Tag: Hostage taking
Fiji’s Jo Nata reflects on the 2000 coup: ‘We let the...
SPECIAL REPORT: Islands Business in Suva
Today is the 24th anniversary of renegade and failed businessman George Speight's coup in 2000 Fiji. The elected coalition...
‘Heroic efforts’ save 7 PNG teachers and families in kidnap attempt
By Jeffrey Elapa in Port Moresby
In what is described as a "significant relief", seven Papua New Guinea teachers and their families were rescued from...
I was involved in stalled talks to free kidnapped NZ pilot...
ANALYSIS: By Damien Kingsbury, Deakin University
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has now been held hostage in West Papua for four months. Stalled attempts to...
Papuan churches call on Jokowi to halt military ops for NZ...
By Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist
The West Papuan Council of Churches says New Zealand hostage pilot Phillip Mehrtens' life is in danger if negotiations...
PNG gunmen ‘kidnapped, raped’ 17 schoolgirls before freeing them
By Majeleen Yanei in Port Moresby
Seventeen Papua New Guinean schoolgirls who were kidnapped, raped and held hostage by armed men in Bosavi, Hela, last...
Armed gunmen kidnap 17 girls from remote PNG village – freed...
RNZ Pacific
Reports from Papua New Guinea say that 17 girls from a remote village have been held captive by a large group of armed...
Duncan Graham: Compromise worked in Aceh – why not West Papua?...
There are parallels between Indonesia’s Aceh where an Australian surfer faced a flogging, and West Papua where a New Zealand pilot may be facing...
OPM call for PNG’s James Marape as negotiator for NZ pilot’s...
Asia Pacific Report
Free Papua Organisation (OPM) leader Jeffrey Bomanak has appealed for Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape to become a "neutral intermediary"...
Author-poet condemns Papuan rebel threat to shoot NZ hostage pilot if...
Asia Pacific Report
An Australian author-poet and advocate for West Papuan independence has condemned a reported threat against the life of a New Zealand hostage...
Open letter plea for NZ to back West Papua peaceful hostage...
Asia Pacific Report
A New Zealand advocacy group has appealed to the government to heed the call of West Papuan church leaders for Indonesia to...
Papuan church leaders call on Jokowi to stop military ops over...
Jubi News in Jayapura
Church leaders across denominations in Papua have urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to stop military operations and to promote a humanitarian...
Indonesia upgrades NZ pilot operation in West Papua to ‘combat ready’
RNZ Pacific
The Indonesian military has officially escalated its operational status in West Papua to "ground combat ready" following a clash with West Papuan National...
West Papuan rebels claim 9 soldiers killed in Jakarta bid to...
RNZ Pacific
West Papuan rebels seeking independence in the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian region claim to have killed nine soldiers after Jakarta did not respond to a...
Wenda accuses Indonesia of imposing ‘martial law’ abuses on West Papua
Asia Pacific Report
A West Papuan leader has accused Indonesia of imposing a "martial law" on the Melanesian region in response to the kidnapping of...
Search for NZ pilot taken hostage by Papua rebels extended, says...
RNZ Pacific
The authorities in Indonesia's Papua region say the search for a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by West Papua Liberation Movement freedom fighters...
Indonesian police move to stem rise in Papuan freedom fighter attacks
Jubi News in Jayapura
Indonesia's Papua police chief Inspector-General Mathius D Fakhiri has called for action to ensure that "security disturbances" in the Puncak Jaya...
Words matter in telling West Papuan news stories
COMMENT: By Philip Cass
Words matter when telling the story of West Papua’s continuing struggle for independence.
Recently, New Zealand media carried reports of the kidnapping...
Papuan liberation group calls for more ‘serious’ global efforts to end...
Tabloid Jubi in Jayapura
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has called on the international community to "pay serious attention" to the escalated...
‘Sleepless nights’ admits PNG’s security minister over stretched police
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea's Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jr says the Royal PNG Constabulary is "stretched" with only 5000...
Hostage NZ pilot appears in new Papuan rebel video amid ‘don’t...
Asia Pacific Report
The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) has released a new video about New Zealand hostage pilot Philip Mehrtens and a Papuan...
Plea to PNG prime minister to tell truth about ransom paid...
PNG Post-Courier
A recent cash payment by Papua New Guinea for the release of three hostages held captive by armed gunmen in Southern Highlands province...
Papuan rebels deny asking for money, weapons to free NZ pilot...
Jubi News in Jayapura
The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) has denied Indonesian media claims that Egianus Kogoya, the commander of a TPNPB faction,...