Papuan Separatists in Indonesia Take New Zealand Pilot Hostage

A Susi Air Cessna C208B Grand Caravan aircraft prepares for take off at Halim airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 10, 2011. (Bay Ismoyo/AFP via Getty Images)

A New Zealand pilot has been taken hostage while flying over Indonesia’s Papua province by an armed separatist group.

The pilot has been identified as Captain Philip Merthens, and local authorities are currently investigating the case.

Merthens was carrying five passengers on his plane, and Indonesia authorities are unclear on whether they were also taken.

It is understood that the plane operated by Susi Air departed from Mozes Kilangin Airport in Timika and arrived at Paro airport in Nduga at 6:17 a.m., eastern Indonesia time.

However, soon after landing, contact was lost with the plane, which was later found up in flames on an airstrip.

A police spokesman in Papua, Ignatius Benny Adi Prabowo, told Reuters that police and military personnel had been sent to locate the pilot and passengers.

“We cannot send many personnel there because Nduga is a difficult area to reach. We can only go there by plane,” he said.

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) has claimed responsibility for the abduction. The Indonesian government classified the group as a terrorist group in 2021.

A spokesperson for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said they were aware of the situation involving a New Zealand pilot in Papua and that the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta was providing consular support to his family.

“For privacy reasons, we will not be commenting further on the case,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

A spokesman for the TPNPB, Sebby Sambom, said the group had released the five passengers because they were Indigenous Papuans.

“We want to convey that we have taken this pilot hostage and brought it to the TPNPB headquarters, which is far from the airfield area,” he told The Australian, adding that he will be killed if their demands aren’t met.

He said that New Zealand, Australia, the U.S., and Europe have supported the Indonesian government’s actions in the region and should be “held accountable.”

People react as a building burns after protests broke out in Wamena, Papua province, Indonesia, on Sept. 23, 2019. (Vina Rumbewas/AFP via Getty Images)

Additionally, local media have reported that they suspect the TPNPB are also holding 15 local construction workers hostage in Nduga.

Prabowo said communication access in the area was very limited, so there was very little information.

Decades of Conflict Sees Violent Escalation

West Papuan separatist forces have clashed with Indonesian authorities after the Dutch, and the United Nations handed over governance of the region to the Indonesians in 1963 under the New York agreement.

According to the agreement, the United Nations would oversee a referendum in 1969 where the people would choose whether to remain a part of Indonesia or become independent.

The result—to be integrated into Indonesia—was rejected by the Free Papua Movement due to its allegations that there was strong evidence showing the vote was rigged.

The separatist movement, however, has gained momentum following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, causing the escalation of violent conflict in 2018.

Civilians have fallen victim to the armed conflict between separatist forces and the Indonesian authorities, with the United Nations estimating that since December 2018, between 60,000 and 100,000 people have been displaced as a result of violence.

“The majority of IDPs [internally displaced people] in West Papua have not returned to their homes due to the heavy security force presence and ongoing armed clashes in the conflict areas,” United Nations experts said.

“Thousands of displaced villagers have fled to the forests where they are exposed to the harsh climate in the highlands without access to food, healthcare, and education facilities.”

The U.N. has raised concerns with the Indonesian government of allegations of security forces carrying out extrajudicial killings, inhuman treatment, and human rights abuses towards the native Papuans.

Meanwhile, the TPNPB have executed civilians who they claim were Indonesian military dressed in plain clothing. The targeting of civilians, primarily workers in government projects and non-Papuan citizens and migrants, has increased since 2020.