Images have been released appearing to show a New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage last week after landing in Indonesia’s Papua region. Philip Mehrtens was abducted and his plane was burned after he arrived in Papua’s remote Nduga province. The images, released on the Facebook page of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), appear to show him alongside armed captors. The group says it will release Mehrtens if Papua is given independence by the Indonesian government. The former Dutch colony declared independence in 1961 but was seized by Indonesia when it took control of the region two years later. “TPNPB has admitted the responsibility for the burning of the plane and taking hostage of a Susi Air pilot who is a citizen of New Zealand, and we keep our promise and are politically responsible,” the rebels said in a statement.
