Indonesian police say Mehrtens has been flown out of mountainous Nduga and seems in good well being.
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed by rebels in Indonesia’s troubled jap area of Papua 19 months after he was kidnapped.
“At this time, we have now picked up pilot Phillip, who’s in good well being, and we flew him from Nduga to Timika,” Faizal Ramadhani, head of a particular unit shaped to deal with the battle in Papua, mentioned in a press release on Saturday. Mehrtens is present process additional well being checks and a physiological examination, Indonesian police added.
Fighters from the West Papua Nationwide Liberation Military (TPNPB) snatched Mehrtens on February 7 final yr after he landed his small business aircraft within the distant, mountainous space of Nduga.
They mentioned they’d solely free him if Indonesia gave Papua its independence.
The New Zealand authorities mentioned Mehrtens was doing effectively and had spoken to his household.
“We’re happy and relieved to substantiate that Phillip Mehrtens is protected and effectively and has been capable of discuss along with his household,” Overseas Minister Winston Peters mentioned.
“This information should be an unlimited aid for his mates and family members.”
The Indigenous folks of Papua, who’re ethnically Melanesian, have been preventing for independence from Indonesia for the reason that territory was included into the nation following a controversial referendum backed by the United Nations.
New Zealand media reported earlier this week that the rebels had proposed new phrases for Mehrtens’s launch.
Indonesian police mentioned they’d maintain a information convention on Mehrtens’s launch in a while Saturday.