Komnas HAM Concerned About The Trade Of Negotiations On The Hostage Of The Papuan KKB Against Pilot Susi Ai

Illustration of Komnas HAM. (Between)

JAKARTA - The Head of the Papua National Human Rights Commission, Frits Ramanday, expressed his concern due to the stagnation of the negotiation efforts to free the pilot Susi Air, Phillip Mark Mehrtens, who held the Armed Criminal Group (KKB) led by Egianus Kogoya.

"We express our great concern because the efforts to negotiate until the hostage-taking case lasts up to one year," Frits said in Jayapura, Wednesday, February 7, as reported by Antara.

According to him, if the hostage-taking continues, the hostage-taking party does not have an agenda that can be communicated, for example, there is a political agenda, but none of the demands can communicate it.

However, he said, his party hopes that Egianus will immediately deliver a statement of attitude towards a year of hostage-taking because he has a moral responsibility to announce to the public about the whereabouts of the hostages and what agenda should be communicated.

This is done so that the rights of individuals from hostages can be communicated and the state can think about it. The state, in this case, is not only Indonesia, but also New Zealand and Susi Air, which are the places to work.

Regarding the efforts of the Acting Regent of Nduga, Frits said, what he had done was maximized because he had visited the area on which the KKB was based and had spoken several things with Egianus to be agreed upon, but could not go well.

Komnas HAM Papua, said Frits, is currently only monitoring through its partners and no longer conducting monitoring in the field because it does not receive financial support in the context of negotiating efforts, both from the Papua Provincial Government and from Komnas HAM.

"Komnas HAM Papua has been monitoring and proactive for the past six months through partners," said Frits.

Phillip Mark Mehrtens, who works as a Susi Air pilot, has been held hostage by the KKB led by Egianus Kogoya since February 7, 2023, shortly after landing his plane at the Paro airport, Nduga Regency, Papua Mountains.