TNI Commander Believes Susi Air Pilot Who Was Taken Hostage By KKB Papua Is Safely Free

TNI Commander Admiral Yudo Margono. (Between-Akbar Nugroho Gumay)

TNI Commander Admiral Yudo Margono said he was optimistic that Susi Air pilot Captain Philip Mark Mehrtens, who was held hostage by the Papuan KKB led by Egianus Kogoya, could be released safely.

"God willing, I am optimistic. Yes, optimistic," said Yudo at the Gatot Subroto Hall at TNI Cilangkap Headquarters, Jakarta, Wednesday, April 5, which was confiscated by Antara.

Yudo is optimistic that Philip will be safe if his release is carried out in a persuasive manner. According to him, if the rescue is carried out by military means, then the KKB will not hesitate to shoot the pilot.

"If I release it by military means, I have monitored the conversation, 'later when you meet the TNI, just kill it, shoot it later, later let the TNI be accused of killing this pilot'," he said. Yudo does not want this to happen.

"If I use military operations, I can also attack militarily. I have tools, have professional soldiers for that, but who will the victims be? The community will definitely," he said.

Furthermore, Yudo will prioritize persuasive ways to save Susi Air's pilots, namely by communicating with religious and community leaders, as well as the local government.

He revealed that community leaders and Acting Regent of Nduga Namia Gwijangge asked the TNI to be patient and not carry out military operations.

"This is based on community leaders and from the (Pj) Regent of Nduga who always puts his brakes on me, asking me to be patient. Because later the impact will be even greater, the losses will have a greater impact on our society," he said.

In addition, Yudo said there was no time to save Susi Air's pilots. According to him, because the hostage-taking is different from other cases, rescue efforts cannot be carried out in a hurry.

"There is no target how many days it will take. Our target is that they (Susi Air pilot) can be released safely and no people will be affected as victims," he said. Previously, on Tuesday 7 February, Philip was held hostage by the KKB after landing a Pilatus Porter aircraft at the Paro airport, Nduga Regency, Papua Mountains. Apart from taking Philip hostage, the KKB also burned the plane belonging to the Susi Air airline.