A New Zealand pilot has reportedly been taken hostage by a rebel group in West Papua, a province of Indonesia.
The country’s police force says a flight with six people on board was set alight after landing in the remote area, and it does not know the location of the group.
Reuters reports the West Papua National Liberation Army is claiming responsibility and saying the pilot would not be released until the Indonesian government acknowledged the independence of West Papua.
Speaking with Tova O'Brien on Wednesday morning, West Papua Action Aotearoa spokesperson, Catherine Delahunty, said this incident is, sadly, "not surprising".
"Desperate acts are taken when you are ignored and you have suffered multiple deaths," Delahunty said.
"This area Nduga, in the Papuan highlands, has been a scene of many conflicts. There's a struggle for independence that's been going on since the 60s.
"We're interested that it's a New Zealand pilot they've taken because I think that's a first and it's not great at all, but it's what happens when you ignore an issue."
O'Brien asked Delahunty if she was trying to justify this "inexcusable" hostage situation.
"I'm not… I'm trying to give context because people don't report this country's struggle. We have struggled to get people to take it seriously," Delahunty replied.
"The Indonesians have bombed this area, they have driven hundreds and hundreds of people into refugee camps, they have caused multiple problems in all the years of occupying this country.
"Non-violence is always a better way to resolve issues… but it's not going to work for what the military and Papua activists are calling for."
Delahunty said it's going to be "really tough" to get this Kiwi pilot home, telling O'Brien the pilot is not in a safe operating area, nor is this an incident New Zealand will have much control over.
"The Indonesian government is looking for him right now but their solution seems to be to bomb people, so that's not actually going to help get this person safely home," she said.
"I also don't think that the demands are remotely realistic. Indonesia's not going to withdraw, they get too much wealth extracting the resources of West Papua and they lock up foreign nationals themselves who are doing things that might be supportive of the Papuans.
"It's a very difficult position to be in and I think this person is very unfortunate, they're at serious risk."
Listen to the full interview between Catherine Delahunty and Tova above.
You can also download the full interview on the Tova podcast, and listen on the go.
