President Jokowi Praises TNI, Police for Susi Air Pilot Release

President Jokowi on Saturday (11/21) at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, delivers a statement to journalists regarding the release of Susi Air Pilot Captain Philip Mark Mehrtens. Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Vico).

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has praised the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) for the release of Susi Air Pilot Captain Philip Mark Mehrtens.

“It has been a very long negotiation process, and our main concern was the safety of the pilot. The TNI and the Polri have been involved with a very long negotiation process,” the President told journalists at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Saturday (11/21).

President Jokowi said that Captain Mehrtens would be transferred from Yuguru village, Maibarok district, Nduga regency to the hospital to have his health condition checked before being transferred to his home country.

The President further said that every activity carried out in Papua, including for infrastructure development and logistics delivery, would be accompanied by security forces, namely the TNI and the Polri personnel, to prevent similar incidents.

“The TNI and the Polri personnel will provide security for road infrastructure construction, bridge construction, as well as provide security for pilots who bring logistics to Nduga, to Wamena, and to Puncak area,” the President remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/ABD) (RI/MMB)