Rights Lawyer Condemns Kidnap Of Capt Mehrtens By Separatist Rebels In Papau, Indonesia….Appeals For Immediate Release

By Bukar Bolori

Human Right Activist and lawyer, Maryam Musa Sambo has condemn in strong words and terms the kidnapping and hostage taking of Captain Phillip Mark Mehrtens, by the armed Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua province.

Barrister Sambo who is also a member of the Internnational Federation of Women (FIDA) Lawyers, described the kidnap of Captain Mehrtens as cruel, inhumane, degrading and a flagrant violation of his fundamental human rights which is enshrined in several international Laws.

She appealed to the group to release the pilot in respect for human rights and so he can reunite with his family.

“I therefore Appeal to the Armed Separatist Group led by Egianus Kogoya to immediately release the pilot from their custody out of respect for Human Dignity, Human Values and Human Rights. I am equally positive that Nigeria as a country with strong diplomatic ties with Indonesia will support and provide all the necessary help the Republic of Indonesia will need to tackle this menace,” she pleaded.

It would be recalled that Phillip Mark Mehrtens of Christchurch, a pilot for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, in February was abducted by independence fighters from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, who stormed his single-engine plane shortly after it landed on a small runway in Paro in remote Nduga district.

The plane, carrying five passengers, was scheduled to pick up 15 construction workers who had been building a health center in Paro after a group of separatist rebels led by Egianus Kogoya threatened to kill them, said Nduga district chief Namia Gwijangge.

In a statement by Rights lawyer, Barrister Sambo on Thursday in Abuja, she said: “The recent Kidnaping and hostage taking of Captain Phillip Mark Mehrtems, a pilot for the Indonesian aviation company Susi Airways is one of the most recent insurgence of the Armed Separatist Group.

“The incident is said to be part of the “Free Papua Movement” as was later confirmed by the leader of the Armed Separatist Group Egianus Kogoya when he said in a video with a man standing next to him that;“I took him (Captain Phillip Mark Mehrtens) hostage for Papua Independence not for food or drinks. He will be safe with me as long as Indonesia does not use its arms, either from the air or on the ground”.

Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua region released a video Wednesday appearing to show the New Zealand pilot they took hostage in February saying that recent Indonesian military attacks threatened his safety.

Papua Province was incorporated into the Republic of Indonesia in 1969 after a United Nation’s sponsored ballot. Since then, a low-level of insurgency has simmered within the province.

According to Sambo, It is therefore clear that no person shall be subjected to such cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

She stated: “Some of these rights are expressly captured and unambiguously stated in Article 1, Article 3, Article 5 and Article 12 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 4, Article 5 and 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) also in strong terms protects the Fundamental Rights of individuals as enshrined in Section 34 and 35 of the constitution.

“All the above cited laws frowns against the violation of the Right to Respect and Integrity of a Person, Right to Respect and Dignity inherent in a person, Right to personal Liberty, Freedom of Movement, Right to best attainable state of Physical and Mental Health.

“It is also worthy of note that Kidnapping is a capital offence contained in Nigerian Criminal (substantive) Laws of various states of the nation, which carries the maximum punishment of life imprisonment. It is insensitive, unacceptable, illegal and totally unreasonable to take a person hostage in what so ever guise.

“Papua is a legitimate part of the Republic of Indonesia and that is not going to change by breaking the Law and outright disregard and violation of the Fundamental Human Rights of innocent people”.

In the video sent to media by the spokesperson of the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, known as OPM, a man in handcuffs and a black shirt is identified as Philip Mark Mehrtens of Christchurch, a pilot for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air who was abducted by the group’s independence fighters.

Sitting on a wooden log and flanked by two men, apparently members of the group, he said in the video recorded Monday: “It’s almost three months since OPM kidnapped me from Paro. As you can see, I’m still alive and I’m healthy and eating well.”

Sambo said earlier the rebels carried out the attack in retaliation for Indonesia’s “massive military operation” in Papua and the killings of two rebels in a shootout with security forces last month.

While living with his abductors, but lately he has been worried about military attacks launched by the Indonesian army following a deadly ambush by the rebels on April 15 that killed at least five Indonesian soldiers who were deployed to rescue him.

The five Indonesian army troops were killed after rebels attacked 36 soldiers in Nduga district in Papua Highlands province.

The kidnapping of the pilot was the second that independence fighters have committed since 1996, when the rebels abducted 26 members of a World Wildlife Fund research mission in Mapenduma.

Two Indonesians in that group were killed by their abductors, but the remaining hostages were eventually freed within five months.

The pilot kidnapping reflects the deteriorating security situation in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia.

Sambo, prayed that the victim of this heinous crime Captain Phillip Mehrtens be released so that he will re-unite with his family as soon as humanly possible and in good health too.