Papua separatist rebels appeal to New Zealand pilot’s captor to let him go after a year
By NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua region are asking for the immediate release of a New Zealand pilot who’s been held hostage for almost a year. That’s according to a statement from Sebby Sambom, spokesperson of the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement. He said they have asked Egianus Kogoya to release Philip Mark Mehrtens on a humanitarian basis. Kogoya and his forces took Mehrtens, a pilot from Christchurch who was working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, on Feb. 7 last year.
