By Eleisha Foon of RNZ

• Phillip Mehrtens, 38, has been released after 19 months in captivity by rebels in Indonesia’s West Papua region.
• Indonesian authorities confirmed Mehrtens is in good health and has spoken with his family.
• His release followed intense negotiations, with rebels initially demanding Papuan independence recognition for freedom.

The leader of the rebel group who took New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens hostage has denied a bribe was involved in his release, offering an explanation on the motive behind the kidnapping.

General Egianus Kogoya, regional commander of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), claims the group achieved their mission to raise international awareness for West Papua’s independence from Indonesia.

Phillip Mehrtens was abducted by rebel group TPNPB in February 2023 and held hostage for over a year and a half before being freed on September 21.

Originally from Christchurch, Mehrtens has since reunited with his wife and son, who live in Bali. His older brother Chris has since set up a Givealittle page to support him.

“It has been a traumatic time for Phil and his wife and son, and it may take many months for them to re-establish their lives,” Chris said.

As Mehrtens reintegrates back into “normal” life, Kogoya, the 20-year-old leader of the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, explains the reasons for holding Mehrtens hostage.

He began by denying the involvement of a bribe in the release.

“There was no bribe. No bribe was received or will be received. Where is the evidence?” Kogoya exclaimed.

He said it was for “humanitarian reasons”.

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Following Mehrtens’ release, West Papua National Liberation Army spokesman Sebby Sambom claimed Kogoya was bribed by a local politician.

However, Kogoya claimed Sambom was “emotional” because he was not involved in the negotiations for the release.

In a statement, the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington said, “security forces only used persuasive approaches in the release and no reciprocal actions were requested by the captors before agreeing to release their hostage”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters also disputed claims that a bribe was involved when Mehrtens was first released.

Pacific academic Steven Ratuva said internal conflicts and fractures within the rebel group might explain conflicting information provided by its members.

“The main purpose for the capture is independence. Political mission is our purpose. We want to tell people we are not barbaric. We are not terrorists. The Indonesian government criminalised us, calling us inhumane. But we want to tell people about our suffering in West Papua,” Kogoya said.

Very little about West Papua reaches the outside world because Indonesia tightly controls access for foreign journalists and human rights monitors.

New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens was photographed with his rebel captors in Indonesia's Papua region. Photo / TPNPB

‘Fight for independence’

The Free Papua Movement seeks the independence of Papua from Indonesia.

An increasingly deadly battle for independence has been waged in resource-rich Papua, which borders New Guinea and was brought under Indonesian control in a controversial vote overseen by the United Nations in 1969.

The referendum, known as the Act of Free Choice, was contentious because the people who took part in the vote were picked by the Indonesian military.

The conflict has escalated significantly since 2018, with pro-independence fighters mounting deadlier and more frequent attacks, largely because they have managed to procure more sophisticated weapons.

Kogoya said six decades of renewed calls for independence and desperation to free Papua from Indonesia contributed to the hostage-taking.

The international community “shut its eyes to the human rights abuses and discrimination West Papuans face”, he said.

When Mehrtens was captured, Kogoya said they took him deep into the jungle, where he spent at least a month with the rebel group.

“We were in the jungle. There was no food. We ate leaves. Mehrtens was respectful and never tried to run away. He saw the way we lived, and we want him to tell everyone about his experience.”

Kogoya said Mehrtens was then moved to a village, where he stayed with locals for the majority of his time and was provided food, including meat.

A West Papua Baptist Church Rev Sofyan Yoman assisted in the early negotiations of Mehrtens’ release with Indonesia and the New Zealand ambassador in Jakarta.

“The pilot was amongst the local people. He stayed with the church leaders for more than a year,” Rev Yoman said.

Rev Yoman said he was in contact with Kogoya’s family, and he was instrumental in negotiations and Mehrtens’ eventual freedom.

Kogoya said they were “peaceful” towards Mehrtens and that no harm came to him.

He said they communicated with Mehrtens by “speaking Indonesian slowly and we use [hand] signs”.

The area where Mehrtens was held remains an extremely dangerous place for West Papuans.

“We encouraged him not to run away. Our culture always respects human beings. He listened. He respected us and we respected him. We welcomed him as our brother.”

