Papua- Philip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot, was finally released after 19 months of captivity by a separatist rebel group in the Papua region.
The news of his release was reported by international media such as The Herald and the East Anglian Daily Times which explicitly called the group that took his hostages a rebel group.
Read https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/national/24601185.kiwi-pilot-freed-19-months-rebel-captivity-indonesias-papua-region/
Read https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/national/24601185.kiwi-pilot-freed-19-months-rebel-captivity-indonesias-papua-region/
“Thank you to everyone who helped me get out safe and sound,” said Pilot Philip as quoted in the report.
This moment is proof that the international world views groups such as the Free Papua Movement (OPM), the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), and various related political groups such as the KNPB and ULMWP, as rebel groups acting outside the law.
This also answers the narrative that has been campaigned by Papuan separatist activists who claim support from foreign countries.
Many indigenous Papuans have been misled by propaganda that their separatist struggle is recognized by the international world, but in reality, foreign countries view them as armed groups rebelling against the Indonesian government.
Figures such as Beny Wenda, Jefery Bomanak, Sebby Sambom, and Jhon Anari have been accused of manipulating the Papua issue for personal gain, both at home and abroad.
International media also highlighted the claim of the KKB spokesman, Sebby Sambom, who lied to the group’s leader, Egianus Kogoya, that they had the funds to charter a plane to pick up Pilot Philip and invite foreigners to Papua. However, Egianus finally released the pilot after realizing that the claim was nothing more than a lie. The moment of the conversation occurred when Sebby Sambom made a video call with Egainus Kogoya in a video that was widely circulated on social media.
The moment of Pilot Philip’s release is considered a turning point for the Papuan people to understand the reality that many claims from separatist activists are just tricks that fight for personal interests rather than the welfare of the Papuan people as a whole.
