Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Papuan activist Kaisiepo dies aged 61

Posted at 22:53 on 01 February, 2010 UTC

A Papuan activist, Victor Kaisiepo, has died in the Netherlands at the age of 61.

He was a spokesperson for the West Papua People’s Front, the Federation of Papuan organisations in the Netherlands.

Mr Kaisiepo also lobbied the United Nations to promote the rights of his people as well as the rights of other indigenous peoples.

He was born in Dutch New Guinea, but his family left for the Netherlands when the territory was handed over to Indonesia in 1962.

Mr Kaisiepo’s father was also a well-known activist for Papuan independence.