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Agence France-Presse

Jakarta and Wellington denied on Monday a claim by rebels in Indonesia’s restive region of Papua that a New Zealand pilot was freed from captivity over the weekend after they received payment from a local leader.
Phillip Mehrtens, 38, was released on Saturday by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) insurgent group after 19 months in captivity.
Sebby Sambom, a spokesman for the group, said the Indonesian government gave money to the acting chief of the Papuan district where Mehrtens was freed, accusing him of then paying the rebels, without providing evidence.
“The Indonesian military and police gave bribe money to Edison Gwijangge and his team,” he said in a statement on Monday, referring to the acting head of Nduga regency.
The funds then landed with the rebels “through a family system”, Sambom said. “The TPNPB … handed over the pilot to Edison. Then Edison … handed over the pilot to the Indonesian military and police.”

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters quickly rubbished any suggestion that Wellington was involved in payment for Mehrtens’ release, saying it was diplomacy that secured his freedom.
“I think this is a disgrace, frankly, that it’s even suggested that a bribe was paid – we don’t pay ransoms, we don’t pay bribes,” Peters told Radio New Zealand on Monday.
“All the work that’s done by these people of all sorts, including officials, working as hard as they can and as cautiously as they can – not to make a mistake or be offensive and for things to fail – has now been trammelled by the allegation of a bribe.”
The spokesman for the joint Indonesian task force of police and military that collected Mehrtens said no money was given directly to the rebels.

“There was no request for money or any conditions from Egianus Kogoya for the pilot’s release,” said Bayu Suseno, referring to the rival rebel leader accused of taking the payment.
The rebels had said foreign nationals were targets because their governments had ties with Indonesia, from which they are seeking independence.
During his captivity in the Papuan countryside, the New Zealander made sporadic appearances on video to address his family and his government.
His appearance changed drastically over time but he appeared in good physical condition after his release and arrival in capital Jakarta on Saturday night.


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Phillip Mehrtens (left) pictured with Edison Gwijangge after being released from captivity on Saturday. Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region claimed they received money for Mehrtens’ release. Photo: New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade / AFP

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters called suggestions that a bribe was paid “a disgrace”. Photo: AP

Mehrtens speaks during a press conference in Timika, Central Papua, on Saturday following his release. Photo: AFP

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People burn tires during a protest at a road in Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia, August 19, 2019 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Toyiban/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks to the media about the deaths of construction workers after a shooting in the country's easternmost province of Papua, at the palace in Jakarta, Indonesia December 5, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Wahyu Putro A/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT.

epa07780089 A local parliament building burns during a protest in Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia, 19 August 2019. According to media reports, protesters set fire to the local parliament building and cars during a protest against the detention of Papuan students in Surabaya for damaging a national flag pole outside of a dormitory. EPA-EFE/STRINGER BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

TOPSHOT - Protesters take to the street to face off with Indonesian police in Manokwari, Papua on August 19, 2019. - Riots broke out in Indonesia's Papua with a local parliament building torched as thousands protested allegations that police tear-gassed and arrested students who supported the restive region's independence. (Photo by STR / AFP)

People display banners that read "Stop intimidation and racism towards indigenous Papuans" during a protest in Manokwari, Papua province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. The protest was sparked by accusations that Indonesian police who backed by the military, have arrested and insulted dozens of Papuan students in their dormitory in East Java's cities of Surabaya and Malang a day earlier. (AP Photo/Safwan Ashari Raharusun)

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In this photograph taken on July 28, 2017 Indonesian's Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto (R) shakes hands with Phillipines national defense adviser Hermogenes Esperon (L) before the one-day meeting on a counter-terrorism in Manado, North Sulawesi province, between six nations with Malaysia, Filipina, Brunei Darussalam, dan New Zealand. Indonesia and Australia are co-hosting a meeting on a counter-terrorism issues to address the rising threat of foreign fighters amid the ongoing battles by IS-pro militans in the Philippines. / AFP PHOTO / ADI DWI SATRYA

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Indonesian security forces carry the body of a police officer who was shot and killed near Freeport-McMoRan Inc's giant Grasberg copper mine, during his funeral in Timika, Papua province Indonesia November 15, 2017 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Jeremias Rahadat/ via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN INDONESIA.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (2nd R) shakes hands with freed Papuan political prisoner Kimanus Wenda (2nd L) while four others Jefrai Murib (L) Apotnalogolik Lokobal (3rd L) Numbungga Telenggen (4th L) and Linus Hiluka (3rd R) looks on during a ceremony at a prison in Abepura located in the restive eastern province of Papua on May 9, 2015. Indonesian President Joko Widodo on May 9 ordered the release of a group of political prisoners in Papua to "create a sense of peace" in a rare conciliatory gesture to the insurgency-hit eastern province. AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD

FILE PHOTO: Trucks operate in the open-pit mine of PT Freeport's Grasberg copper and gold mine complex near Timika, in the eastern region of Papua, Indonesia on September 19, 2015 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. REUTERS/Muhammad Adimaja/Antara Foto/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT

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The release of pilot Phillip Mehrtens after 19 months in captivity has sparked controversy as Papuan rebels claimed payments were made


The release of pilot Phillip Mehrtens after 19 months in captivity has sparked controversy as Papuan rebels claimed payments were made.


New Zealand

Crime