Vale Pat Walsh: internationalist and human rights campaigner |
The great and wonderful Pat Walsh passed away on December 29.
Pat was one of Australia’s great human rights defenders and promoters. His many contributions to the Diplomacy Training Program (DTP) as former DTP board member, DTP Advisory Council and DTP Trainer were but a small part of his larger life’s contributions to human rights in our world.
Humble, tireless and indefatigable, a gifted writer and thoughtful chronicler of history, lives and stories, Pat was a true internationalist. The principal focus of his human rights’ advocacy from 1975 was the peoples of Indonesia and Timor Leste — and their aspirations for human rights and democracy.
His work in support of the Timorese right to self-determination led him to become an exemplar of “peoples’ diplomacy”, engaging everyone who could do something for the Timorese — from foreign ministers to Indonesian generals to Timorese refugees, Australian aid organisations, trade unionists and politicians — across the spectrum and world.
In the 1970s, Pat co-founded the magazine Inside Indonesia, that continues to build knowledge and........