An armed faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army, led by Egianus Kogoya, kidnapped Mehrtens on February 7, 2023, after he landed a small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga.
“Today we have picked up pilot Phillip who is in good health and we flew him from Nduga to Timika,” Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani, head of a special unit formed to handle rebels in Papua, said in a statement.
A joint task force of police and military picked up Mehrtens in a village of Nduga district early Saturday, Faizal said.
The released hostage was then given medical and psychological checks before he was flown to Papua’s city of Timika.
Police said they would hold a news conference later.
During a stand-up with journalists, Peters expressed his great relief about the release of Merhtens.
“His family will be absolutely over the moon, I believe.”
He described the negotiations as “quite nerve-wracking”.
“Holding our nerve, not getting too carried away and not doing anything that might imperil our chances,” Peters said.
“There’s always a concern of ours that we may not succeed.”
The Foreign Minister said it was one of the better stories he has had in his career.
West Papua National Liberation Army tried using Mehrtens to broker independence from Indonesia.
On September 18 the group asked the New Zealand government, including the police and army, to escort the pilot and for local and international journalists to be involved in the release process.
Both Foreign Affairs and the minister’s office confirmed they were aware of the proposed plan.
In a statement, they said their focus remained on securing a peaceful resolution and the pilot’s safe release.
“We continue to work closely with all parties to achieve this and will not be discussing the details publicly.”
In February 2023, Mehrtens, a husband and father from Christchurch, was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he landed his small Pilatus plane on a remote airstrip in Nduga Regency in the Papua highlands.
The area is a highly militarised district with a long history of insurgency in the newly named Highland Papua province.
More to come
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