CoveragePost
August 9, 2023
RNZ Pacific Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called again for the immediate release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who has now been held hostage by pro-independence fighters in West Papua for six months. Speaking in Auckland, Hipkins said Mehrtens — a pilot for the Indonesian airline Susi Air which provide air links to remote ... <a title="Hipkins urges release of NZ hostage six months after Papua kidnapping" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/08/09/hipkins-urges-release-of-nz-hostage-six-months-after-papua-kidnapping/" aria-label="Read more about Hipkins urges release of NZ hostage six months after Papua kidnapping">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 9, 2023
By Singgih Wiryono in Jakarta Indonesia’s former National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) chairperson Ahmad Taufan Damanik says it is difficult to expect Komnas HAM to play a role in freeing the New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens held hostage in West Papua. According to Damanik, who was chair 2017-2022, this is because the current Komnas ... <a title="Jakarta’s rights commission criticised for ‘failure’ over NZ pilot hostage case" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/07/09/jakartas-rights-commission-criticised-for-failure-over-nz-pilot-hostage-case/" aria-label="Read more about Jakarta’s rights commission criticised for ‘failure’ over NZ pilot hostage case">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 5, 2023
Asia Pacific Report The president of a West Papuan advocacy group has appealed to the militants holding New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens hostage to free him unconditionally and unharmed, describing him as an “innocent pawn”. United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) president Benny Wenda said he held “deepest concern” for the life of Mehrtens, ... <a title="Wenda calls on Papuan rebels to free NZ pilot ‘unconditionally’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/06/05/wenda-calls-on-papuan-rebels-to-free-nz-pilot-unconditionally/" aria-label="Read more about Wenda calls on Papuan rebels to free NZ pilot ‘unconditionally’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 3, 2023
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author-poet and advocate for West Papuan independence has condemned a reported threat against the life of a New Zealand hostage pilot, Philip Mehrtens, held by Papuan liberation fighters and appealed to them to “keep Philip safe”. Jim Aubrey, a human rights activist who has campaigned globally on freedom struggles in ... <a title="Author-poet condemns Papuan rebel threat to shoot NZ hostage pilot if denied talks" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/06/03/author-poet-condemns-papuan-rebel-threat-to-shoot-nz-hostage-pilot-if-denied-talks/" aria-label="Read more about Author-poet condemns Papuan rebel threat to shoot NZ hostage pilot if denied talks">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 2, 2023
There are parallels between Indonesia’s Aceh where an Australian surfer faced a flogging, and West Papua where a New Zealand pilot may be facing death. Both provinces have fought brutal guerrilla wars for independence. One has been settled through foreign peacekeepers. The other still rages as outsiders fear intervention. By Duncan Graham in Malang, East Java ... <a title="Duncan Graham: Compromise worked in Aceh – why not West Papua? " class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/06/02/duncan-graham-compromise-worked-in-aceh-why-not-west-papua/" aria-label="Read more about Duncan Graham: Compromise worked in Aceh – why not West Papua? ">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 28, 2023
Asia Pacific Report Free Papua Organisation (OPM) leader Jeffrey Bomanak has appealed for Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape to become a “neutral intermediary” to negotiate between the Indonesian government and the West Papuan rebels holding a New Zealand pilot hostage for his release. He has called in a statement today for the safe ... <a title="OPM call for PNG’s James Marape as negotiator for NZ pilot’s safe passage" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/28/opm-call-for-pngs-james-marape-as-negotiator-for-nz-pilots-safe-passage/" aria-label="Read more about OPM call for PNG’s James Marape as negotiator for NZ pilot’s safe passage">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 17, 2023
Asia Pacific Report Free Papua Organisation (OPM) leader Jeffrey Bomanak has appealed to US President Joe Biden for a “proactive role” in ending Indonesia’s “unlawful military occupation and annexation” of West Papua. He claims this illegal occupation led to the subsequent US “foreign policy failure” in protecting six decades of crimes against humanity. Bomanak made ... <a title="OPM leader calls on Biden to take proactive role in ending West Papuan ‘holocaust’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/17/opm-leader-calls-on-biden-to-take-proactive-role-in-ending-west-papuan-holocaust/" aria-label="Read more about OPM leader calls on Biden to take proactive role in ending West Papuan ‘holocaust’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 15, 2023
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand advocacy group has appealed to the government to heed the call of West Papuan church leaders for Indonesia to withdraw security forces and impose a “humanitarian pause” while negotiating for the release of captive pilot Philip Merhtens. Mehrtens, a 37-year-old New Zealander working for the Indonesian local airline Susi ... <a title="Open letter plea for NZ to back West Papua peaceful hostage plan" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/15/open-letter-plea-for-nz-to-back-west-papua-peaceful-hostage-plan/" aria-label="Read more about Open letter plea for NZ to back West Papua peaceful hostage plan">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 28, 2023
Jubi News in Jayapura Captured pilot Philip Mehrtens has called on the Indonesian government to stop military operations in the Nduga highlands in a bid to rescue him while his West Papuan rebel captors have condemned New Zealand for alleged “collusion” with Jakarta. According to Mehrtens, last weekend the Indonesian military (TNI) dropped bombs on ... <a title="West Papuan rebels condemn NZ for ‘collusion’ with Indonesia, risks to hostage pilot safety" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/28/west-papuan-rebels-condemn-nz-for-collusion-with-indonesia-risks-to-hostage-pilot-safety/" aria-label="Read more about West Papuan rebels condemn NZ for ‘collusion’ with Indonesia, risks to hostage pilot safety">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 26, 2023
RNZ Pacific New Zealand hostage Phillip Mehrtens, who is being held by pro-independence fighters in West Papua, appears well in a newly-released video. It comes as concerns were expressed for the pilot as fighting between Indonesian security forces and his captors, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), intensified last week. New Zealand Prime Minister ... <a title="‘I’m alive, healthy . . . stop the bombs,’ says kidnapped NZ pilot in new West Papua video" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/26/im-alive-healthy-stop-the-bombs-says-kidnapped-nz-pilot-in-new-west-papua-video/" aria-label="Read more about ‘I’m alive, healthy . . . stop the bombs,’ says kidnapped NZ pilot in new West Papua video">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 26, 2023
By Singgih Wiryono in Jakarta An Indonesian human rights researcher has cricitised his government’s failure to negotiate with West Papuan rebels, saying security officials should learn from the 2005 Aceh peace pact. The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) research and mobilisation division head, Rozy Brilian, said the Indonesian government had always ... <a title="Jakarta should ‘learn from the Aceh, Philippines experience’ and talk to West Papuan rebels, says researcher" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/26/jakarta-should-learn-from-the-aceh-philippines-experience-and-talk-to-west-papuan-rebels-says-researcher/" aria-label="Read more about Jakarta should ‘learn from the Aceh, Philippines experience’ and talk to West Papuan rebels, says researcher">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 19, 2023
RNZ Pacific The Indonesian military has officially escalated its operational status in West Papua to “ground combat ready” following a clash with West Papuan National Liberation Army militants over the weekend with multiple casualties reported on both sides. Military (TNI) commander Admiral Yudo Margono made the announcement in Jakarta yesterday after returning from West Papua. ... <a title="Indonesia upgrades NZ pilot operation in West Papua to ‘combat ready’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/19/indonesia-upgrades-nz-pilot-operation-in-west-papua-to-combat-ready/" aria-label="Read more about Indonesia upgrades NZ pilot operation in West Papua to ‘combat ready’">Read more</a>
