[ETAN is deeply appreciative of Rep. Payne's efforts on
behalf of East Timorese, West Papuan and Indonesian people during his service
in Congress. We mourn his passing. In addition to his actions on behalf of
West Papua, Rep. Payne was supportive of
ETAN's efforts to support self-determination for the now independent
Timor-Leste and to restrict U.S. security assistance to Indonesia in order
to support human rights and justice. - John M. Miller, National Coordinator.]
West Papua Advocacy Team on
Rep. Donald Payne 1934-2012
Representative Payne used his important role in the U.S. House of Representatives' international affairs committee and his leading role in the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus to advocate for Papuan rights. The following recalls only part of that impressive record of human rights advocacy:
In December 2005, as ranking member of the
House International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Africa,
Global Human Rights & International Operations, Payne joined Congressmember Faleomavaega to call on African nations to request the United Nations to review the "Act of Free
Choice," the widely discredited subterfuge through which the Indonesian
government, then led by the dictator Suharto, forcibly annexed West Papua.
The "Act" was "noted" by the United Nations in 1969. The call for African
nations to initiate a review of the fraudulent "Act" was a follow up
to a
March 2005 Congressional petition
organized by Reps. Faleomavaega and Payne and addressed to then UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan. That petition called for a review of the "Act."
In March 2008, Faleomavaega and Payne called on the Indonesian government to end restrictions on access to West Papua by international observers. That message also noted the failure of the Indonesian Government's "Special Autonomy" policy, then five years old, to address the fundamental needs in West Papua.
In a November 18, 2011 appeal published in the Jakarta Post, Faleomavaega and Payne urged the Indonesian Government to end "systematic abuse in West Papua."
In a formal statement on the loss of his long time friend and ally Congressmember Faleomavaega said of Representative Payne: "He advocated for and on behalf of the people of West Papua and many other unrepresented peoples across the globe and throughout America. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him well."
WPAT joins in mourning the loss of this consistent friend of the Papuans and of all those suffering repression and denial of their democratic rights.
In March 2008, Faleomavaega and Payne called on the Indonesian government to end restrictions on access to West Papua by international observers. That message also noted the failure of the Indonesian Government's "Special Autonomy" policy, then five years old, to address the fundamental needs in West Papua.
In a November 18, 2011 appeal published in the Jakarta Post, Faleomavaega and Payne urged the Indonesian Government to end "systematic abuse in West Papua."
In a formal statement on the loss of his long time friend and ally Congressmember Faleomavaega said of Representative Payne: "He advocated for and on behalf of the people of West Papua and many other unrepresented peoples across the globe and throughout America. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him well."
WPAT joins in mourning the loss of this consistent friend of the Papuans and of all those suffering repression and denial of their democratic rights.
