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NZ pilot Philip Mehrtens freed from captivity in West Papua
New Zealand World ^ | Sept. 21, 2024

Posted on 09/20/2024 9:26:12 PM PDT by Jemian

Philip Mehrtens is seen in video from Indonesian media.

Philip Mehrtens is seen in video from Indonesian media. Photo: Screenshot

New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has reportedly been freed from more than 1 1/2 years in captivity in West Papua, Indonesia.

The Indonesian police announced it in a statement on Saturday, Reuters reported.

"We are prioritising approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya's close family to minimise casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot," the chief of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani said in a statement released to media.

Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in Nduga Regency and is undergoing health check-ups and a physiological examination in Timika regency, the police said.

New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens was photographed with his rebel captors in Indonesia's Papua region.

New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens was photographed with his rebel captors in Indonesia's Papua region. Photo: Supplied/TPNPB

The armed faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army kidnapped Phillip Merhtens in February last year after he landed a small commercial plane in a remote, mountainous area.


(Excerpt) Read more at rnz.co.nz ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: indonesia; mehrtens; newguinea; newzealand; opm; papua; phillipmehrtens; westpapua; westpapuanrebels; wpnla
Praise the Lord! So very thankful.
1 posted on 09/20/2024 9:26:12 PM PDT by Jemian
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To: Jemian

2007 : West Papua, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, is rich in gold mines, so the delegation thought it natural to donate gold for the Holy Temple. The Holy Temple will be built in the place where the First and Second Temples once stood – on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.


2 posted on 09/20/2024 10:23:50 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: Jemian

I don’t want to tell the guy how to do his job, but if the gunman on the right in this photo is trying to camouflage himself, then wearing bright red shorts would kind of seem to defeat the purpose.


3 posted on 09/20/2024 10:38:25 PM PDT by fidelis (Ecce Crucem Domini! Fugite partes adversae! Vicit Leo de tribu Juda, Radix David! Alleluia!)
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To: Jemian

Didn’t these guys eat Joe’s uncle?


4 posted on 09/20/2024 11:09:44 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
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To: Jemian
This Eastern part of Indonesia has been simmering for awhile. They want independence but are anti-capitalist. Indonesia is mostly Islamic but this resistance seems like some remnant of a pagan past.
5 posted on 09/20/2024 11:34:12 PM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
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To: tumblindice
No, it was guys down in the south-central part of the island. THAT part is a swampy region and if the cannibals didn't get Uncle Joe, than the crocodiles would. Or, the sharks because the guy never made it to the island.

THESE guys are part of the OPM, Operasis Papua Merdeka, a separatist band wanting to take what was Irian Jaya away from the Indonesian government and rule themselves. They believe Irian Jaya was illegal seized by Indonesia back in the 1960s.

They were hoping to gain concessions from Indonesia with this kidnapping. I do not know if they succeeded in any part.

6 posted on 09/20/2024 11:38:59 PM PDT by Jemian (There is tough. And then, there is TRUMP TOUGH!)
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To: Nateman

Actually, they think they are Christian. Papua is a Christian province, although Islam is gaining ground. There are some evangelical Christians here, some pentacostals, Catholics, and those who syncretize their pagan religions with Scripture.


7 posted on 09/20/2024 11:41:46 PM PDT by Jemian (There is tough. And then, there is TRUMP TOUGH!)
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To: Nateman

I forgot. Maybe in theory they’re socialist, but in basic practice they are very greedy.


8 posted on 09/20/2024 11:42:44 PM PDT by Jemian (There is tough. And then, there is TRUMP TOUGH!)
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To: Jemian

Those rebs look well fed by local standards


9 posted on 09/21/2024 12:11:01 AM PDT by wardaddy (Thank you God for saving president Trump from murder )
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To: Jemian

Kamala will want to ban those rifles.


10 posted on 09/21/2024 1:54:40 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: wardaddy

It’s probably a form of sago called papeda (my son says it tastes like warmed-up snot) and intestinal parasites which cause the well-fed look.


11 posted on 09/21/2024 2:06:54 AM PDT by Jemian (There is tough. And then, there is TRUMP TOUGH!)
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To: Larry Lucido

Kamala will want to ban those rifles.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Why not, then Kamala wants them to come in to the USA as refugees, go to Aurora , Colorado, and get brand new AR-15s?


12 posted on 09/21/2024 2:33:36 AM PDT by Candor7 (Ask not for whom the Trump Trolls,He trolls for thee!),<img src="" width=500</img><a href="">tag</a>)
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To: Jemian

bkmk


13 posted on 09/21/2024 3:54:38 AM PDT by ptsal (Vote R.E.D. >>>Remove Every Democrat ***)
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To: Jemian

He’s a lot luckier than The Big Guy’s uncle!


14 posted on 09/21/2024 6:20:00 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Import The Third World,Become The Third World)
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To: Jemian

Did I ever tell you about what my uncle did??


15 posted on 09/21/2024 6:47:49 AM PDT by jerod (Nazis were essentially Socialist in Hugo Boss uniforms... Get over it!)
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To: Jemian
He reports meeting Uncle Bosley while in Captivity!


16 posted on 09/21/2024 6:53:49 AM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion (🦅 MAGADONIAN ⚔️ )
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To: fidelis
"I don’t want to tell the guy how to do his job, but if the gunman on the right in this photo is trying to camouflage himself, then wearing bright red shorts would kind of seem to defeat the purpose."

If I was the guy on the left I'd smack the guy in the red shorts up side the head for pointing that automatic weapon at me.

17 posted on 09/21/2024 10:50:44 AM PDT by Flint
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