Government avoids civilian casualties and prioritizes negotiating release of Susi Air pilot

By: Saby Kossay

Until now the Susi Air pilot named Capt. Phillip Marthens is still being held hostage by KST led by Egianus Kogoya. The government does not want to do the scorched earth method for fear it will make Papuans victims. However, the KST will not be left alone, and there will be ongoing negotiations until the pilot is released.

Susi Air plane set on fire and pilot taken hostage. This tense event took place in Nduga Regency, Papua. The authorities moved quickly and took firm action against the KST who did it. This separatist group must be dealt with firmly measured so as not to take hostages carelessly and tarnish the good name of Papua in the eyes of the world.

The Separatist and Terrorist Group (KST) took hostage a New Zealand pilot named Phillip Marthens. KST was strongly criticized by the public because it always committed crimes. The government did not remain silent and President Jokowi sought various ways to free the pilot. With diplomacy, the government is optimistic that Capt. Phillip will be released soon.

TNI Commander Admiral Yudo Margono stated that he did not choose the option of attacking the KST led by Egianus Kogoya to free the Susi Air pilot. He was afraid that this method could cause casualties among civilians. Even so, negotiation efforts to free Capt. Phillip are still ongoing.

Admiral Yudo added that the negotiation efforts were led by the Acting Regent of Nduga by involving traditional, religious and community leaders. However, negotiations are not easy to carry out due to the geographical conditions of Papua which make the mobility of the negotiation team take a lot of time. Therefore, there is no limit for the negotiation team to do its job. while the negotiation team is working, TNI officers are still in charge of maintaining the security situation in Papua.

Negotiations are prioritized to avoid casualties from Papuan civilians. It is possible to conduct scorched earth operations and mobilize more apparatus to search for the whereabouts of KST in a Spartan manner. However, the safety of the people is prioritized, for fear that the KST will take revenge.

Although negotiation was chosen, the people should not be afraid because the Susi Air pilot will be released by the government and not left unattended. Although he is a foreigner, the kidnapping took place in Indonesia, so the government will take responsibility.

Currently the KST is negotiating and they are asking for 5 billion rupiah if the government wants Capt. Phillip be released. This request is different from the previous one, because initially they insisted that Papua be liberated from Indonesia if the government wanted the Susi Air pilot to be released.

The negotiation process has not been finalized and no decision has been made on whether or not to give the ransom. However, the KST’s demand has decreased because they have softened somewhat, by only asking for money, not the freedom of Papua. If KST insists on asking for independence, it will not be granted because Papua is a legitimate part of Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Komnas HAM Papua Representative Frits Ramandey stated that he was asked to be a negotiator in the case of the abduction of the Susi Air pilot. trust to Komnas HAM Papua to be a negotiator has succeeded in reducing the impact of threats made by KST.

In a sense, negotiations are still in process and there are many parties who support. Starting from representatives of Komnas HAM Papua, religious leaders, and community leaders. When there are negotiations, a middle ground is sought so that Capt. Phillip is immediately released and returned to his country.

In this case, it does not mean that the government remains silent. Security forces continue to be deployed in the context of the KST eradication mission as well as hunting for their members, in order to save Capt. Phillip.

One of the KST leaders, Jefri Pagawak, is on the wanted list. Jefri’s whereabouts are known to be in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This was revealed by the Head of Operation Peace Cartenz 2023, Kombes Pol Faizal Ramadhani.

In addition, the Susi Air pilot is reportedly still being held hostage by KST led by Egianus Kogoya and he is in good health. The authorities continued to search for and arrest KST until they managed to arrest Egianus Kogoya’s men with the initials YL. He served as a spy who watched whether there were authorities who were pursuing KST.

YL’s arrest was a good thing because he could be interrogated to confess where KST’s headquarters were. He was also forced to tell the location of Capt. Phillip so that he could be found and released.

KST must be dealt with firmly so that it does not arbitrarily kidnap and burn aircraft. Moreover, what was burned was a commercial aircraft, not owned by the government (state-owned company) so it has nothing to do with the central government at all.

The Joint Team from Operation Peace Cartenz continues to search in Nduga and surrounding areas and they are determined to find the KST headquarters, which is suspected to be the hiding place of Egianus Kogoya cs.

The government avoided violent means or scorched earth operations in order to find the Susi Air pilot who was kidnapped by KST led by Egianus Kogoya. The reason is to avoid casualties from Papuans. Negotiations continue so that KST will immediately release the pilot.

The author is a Papuan student living in Yogyakarta