JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) 鈥� A for more than a year in the restive Papua region was freed by separatist rebels, Indonesian authorities said Saturday.
Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a 38-year-old pilot from Christchurch, was working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air when he was from a remote airport on Feb. 7, 2023.
He was handed over early Saturday to the Cartenz Peace Taskforce, the joint security force set up by the Indonesian government to deal with separatist groups in Papua, after he was allowed to walk free, said the taskforce spokesperson Bayu Suseno.
鈥淲e managed to pick him up in good health鈥� in the Yuguru village of Nduga district, Suseno said, adding that Mehrtens was flown to the mining town Timika for further health checks, including psychological examination.
Rebels have used violence to try to achieve independence as the security situation deteriorates in Indonesia鈥檚 easternmost region of Papua, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia.
Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 under a United Nations-sponsored ballot that was widely seen as a sham. Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered in the region. Conflict spiked in the past year, with dozens of rebels, security forces and civilians killed.
Egianus Kogoya, a regional commander in the Free Papua Movement, initially said the rebels would not release Mehrtens unless Indonesia鈥檚 government allows Papua to become a sovereign country.
Then on Tuesday, leaders of the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement known as TPNPB, issued a proposal for freeing Mehrtens that outlined terms including news media involvement in his release.
Suseno said that Mehrtens鈥� release was the result of hard work from a small task force team that had been communicating with the separatists led by Kogoya through the local church and community leaders, as well as youth figures.
鈥淭his is incredibly good news,鈥� said Suseno in a video statement. 鈥淓ffort to free the pilot by soft approach resulted in a hostage release without any casualties both from security forces, civilians or the pilot himself.鈥�
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed Mehrtens鈥� release after 592 days in captivity.
鈥淲e are pleased and relieved to confirm that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family,鈥� Peters said in a written statement Saturday. 鈥淭his news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones.鈥�
Peters said a wide range of New Zealand government agencies had been working with Indonesian authorities and others to secure the release for the past 19 1/2 months. Officials were also supporting Mehrtens鈥� family, Peters said.
Many news outlets showed 鈥渃ooperation and restraint鈥� in reporting the story, he added.
鈥淭he case has taken a toll on the Mehrtens family, who have asked for privacy,鈥� Peters said. 鈥淲e ask media outlets to respect their wishes and therefore we have no further comment at this stage.鈥�
New Zealand news outlets reported during Mehrtens鈥� captivity that he was one of a number of expatriate pilots employed by Susi Air and in recent years lived in Bali with his family.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got him free,鈥� Peters told reporters Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand. The development was an 鈥渆normous relief," he said.
Mehrtens was in Timika, Papua, Peters said, but would travel to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 鈥渧ery, very soon to be reunited with his family.鈥�
Peters had not spoken to Mehrtens since his release. The news was 鈥渙ne of the better stories I鈥檝e had鈥� in his 45 years as a lawmaker, the three-time foreign minister added.
He declined to give details about how the pilot was freed. It was a 鈥渢ricky鈥� environment and building trust had been the most difficult aspect, Peters said.
鈥淚t was quite nerve-wracking, holding our nerve and not getting too carried away, not doing anything that might imperil the chances,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause there was always a concern of ours that we might not succeed.鈥�
Indonesia President Joko Widodo congratulated the military and police who helped free the pilot by prioritizing persuasion and safety.
鈥淭his was through a very long negotiation process and our patience not to do it repressively," Widodo said.
In April 2023, who were deployed to rescue Mehrtens, killing at least six soldiers.
In August, gunmen , Glen Malcolm Conning, after it landed in Alama, a remote village in the Mimika district of Central Papua province. No one has claimed responsibility for that attack, and the rebels and Indonesian authorities have blamed each other.
In 1996, the Free Papua Movement abducted 26 members of a World Wildlife Fund research mission in Mapenduma. Two kidnapped Indonesians were killed by their abductors. The remaining hostages were freed within five months.
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Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
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This story has been updated with the correct spelling of the pilot's first name. It's Phillip, not Philip.
Niniek Karmini And Charlotte Graham-mclay, The Associated Press
