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 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
December 19, 2021
SPECIAL REPORT: By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific journalist Armed conflict in West Papua continues to claim lives, displace tens of thousands of people and cause resentment at Indonesian rule. But despite ongoing calls for help, neighbouring countries in the Pacific Islands region remain largely silent and ineffectual in their response. This year, Indonesia’s military has ... <a title="60,000 flee as West Papua conflict deepens, poses questions for region" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2021/12/19/60000-flee-as-west-papua-conflict-deepens-poses-questions-for-region/" aria-label="Read more about 60,000 flee as West Papua conflict deepens, poses questions for region">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
October 28, 2021
SPECIAL REPORT: By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific journalist Armed conflict in West Papua has caused an exodus of displaced people into one of the most remote parts of neighbouring Papua New Guinea. The latest flashpoint in the conflict is in the Indonesian-administered Bintang Mountains regency, where state forces are pursuing West Papua Liberation Army fighters ... <a title="West Papuans flee from ‘liberation’ conflict into remote PNG region" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2021/10/28/west-papuans-flee-from-liberation-conflict-into-remote-png-region/" aria-label="Read more about West Papuans flee from ‘liberation’ conflict into remote PNG region">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 7, 2021
RNZ Pacific Human Rights Watch is urging the Indonesian government to rethink its classification of rebels in West Papua as terrorists. Indonesia has formally designated Papuan independence fighters as “terrorists”, in a move expected to expand the military’s role in civilian policing in Papua. But the NGO has warned that the new designation under counter-terrorism ... <a title="Terrorist tag in West Papua could worsen racism, says rights group" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2021/05/07/terrorist-tag-in-west-papua-could-worsen-racism-says-rights-group/" aria-label="Read more about Terrorist tag in West Papua could worsen racism, says rights group">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 2, 2021
By Arjuna Pademme in Jayapura The Indonesian government appears to be at a loss about how to quell the struggle of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) with its plan to designate Papuan independence organisations as “terrorist” groups. Democracy Alliance for Papua (ADP) director Latifah Anum Siregar says that the Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) should rethink ... <a title="Designating OPM as terrorists will ‘increase tension, rights abuses’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2021/04/02/designating-opm-as-terrorists-will-increase-tension-rights-abuses/" aria-label="Read more about Designating OPM as terrorists will ‘increase tension, rights abuses’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 23, 2021
By a special Asia Pacific Report correspondent Intan Jaya has started Lent with bitter sorrow after losing three young Papuan men alleged to have been shot and brutally tortured to death by the Indonesian military in a local health centre. Sources said that the armed conflict has caused more than 1000 indigenous West Papuans in ... <a title="Three Papuan youths killed in torture reprisal by Indonesian military" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2021/02/23/three-papuan-youths-killed-in-torture-reprisal-by-indonesian-military/" aria-label="Read more about Three Papuan youths killed in torture reprisal by Indonesian military">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
October 24, 2020
By Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie in Jakarta An Indonesian government-sanctioned joint fact-finding team has reported that it found indications that security forces were involved in the shooting of Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani after investigating a series of shootings in Intan Jaya regency, Papua. The team gave its findings to the Office of the Coordinating Political, ... <a title="Investigators find evidence of military role in shooting of Papuan pastor" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/10/24/investigators-find-evidence-of-military-role-in-shooting-of-papuan-pastor/" aria-label="Read more about Investigators find evidence of military role in shooting of Papuan pastor">Read more</a>
