CoveragePost
February 24, 2023
RNZ Pacific Indonesian security forces were about to launch a rescue operation for a pilot held hostage in Papua before New Zealand intervened, reports ABC News. The ABC quoted Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security, Mahfud Mahmodin, as saying his forces knew the exact location of New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens, who was ... <a title="NZ government ‘intervened’ to stop operation to save pilot, says Jakarta" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/24/nz-government-intervened-to-stop-operation-to-save-pilot-says-jakarta/" aria-label="Read more about NZ government ‘intervened’ to stop operation to save pilot, says Jakarta">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 22, 2023
RNZ Pacific A West Papuan independence movement leader, Benny Wenda, says the release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens held hostage by armed rebels is out of his hands. The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) fighters kidnapped Mehrtens on February 7 after he landed a small commercial passenger plane in Nduga regency. The group ... <a title="Wenda calls on West Papuan rebels to release kidnapped NZ pilot" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/22/wenda-calls-on-west-papuan-rebels-to-release-kidnapped-nz-pilot/" aria-label="Read more about Wenda calls on West Papuan rebels to release kidnapped NZ pilot">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 18, 2023
Jubi News in Jayapura An indigenous Papuan negotiation team has traversed rugged highlands forests in the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian province in search of the New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens, who was taken hostage by rebels last week. The crisis over the captive pilot held by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) led by Egianus Kogoya ... <a title="Indigenous Papuan negotiators walk to forest hideout to seek release of pilot" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/18/indigenous-papuan-negotiators-walk-to-forest-hideout-to-seek-release-of-pilot/" aria-label="Read more about Indigenous Papuan negotiators walk to forest hideout to seek release of pilot">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 16, 2023
BACKGROUNDER: By David Robie Papuan independence rebels are playing a desperate game of cat and mouse with Indonesian authorities over their hostage taking last week with a New Zealand pilot caught in the middle. Christchurch-raised Philip Mehrtens, 37, a pilot for the national feeder airline Susi Air owned by a former cabinet minister and with ... <a title="Papuan cat-and-mouse over NZ pilot taken captive by ‘freedom’ rebels" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/16/papuan-cat-and-mouse-over-nz-pilot-taken-captive-by-freedom-rebels/" aria-label="Read more about Papuan cat-and-mouse over NZ pilot taken captive by ‘freedom’ rebels">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 13, 2023
ANALYSIS: By Camellia Webb-Gannon, University of Wollongong “Phil Mehrtens is the nicest guy, he genuinely is — no one ever had anything bad to say about him,” says a colleague of the New Zealand pilot taken hostage last week by members of the West Papuan National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) in the mountainous Nduga Regency. How ... <a title="Why a NZ pilot is a pawn in the West Papua conflict that the world ignores" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/13/why-a-nz-pilot-is-a-pawn-in-the-west-papua-conflict-that-the-world-ignores/" aria-label="Read more about Why a NZ pilot is a pawn in the West Papua conflict that the world ignores">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 9, 2023
RNZ News Indonesian police and military have launched a joint mission to rescue a New Zealand pilot who was seized by rebels as a hostage in Indonesia’s Papua region on Tuesday, media reports say. The Jakarta Post reports that authorities have set up a joint search and rescue operation to try and locate Susi Air ... <a title="Rescue mission underway for NZ pilot held hostage in Papua, say reports" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/09/rescue-mission-underway-for-nz-pilot-held-hostage-in-papua-say-reports/" aria-label="Read more about Rescue mission underway for NZ pilot held hostage in Papua, say reports">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 9, 2023
Jubi News in Jayapura Indonesian security forces do not know the whereabouts of the New Zealand pilot taken hostage by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) on Tuesday, Captain Philip Mehrtens, a pilot for Susi Air, was taken hostage following the burning of his aircraft in Paro district, Nduga regency, in a rugged part ... <a title="Indonesian security forces ‘have no idea’ where NZ pilot hostage is" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/09/indonesian-security-forces-have-no-idea-where-nz-pilot-hostage-is/" aria-label="Read more about Indonesian security forces ‘have no idea’ where NZ pilot hostage is">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 9, 2023
By Finau Fonua and Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalists A researcher at Human Rights Watch in Jakarta is calling for the immediate release of the six hostages — including a New Zealand pilot — being held by a rebel group in Indonesia’s Papua region. The rebels in Highlands Papua are threatening to execute Susi Air ... <a title="Human rights researcher pleads for West Papuan rebels to free NZ pilot" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/09/human-rights-researcher-pleads-for-west-papuan-rebels-to-free-nz-pilot/" aria-label="Read more about Human rights researcher pleads for West Papuan rebels to free NZ pilot">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 9, 2023
RNZ News An Indonesian human rights researcher has condemned the Papuan rebels who have taken a New Zealand pilot hostage and gone into hiding in a remote mountainous region. Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch urged the rebels to release the pilot, named as Captain Philip Mehrtens of the Indonesian airline Susi Air. “It is ... <a title="Indonesian rights researcher slams kidnapping – efforts to free NZ pilot" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/02/09/indonesian-rights-researcher-slams-kidnapping-efforts-to-free-nz-pilot/" aria-label="Read more about Indonesian rights researcher slams kidnapping – efforts to free NZ pilot">Read more</a>
