[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
March 10, 2012 - The West Papua Advocacy Team deeply regrets the
passing of Representative Donald Payne (D-NJ), one of the greatest champions of
West Papuan human rights in the U.S. Congress. Working closely with
Congressmember Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS), Representative Payne regularly
appealed to the Indonesian Government to end repression in West Papua and
urged the United States government to use its significant influence with the
Indonesian government to encourage an end to the systematic human rights
violations by the Indonesian security forces targeting West Papuans.
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:
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Representative Payne regularly
appealed to the Indonesian Government to end repression in West Papua and
urged the United States government to use its significant influence with the
Indonesian government to encourage an end to the systematic human rights
violations by the Indonesian security forces targeting West Papuans.
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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.
see also
U.S.
Representatives Write to United Nations: Ensure Justice for East
Timor (July 1, 2004)
Reps Write
Rumsfeld on US-Indonesia Military to Military Ties (August 5,
2004)
Congress
Tells Australia to Treat East Timor Fairly (March 9, 2004)
Members
of House Oppose Renewal of IMET and FMF for Indonesia (September
3, 2002)
More than 100
Members of Congress Urge Clinton and Indonesian President Habibie to
Ease Concerns in East Timor (September 9, 1998)
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