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It’s been six months since Kiwi pilot Phillip Mehrtens was dragged from his place in remote West Papua highlands. So why haven’t negotiations worked so far? Nadine Roberts reports.
As Phillip Mehrtens nudged the nose of his nimble Porter plane down the runway, armed members of the West Papuan Liberation Army lay in wait.
Able to land anywhere, his plane was a faithful workhorse for Susi Air, especially in the remote Papua region of Indonesia, and a favourite of government contractors to fly in construction workers.
Mehrtens was meant to be picking up some of those workers from Paro Airport in the remote highlands of the Nduga regency on February 7.
Pilots love flying into Paro, with its towering mountains, and blankets of lush jungle. Word is the conflict on the ground means a handsome pay packet, and it’s easy to bump up flight hours in a beautiful part of the country.
It was a world away from New Zealand, where Mehrtens had grown up and trained as a pilot before leaving eight years ago. Now married and living in Bali with his wife and child, Mehrtens seemed to be living an idyllic existence.
But as he landed the plane on the grassy runway, the alluring landscape turned terrifying when a group of angry armed men swarmed his plane.
Stuff
Phillip Mehrtens has been in the jungle since February 7.
Dragged from the plane, Mehrtens was rushed into the thick bushline that hemmed the field, as the acrid smell of his burning plane filled the air.
For two days he was marched deep into the jungle to a secret camp while his captors rejoiced, certain of the international media attention their prize was garnering.
It would be a week before he would be seen again, as the TPNPB released images showing Mehrtens in a denim jacket, black t-shirt and dark shorts. Wearing a floppy hat, he could have been mistaken for a tourist, posing amongst culturally attired Papuans – if it wasn’t for the automatic rifles, spears, bows and arrows being brandished.
Three months would pass with no news on Mehrtens condition, and then on April 25 he appeared in a video, bearded, noticeably thinner and with a message to impart.
“It’s almost three months since OPM [the Free Papua Movement] kidnapped me from Paro. As you can see I am still alive. I am healthy, I have been eating well, drinking. I live with the people here,” he said calmly.
“We travel together as required, we sit together, we rest together. Indonesia’s been dropping bombs in the area over the last week. Please, there is no need, it is dangerous for me and everybody here. Thank you for your support.”
Supplied
Rebels stormed Mehrtens plane before setting it on fire.
Six months since he was kidnapped, Mehrtens remains in the jungle with his life still in the balance, and uncertainty a constant unwelcome companion, leading to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to again call for his immediate release.
The ongoing stalemate
Although little information about the negotiation process has been forthcoming from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat), or the Indonesian Government, intensive diplomatic efforts have taken place to form a plan to free Mehrtens.
But West Papua’s fight for independence from Indonesia means New Zealand’s diplomacy is fraught with complexity.
The seeds of a rebel backlash began in 1969 when there was widespread resistance to Indonesian rule in the West Papuan province, leading the United Nations to oversee an independence referendum.
Called the Act of Free Choice, it was soon labelled the Act of No Choice after the Indonesian military hand-picked 1026 chiefs from the indigenous population as the only people allowed to vote on independence.
The chiefs voted to stay with Indonesia, but journalists discovered they and their families were bribed and threatened against voting for independence.
The independence issue has continued to simmer since, with little movement apart from rebel guerrillas being well resourced compared to 20 years ago.
Last November the United Nations Human Rights Council raised concern about rights violations in the region, including escalating violence between the Indonesian army and civilians, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
Stepping delicately into the middle of the conflict, the New Zealand Government is balancing a tightrope.
The New Zealand army works with the Indonesian defence force on joint officer and non-combat training, humanitarian operations and at regional forums. There is also a formal arrangement with Indonesian police that allows better cooperation between both forces.
Susi Air
The type of aircraft Phillip Mehrtens was flying before he was taken hostage in Papua.
And then there’s the economic importance, with Indonesia, our seventh-largest export market.
All of which means the New Zealand Government will be treading carefully.
“The Government is working very hard to keep Mehrtens safe and get him released, but they have to do it within the confines of an important relationship,” says Dr Chris Wilson, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Auckland.
“The hostage taking can’t be used to upend the bilateral relationship.”
Wilson is of the opinion that Mfat should be congratulated for keeping Mehrtens alive thus far.
With a reputation for carrying out attacks in the past, the Indonesian Army have been surprisingly restrained, even though they most likely know exactly where Mehrtens is being held and could conduct a military operation, he believes.
“It indicates Mfat has played a role in that restraint and maintained a relationship with Indonesia. The longer things go on, the more chance we have of ending it peacefully.”
Is the Government doing enough?
But there are others that are critical of New Zealand’s efforts including Australian professor Damien Kingsbury, who participated in the negotiation process for the TPNPB for a short time.
Kingsbury’s work has long been focused on human right abuses in Indonesia, and he has been critical of the Government with a perspective that appears to favour Papuan rebels.
Kingsbury withdrew as a negotiator for the TPNPB after a New Zealand representative said they would not negotiate with hostage takers.
Supplied
The separatists have published a document they allege is Mehrtens
The representative allegedly said they would use their own contact.
He claims he helped TPNPB issue a modified list of demands in order to get Mehrtens released, and he believes the New Zealand government needs to negotiate.
“It’s like they’ve seen too many B-grade Hollywood movies and think ‘being tough’ is how to achieve a resolution. It’s not.”
Wilson doesn’t agree and thinks the criticism is unfair. He cites the moral hazard that could occur if concessions are granted.
“It could encourage the TPNPB and other groups to take other hostages.”
What now for Mehrtens?
Regardless, a 37-year-old father remains in danger.
“The uncertainty of how it’s going to end will be driving him insane,” Australian freelance journalist John Martinkus says.
He should know.
Martinkus was taken hostage by Iraqi Sunni militants and ex Iraqi army officers outside a Baghdad hotel in 2004.
Although he was freed in 24 hours, Martinkus knows the fear Mehrtens will be experiencing.
“He will be thinking am I going to get out ever? He’d still be very aware every time he goes to sleep that it could be the last time. It will really be taking a toll.”
Martinkus lived in Papua for two years and is in regular contact with leaders within the separatist movement.
He claims TPNPB are at a point where they are tired of keeping Mehrtens but want a solution that involves them handing him over to a third party that is independent of the Indonesian army – who they believe will kill them.
“The crux of the matter is if the New Zealand Government were to be more forceful in their negotiations, in that they actually had some genuine conditions whereby Mehrtens release could be done in a way that did not compromise the security of the local population or captors, it would happen.”
None of Martinkus’s claims can be verified, particularly as there have been conflicting messages from the leadership of TPNPB during the past six months.
“The problem,” Wilson says, “is if that information is not completely accurate it’s dangerous.”
John Martinkus/Supplied
John Martinkus says the uncertainty will be hard for Phillip Mehrtens insane.
Despite differing opinions on how a peaceful resolution can be achieved, all agree holding Mehrtens indefinitely will not be a tenable option to his kidnappers.
”I hope it’s wrapped up soon,” Martinkus says. “I know from the Papuan side, that’s what they want.”
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