On behalf of the ULMWP, I wholeheartedly welcome the release of Phillip Mehrtens after one and a half years in captivity.
The most important thing is that Mr Mehrtens is safely reunited with his family. His safe return has been a top priority and I have been working towards this aim since the beginning, facilitating negotiations, opening new lines of communication and building understanding, and travelling to meet representatives and intermediaries for multiple parties. I know the damage that killing Mr Mehrtens would have done to the West Papuan cause. The international reputation of our struggle demanded the safety of Mr Mehrtens.
Thank you to Egianus Kogoya and his TPNPB troops for agreeing to release Mr Mehrtens on humanitarian grounds, and to TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom for tirelessly facilitating. It is right that no more innocent blood was spilt on our ancestral land. West Papuans do not have a tradition of torture, massacres, or the killing of innocents. By releasing Mr Mehrtens unharmed, the TPNPB have ensured that our struggle cannot be tarnished.
Thank you to all West Papuans who have assisted this process since the beginning, risking their lives to facilitate contact between Mr Mehrtens and his family and getting messages between the TPNPB and negotiators, including local ULMWP members and former acting Bupati of Nduga regency, Edison Gwijangge. Thank you to Juha Christensen for your hard work as a facilitator to secure this release. I am glad to have worked together on this process. Thank you also to Tim Hansen from International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) who assisted the process, and also all solidarity groups around the world who urged Mehrtens’ release.
Thank you to the New Zealand government for encouraging a peaceful resolution. Unfortunately, this request was not heeded by Indonesian authorities who rejected outside assistance, bombed the Nduga highlands, increased troop presence and attacks and regularly blocked the passage of TPNPB messengers, putting Mr Mehrtens life in considerable danger.
Today we also mourn the many innocent West Papuans who lost their lives as a result of retaliatory military operations, as Indonesia used this kidnapping as a pretext for further violence.
I call on the New Zealand government and the international community to support our struggle for self-determination. We must not forget that the continued violation of the right to decide our own future is the root cause of all violence in West Papua. The only path to a peaceful solution to the West Papuan conflict is an internationally-mediated referendum.
International focus should now return to the plight of West Papuan people affected by Indonesian troop occupation, internally displaced people and the ongoing peaceful fight for self-determination.
Our diplomatic and political struggle continues.