Papua rebels kill New Zealand pilot; health workers, children survive

Rebels in Indonesia’s restive region of Papua shot dead a helicopter pilot from New Zealand, police said Monday.

The 50-year-old pilot was flying four Indonesian health workers and two children, all of whom survived, Faizal Ramadhani, head of the Cartenz Peace Taskforce formed to handle Papua separatists, said in a statement.

“It is confirmed that there was a hostage situation and murder carried out by the armed criminal group”, Ramadhani said.

The rebels shot the pilot dead, put his body in the helicopter and set it on fire, he said.

The killing comes less than two years after another pilot from New Zealand, Phillip Mehrtens, was abducted by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). He remains in captivity.

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Contacted for comment by AFP, the TPNPB would not confirm they were responsible for the killing but said the pilot had entered their prohibited area.

“It is a conflict zone that we prohibit, including for civilian activities. Everything is forbidden to enter,” said the group’s spokesman Sebby Sambom.

The TPNPB insurgent group had previously demanded that Indonesia recognise Papuan independence in return for the New Zealander’s release.

Papua, a former Dutch colony, declared independence in 1961, but neighbouring Indonesia took control two years later, promising a referendum. In 1969, a thousand Papuans voted to integrate into Indonesia in a United Nations-backed vote.

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Papuan independence activists regularly criticise the vote and call for fresh polls, but Jakarta says its sovereignty over Papua is supported by the UN.