district, before he was given medical and psychological checks and flown to the Papuan city of Timika, said the unit’s head Faizal Ramadhani. Mehrtens will be flown onwards to the capital Jakarta, the unit head said at a press conference, without detailing where the pilot would go afterwards.

“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. The task force 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 that Jakarta had secured Mehrtens’s freedom 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. A TPNPB spokesman, Sebby Sambom, said another faction of the rebel group agreed to a deal with the Indonesian government, accusing them of accepting a payment without providing evidence.

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 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.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024