Papua rebels release videos showing kidnapped NZ pilot alive

By ALFIAN KARTONO and EDNA TARIGAN
Associated Press

JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s Papua province released more photos and videos Friday appearing to show the New Zealand pilot they took hostage last month alive. On Feb. 6, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, the West Papua Liberation Army, stormed Philip Mark Mehrtens’ single-engine plane shortly after it landed on a small, remote runway. Flying is the only practical way of accessing many parts of the mountainous area. In a video distributed Friday by a rebel spokesperson, a man wearing a blue jacket is identified as Mehrtens and instructed to read a statement. The separatists also released a video of their leader demanding the United Nations mediate the armed conflict between West Papua Liberation Army and the Indonesian Military in Papua.