Susi Air Pilot Held Hostage by OPM Released

Susi Air pilot from New Zealand, Philip Mark Marthens, who was held hostage by the Free Papua Movement (OPM) led by Egianus Kogoya for about a year and a half, was finally released.

According to a press release received by ANTARA in Jayapura on Saturday, the pilot was successfully picked up by the Joint Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and Indonesian Police (Polri) team called the 2024 Cartenz Peace Task Force on September 21, 2024.

Head of the 2024 Cartenz Task Force, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani, stated that the task force succeeded because it prioritized a soft approach to freeing the hostage held in Nduga District, Highland Papua.

“Efforts are made by prioritizing an approach through religious figures, church figures, traditional figures, and close family of Egianus Kogoya,” he remarked.

He explained that the approach was important to minimize casualties among officers and civilians and concurrently maintain the pilot’s safety.

Head of Public Relations of the Task Force, AKBP Bayu Suseno, stated that the pilot was successfully freed and picked up by the joint team in Nduga District and immediately flown to Timika, Central Papua.

“Today, we succeeded in picking up the pilot, Philip, in good health, then flown him from Nduga to Timika,” he remarked.

He said that the pilot was then immediately taken to a special room for medical mitigation while ensuring his psychological comfort.

The New Zealand pilot was abducted by the armed separatist terrorist group on February 7, 2023, shortly after landing in Paro, Nduga District, Papua Pegunungan Province.

The group also torched the Susi Air aircraft that he had piloted. (ANT)