During the capture, the West Papua National Liberation Army killed at least nine Indonesian army personnel, including special forces.

There were also reports that a woman working with Indonesian Police was killed by the militant group, but Kogoya has denied involvement.

He said Mehrtens spoke to his family and colleagues five times whilst in captivity.

In a statement, his family said, “those messages filled our souls and gave us hope and that we would eventually see Phil again”. They thanked Kogoya and his army for keeping Mehrtens in good health and allowing him to get several messages to the family during his captivity.

When asked about a video where Mehrtens explained his life was at risk, Kogoya said it was a “tactic” to pressure Indonesia and New Zealand government to resolve the West Papua issue.

There was never any intention to kill Mehrtens, he added.

In August 2023, another New Zealand pilot, Glen Malcolm Conning, was killed after landing his helicopter in Alama, a remote village in Central Papua’s Mimika district. No one has claimed responsibility for that attack, and the rebels and Indonesian authorities have blamed each other.

Images released by the West Papua National Liberation Army of Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) earlier this year showed New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who has been held hostage by the group since February 7, 2023.

‘Failure of the Indonesian government’

The influence of churches being mediators and communicating with rebel groups is common due to the “failure of the Indonesian government”, Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch said.

“I am really ashamed to be Indonesian every time I landed in any West Papuan cities” due to the way the government treat West Papuans, he said.

He said Human Rights Watch continued to call on the Indonesian government to be held accountable for abuses against West Papuans and violating their rights.

Indigenous Papuans made up about 95% of the population in the 1960s; now they comprise only 43%, according to the latest census.

“They used to be many doctors, engineers, all those businesses were taken over. All those businesses were accused of being pro-Papuan independence and many of them are angry, not only those in the jungle but also in the cities.”

The Indonesian Embassy responded in a statement, saying its government is “committed to its long-standing policy of respecting and promoting human rights and its strict policy of zero impunity of misconduct by its security forces ... there can never be any justification for hostage taking”.

Videos of the release, including a peaceful ceremony, showed Mehrtens saying goodbye to locals and receiving a chicken as a gift, which he carried into the helicopter, his ride to freedom.

Mehrtens has been approached for comment.

Harsono, who was working for The Associated Press at the time, recalls interviewing hostages who claimed they were treated like locals.

He said there were “similarities with the 1996 kidnapping and the Philip Mehrtens hostage-taking”.

He added Kogoya’s father helped lead a previous hostage taking in West Papua in 1996. where TPNPB kidnapped 26 members of a World Wildlife Fund research mission in Mapenduma. All members were released.

West Papua vs Indonesia

Indigenous West Papuans continue to demand a genuine vote on self-determination, through acts of civil disobedience, such as raising the banned “Morning Star” flag, which has become a symbol for their movement.

Activists pay a heavy price, including police and military brutality, and long jail sentences, for their cause.

Horsono said the Indonesian government was responsible for longstanding racial discrimination against West Papuans, as detailed in a recent report.

“The Indonesian government is responsible for suppression of widespread protests of university students. The students who protested against racism were tortured, arrested and were displaced.”

Kogoya said: “We want international communities to know we are not barbaric; we are not terrorists. The Indonesian government criminalised us. We are not inhumane. We respect humanity.”

Pacific academic Ratuva said: “For years and years they have been fighting for freedom. They have been trying to attract international attention. One of the options was to do what they did. I am not saying it was the right thing to do. The circumstances in their situation has created a condition where they ended up doing what they were doing.”

He said the Indonesian government would have their own views and “narrative” on the hostage situation.

However, the issues West Papuans face can’t be ignored, he added.

Kogoya said he wanted New Zealand to support West Papua in its goal for independence.

“New Zealand should play the role as mediator for West Papua in a dignified way.”

New Zealand could play a role in advocating for open access to West Papua, where foreign media and human rights groups are shut out, and could assist in freeing political prisoners, Horsono said.

New Zealand continued to register its concerns with Indonesian authorities about human rights concerns in Papua, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said last month.

“Maintaining open and constructive engagement with Indonesia is critical to improving the situation in Papua, and was key for the safe release of Mr Mehrtens,” they said.