New video footage has been released of a peaceful hand-over ceremony of Kiwi pilot Phillip Mehrtens' release in West Papua.
The footage, sent to RNZ Pacific by a member of the West Papua Council of Churches, shows a formal ceremony followed by Mehrtens shaking hands with a number of locals before entering a helicopter and being flown away.
Mehrtens was held hostage by the West Papua National Liberation Army for 19 months after he landed a small plane in a remote mountainous area in February last year.
His release comes after disputed claims a bribe was made and six months on from the group saying they intended to release him.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters told Morning Report the suggestion a bribe was paid was "a disgrace".
Mehrtens will be reuniting with his wife and son after more than a year-and-a-half in captivity in West Papua - a region fighting for liberation from Indonesia.
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens (C), who was snatched by rebels in Indonesia's restive region of Papua in February last year, gestures as he walks with New Zealand Ambassador to Indonesia Kevin Burnett (C, right) after arriving from Central Papua by an air force plane at Halim Perdanakusuma air base in Jakarta on September 21, 2024. Photo: YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP
Located just over 6000km north of New Zealand, West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, bordering the independent nation of Papua New Guinea.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon thanked those involved in his release on Monday.
"But it wasn't just the good people at MFAT, there were many other agencies and people involved. In Papua, there were the churches, local government and civil society representatives who all worked relentlessly on this case."
Luxon noted Mehrtens family wanted to publicly thank his captors for keeping him safe throughout this saga.
A former New Zealand police negotiator Lance Burdett told Midday Report that international hostage negotiations "comes down to money but it is a complex pathway to get to that point".
Phillip Mehrtens, left, with former acting Bupati of Nduga regency, Edison Gwijangge, in the helicopter on his release from captivity. Photo: Mehrtens family / Supplied
'No bribe'
West Papua Council of Churches' Reverend Sofyan Socratez Yoman provided video of the transfer of Mehrtens.
He was part of early negotiations with Indonesia and New Zealand and is in close contact with the family of Mehrtens captor, military commander of Free Papua Movement, Egianus Kogoya.
Rev Yoman said Mehrtens release was peaceful and an act of goodwill. He was adamant the capture was politically motivated and not about money.
"No, no, no, bribe. This is, this is a political mission, this is a kindness of Egianus Kogoya to release Mehrtens.
"This is telling the public and internationally that we are not barbaric, we are not terrorists, we are not criminals, we are human beings."
West Papuans have been seeking independence since the 1960s following the controversial transfer of the region to Indonesia by the United Nations.
Rev Yoman said it was time to wake up to the issue of West Papua.
This handout taken and released on September 21, 2024 by the Cartenz Peace Task Force shows New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens (L), who was snatched by rebels in Indonesia's restive region of Papua in February last year, following his release at a press conference in Timika. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP
"West Papuan people struggle, fighting for more than six, six decades for justice, peace, independence, liberation struggle continually.
"We need international communities, including New Zealand communities and governments. Listen up, listen up our sovereign. Listen [to] our suffering."
Green MP Teanau Tuiono has been vocal on the liberation of West Papua.
"International community has been complicit by not paying attention," he said.
"It's a wake-up call to resolve the situation, to support the self determination of indigenous peoples in West Papua, and encouraging the Pacific Islands Forum to actually do more, to get a UN human rights investigation team to go in there, verbally with indigenous peoples, to support what's happening over there, and to push to do more, move towards a peaceful resolution to West Papua."
The Pacific Islands Forum has been contacted for comment.
