Surprising news came from Ndugama today when it was reported that New Zealand pilot Philips Mark Mehrtens was released by West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) commander Egianus Kogoya and his troops on Saturday September 21.

It was surprising because the pilot was not released according to an earlier proposal put forward by the TPNPB National Command Headquarters to the Indonesian and New Zealand governments as announced by TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom, on Tuesday September 17.

In fact in the proposal it set a number of conditions including a plan for the delivery of Mehrtens to be witnessed by specific people and that a team of facilitators would be submitted by TPNPB.

But without any of this, he was suddenly released today. The question arises, what went on exactly? Who were the actors behind the release of the pilot without fulfilling the conditions in the proposal? Is it true that Kogoya personally ordered the release? Is it true that the Cartenz Peace Task Force was successful in freeing the pilot from the TPNPB?

According to rumours that are circulating, rogue local officials and certain families were directly involved in "persuading" Kogoya to release Mehrtens.

Several photographs show the pilot along with rogue local officials posing in a helicopter. A great deal of speculation has developed in response to this, above all because the process of releasing the hostage was far different from proposal put forward by the TPNPB.

The actors involved and what guarantees were given are unknown even though his release is certainly encouraging after being held for more than one year after he was taken hostage on February 7, 2023 at the Paro landing strip in Nduga regency in the Papua highlands.

Even though the New Zealand pilot has now been freed from the clutches of the TPNPB, meaning this is a victory for Indonesia, on the other hand, it is also a proof of the failure to rescue a foreign national (WNA) who has been living with TPNPB forces for 19 months in the middle of the Ndugama backwoods of Papua. Then, how many civilian lives were lost during the military operations that took place to free Mehrtens?

That, what was successful and is an inspiration for the TPNPB's Ndugama Derakma Defence Command Area III, apart from the end result, is that they succeeded in destroying the authority of the Indonesian military with all its physical strength and strategies which did not succeed in killing or freeing the pilot.

Efforts to free Mehrtens for over one year and seven months were not successful or failed, until in the end Kogoya and his own troops with full of awareness for humanity were willing to return or free him honourably.

Apart from the speculations about the release, it is fitting for us to express our happiness over Mehrtens' release today and that he is free from the Ndugama jungles and will soon be reunited with his family in his home country New Zealand.

Notes

The Indonesian government has been quick to claim credit for Mehrtens' release with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo attributed it to the government's perseverance in seeking peaceful resolutions. "(We could achieve it) through rigorous negotiations and our reluctance to resort to repressive strategies", Widodo said at the Merdeka Palace on Saturday. No mention was made of the civilian casualties or displacement of local communities as a result of numerous military operations launched to free the pilot.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Pembebasan Kapten Philips, Keberhasilan Indonesia?".]

Source: https://suarapapua.com/2024/09/21/editorial-pembebasan-kapten-philips-keberhasilan-indonesia/