West Papua Liberation Army rebels torch the plane that Phillip Mehrtens was piloting Photo: Supplied/TPNPB
Separatist fighters in Indonesia's Papua region have released video footage of the New Zealand pilot taken hostage a week ago.
Philip Mehrtens was kidnapped after landing his plane in Papua's remote mountainous province of Nduga.
In the videos sent to RNZ Pacific, Mehrtens was surrounded by several West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) fighters.
Mehrtens, who appeared wearing a blue denim jacket and a Free West Papua T-shirt, read a prepared statement in which he repeated the rebels' demands.
In one video he said: "The Papuan military have taken me captive in their efforts for Papua. They ask for the Indonesian military to go home, back into Indonesia and if not I will remain captive until my life is threatened."
In another he said: "Indonesia needs to recognise Papuan independence."
The rebels pledged to release the pilot if Papua was granted independence.
The fighters appearing in the videos were armed with a mixture of assault rifles and bows and arrows. One man - who addressed the camera and outlined the group's demands introduced himself as TPNPB leader Egianus Kogoya.
New Zealand media outlet Stuff has gained a translation of the video by an academic they say has lived in Indonesia.
Dr Chris Wilson, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Auckland, viewed and translated the videos sent to Stuff.
He said they reveal that the rebels are warning that Mehrtens "will die here" like "the rest of us" if the Indonesian military attempted to rescue him.
The 37-year-old pilot was kidnapped after his small passenger plane, which belongs to Indonesia's Susi Air, landed in Nduga.
His plane had departed from the Mozes Kilangin airport in Central Papua early on Tuesday of last week, and was meant to return a few hours later after dropping off five passengers.
The Susi Air plane that Phillip Mehrtens was piloting being torched by the rebels Photo: Suppplied/TPNPB
But shortly after landing rebels stormed the single-engine plane and seized the Christchurch man. The plane was then set on fire.
A TPNPB spokesman later told BBC Indonesian that Mehrtens had been moved to a stronghold district for the group in a remote area, and he would be used as "leverage" in political negotiations.
The group says that the pilot is being held because New Zealand co-operates militarily with Indonesia.
The group's spokesperson, Sebby Sambom, told RNZ Pacific it continues to demand negotiations from the New Zealand government for the release of the pilot.
The other passengers, who were indigenous Papuans, were released.
Papuan rebels seeking independence from Indonesia have previously issued threats and even attacked aircraft they believe to be carrying personnel and supplies for Jakarta.
Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and the Indonesian authorities are common, with pro-independence fighters mounting more frequent attacks since 2018.
Additional information supplied by the BBC
