Separatist rebels say Indonesian army attacks threaten the safety of kidnapped New Zealand pilot

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua region warned Friday that increased Indonesian military attacks in recent days to rescue a New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage over a year ago could instead threaten his safety.

Independence fighters led by Egianus Kogoya, a regional commander in the Free Papua Movement, stormed a single-engine plane on a small runway in Paro and abducted Philip Mark Mehrtens on Feb. 7, 2023. The pilot from Christchurch was working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air.

His abduction reflected the deteriorating security situation in Indonesia’s 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.

Kogoya initially said the rebels would not release Mehrtens unless Indonesia’s government allows Papua to become a sovereign country.

Despite promises from other leaders of the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, known as TPNPB, that they would let Mehrtens go, the pilot is still being held.

The rebels issued a proposal on Tuesday for freeing Mehrtens that outlined terms including news media involvement in his release.

“The Indonesian Government appears to be ignoring the TPNPB Proposal for the release of the Susi Air Pilot from New Zealand,” rebel spokesperson Sabby Sambom said in a statement Friday. “Therefore, the NZ Government must be serious and urge their friendly country, Indonesia, to stop the Military operations during the process, because it endangers the life of the New Zealand Pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens.”

Sambom said the Indonesian government has deployed more troops in Nduga, a regency in Papua Mountains province known as a