This handout picture taken and released by the Indonesian Military on Jan 3, 2020 shows then commander of Region I of territorial command, Yudo Margono (front left) inspecting troops at Natuna military base in Riau islands. - AFP
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Adm Yudo Margono has said that the military will continue with its persuasive approach to freeing the New Zealand pilot who is being held hostage by separatist rebels in Papua.
Yudo said over the weekend that he would not deploy only soldiers to free pilot Phillip Mehrtens as this strategy could be used as justification by the separatist group to escalate the situation.
"I don't want to deploy soldiers only to save the pilot [...] if the TNI makes an attack, the pilot will certainly be killed," Yudo was quoted by Kompas.com, adding that the separatist group would blame the killing on the military or the National Police.
Yudo added that in recent weeks soldiers had arrested a number of separatist rebels in the region and seized weapons and ammunition from them.
It has been more than two months since the West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) took Mehrtens hostage after he landed in Nduga, Papua Highlands, on a routine flight.
Last week, the TPNPB said it was prepared to drop a demand that Jakarta recognise the independence of the region before they could consider freeing him. The government says it has prioritised negotiations with religious and community leaders to secure Mehrtens' release, noting the dangers of conducting a military operation in the rugged highland area.
"We will use our weapons only if there's a threat to the life of our troops," Donny Charles Go, a spokesperson for the military task force formed to rescue the pilot, told Reuters.
