Three new videos have been released featuring a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by separatists in Indonesia’s Papua region. They call for the United Nations to mediate in the conflict in the resource-rich region. Philip Mehrtens, who works for the domestic Susi Air service, was abducted by the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) last month after landing at an airstrip in the Nduga district.
The conflict began on February 7, when separatist fighters took a New Zealand pilot hostage and set fire to a small commercial plane after it made a landing in a remote highland area. The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and stated that the pilot would not be released until the Indonesian government acknowledged the independence of West…
