Benny Wenda wrote:
Born and raised in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Stanley was a true freedom fighter, who dedicated his life to the struggle of his Melanesian brothers and sisters in West Papua. He was heavily involved with West Papuan solidarity activism since his youth and in 2002, he helped me to escape death and come to the UK where I set up the Free West Papua Campaign.
In 2009, Stanley helped to launch International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) and International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) in PNG. In 2011, I invited him to the ILWP conference in Oxford, UK. A key founder of Free West Papua Campaign - PNG Chapter, in 2013 Stanley was highly instrumental in setting up a permanent Free West Papua Campaign office in PNG.
Over the next 8 years, Stanley continued to do all he could to raise awareness and support for West Papua. For him, there was no border seperating us. He understood that from Sorong to Samarai, we all belonged to the same land.
We are very sad to hear of his passing, and my family together with the people of West Papua send our deepest condolences to his family in Buka, Madang, Popondetta and Kimbe.
His legacy lives on and and will always be remembered by West Papuans living in PNG and West Papua.
Barata bilong mi, yu ya strongim mipela olgeta. Rest in peace wantok. ✊🏿🇵🇬
