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In a chilling new video, Papuan rebels in Indonesia have threatened to shoot a New Zealand pilot they have held hostage for more than three months.
Phillip Mehrtens, flying for Indonesian airline Susi Air, was captured after landing at a remote airstrip in Nduga, in Indonesia’s West Papua province, in early February by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). ).
At the time of the 37-year-old man’s abduction, TPNPB threatened to kill him if the Jakarta government did not recognize the independence of West Papua, which refers to the western side of the island of New Guinea.
Although it appeared in the months after they dropped this lawsuit and instead insisted that Mr. Mehrtens would not be released until the Indonesian and New Zealand governments came to the negotiating table.
In a hostage video last month, Mehrtens, who sat with his hands bound flanked by two TPNPB fighters, insisted he was alive, healthy and had been eating well.
“I live with the people here. We travel together as needed. We sit together. We rest together, ”she said.
However, a very different tone was set in a new video posted on Friday, seen by the international news agency. Reuterswhere a “visibly emaciated” Mr. Mehrtens addressed the camera again.
Mehrtens said the separatists wanted countries other than Indonesia to enter into a dialogue on the independence of Papua.
“If it doesn’t happen within two months, they will say they will shoot me,” he said, holding a Morning Star banner surrounded by Papuan fighters with assault rifles.
The flag is the symbol of independence of West Papua.
The video was shared by Papuan rebel spokesman Sebby Sambom and verified by Deka Anwar, an analyst at the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), according to Reuters.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the local news website Stuff He said he was aware of the video and that Mehrtens’ well-being was his “top priority.”
“We are doing everything possible to ensure a peaceful resolution and the safe release of Mr Mehrtens, including working closely with the Indonesian authorities and deploying New Zealand consular staff,” an MFAT spokesperson told the outlet.
“We are also supporting the family of Mr. Mehrtens, both here in Aotearoa and in Indonesia.”
Mehrtens has a wife and a son. In a previous hostage video, she said that she loved and missed them, and that she thought of them every day, but warned that “this could go on for a long time.”
In April, a group of 36 Indonesian soldiers was ambushed by TPNPB fighters while searching for Mr. Mehrtens in Nduga.
Indonesian officials confirmed that at least one soldier had been killed, while TPNPB claimed it killed at least nine, and journalists citing Indonesian military sources put the death toll at six.
