A New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage last month by rebels in Indonesia's Papua region has appeared in videos put out by separatists calling for the United Nations to mediate in the conflict in the resource-rich region.
Pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who works for the small, domestic Susi Air service, was abducted by the armed wing of Free Papua Movement (OPM) on Feb. 7 after landing at an airstrip in the Nduga district.
"OPM requests the United Nations to mediate between Papua and Indonesia to work towards Papuan independence," Mehrtens said in one video, echoing comments in a earlier video statement, in which he said he would only be released if Papua became independent.
