The American pilot Nicholas F. Goselin had just landed a small plane in one of the most isolated areas in Indonesia. Suddenly, a group of armed men opened fire. Minutes later, the aircraft was in flames.. It was not a random murder, but a «message» addressed to four recipients: Indonesia, the United States, the Netherlands and the United Nations.
That was the warning given by the separatist guerrilla that claimed responsibility for the attackanother emerging from a conflict that is six decades old and that has already claimed several victims.
The episode occurred this Thursday in Balinggama, a remote town in the Yahukimo district, in the Upper Papua provincea mountainous region where the plane is usually the only means to reach dozens of towns isolated by the jungle and the lack of roads.
The aircraft, operated by the Indonesian company PT AMA, was also carrying seven passengers, including three women. None of them were injured.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation reported that the pilot reported the landing, but shortly after all communication with the runway was lost. An evacuation team tried to reach the site, although bad weather forced the mission to be suspended. The Army assured that the seven passengers were Papuan civilians – among them three women – and denied that the flight was linked to military operations.
This version contradicts the explanation of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the main armed separatist group in the region.
Its spokesman, Sebby Sambom, said the plane had previously been used to transport Indonesian army soldiers and supplies to combat zones. According to him, the group had civil flights prohibited in the areas that it considers under its control because it maintains that many aircraft end up collaborating with the security forces.
For the rebels, that was the reason for the attack. Sambom assured that the murder of the American pilot constitutes «a message» to the governments of Indonesia, the United States and the Netherlands, as well as the United Nations, for «not addressing the root causes of the conflict» in Papua.
He also demanded that the UN promote international negotiations between Jakarta and the independence movement and warned that other civil aircraft will suffer the same fate if they continue, according to his version, supporting military operations.
The separatists’ accusations could not be independently verified and were rejected by Indonesian authorities. The Army insisted that the flight was carrying only civilians and denied any military use of the aircraft.
The armed conflict that has lasted six decades and targets airplane pilots
Behind the attack appears a conflict that has lasted more than six decades. Papua, an ancient dutch colony Located in the western half of the island of New Guinea, became part of Indonesia in 1969 after a consultation sponsored by the United Nations whose legitimacy continues to be questioned by the independence movements. Since then, different separatist groups have maintained an armed insurgency that periodically leads to clashes with security forces.
Violence has worsened in recent years and Foreign pilots began to become a recurring target. Geography explains part of this strategy: in a region where many communities can only be supplied by air, controlling flights also means conditioning the presence of the Indonesian State in the most remote areas.
The background shows that foreign pilots became one of the main targets of the insurgency.
In February 2023, fighters led by Egianus Kogoya kidnapped the New Zealander Phillip Mark Mehrtensan employee of the Susi Air airline, who remained captive for 18 months until being released in September 2024.
Just a month before that release, another New Zealand pilot, Glen Malcolm Conning, was killed after landing a helicopter in a remote village in Central Papua.
The rebels took advantage of the attack to once again demand that the United Nations promote negotiations between the Indonesian government and the separatist movement. Also They reiterated their warning: Any civil aircraft that, according to them, continues to collaborate with military operations in Papua may become a new target.
