Papuans armed with bows and arrows took a pilot from New Zealand hostage (photo, video)

World

February 15, 2023 at 11:47 pm

Rebels in Indonesia stormed the single-engine plane of New Zealand pilot Philip Mertens after landing in the Indonesian province of Papua Highlands. About it informs The Mirror.

A week ago, separatists from the National Liberation Army of West Papua, the paramilitary wing of the Papua Liberation Organization (OPM), which advocates secession from Indonesia, released a chilling video of a hostage.

They set fire to the plane and released five local passengers, but detained the 37-year-old pilot, although they promised to treat him humanely.

The rebels forced the pilot to lay out their demands, which are related to a long-standing territorial dispute over control of the region captured by Indonesia in the 60s.

The rebels promised to release the New Zealander if Papua became independent.

In another video, the pilot makes a statement in Indonesian: “The Papua army captured me in an attempt to achieve independence.”

A separatist spokesman said the New Zealand hostage was being held at the group’s stronghold in a remote area and would be used as “lever” in the negotiations.

A day later, the rebels took 15 construction workers hostage, but Indonesian security forces managed to free them.

Papua, a former Dutch colony that declared independence in 1961, but two years later Indonesia took over the territory.

Since 2018, clashes between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian authorities have become more frequent.

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