[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12666-12667]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 IN REMEMBRANCE OF ALIOUNE BLONDIN BEYE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DONALD M. PAYNE

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 17, 2008

  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, June 26, 2008, will mark the tenth 
anniversary of the passing of Alioune Blondin Beye in the crash of a 
light plane near Abidjan. Maitre Beye, as he was known, was undertaking 
one of his frequent missions to build support for an agreement to end 
the civil war in Angola, a war that had lasted for two decades, cost 
more than a half million lives, and left more than three million people 
homeless. A former Foreign Minister of Mali and Secretary General of 
the African Development Bank, Maitre Beye had been serving for five 
years as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General 
for the Angolan peace process and President of the Joint Peace 
Commission for Angola.

[[Page 12667]]

  One of the world's most dedicated peacemakers, Maitre Beye touched 
the lives of all those who knew him and worked with him, and was 
beloved by millions of Malians, Angolans, and other peoples of Africa 
and beyond for his selfless dedication to the cause of peace, justice, 
human rights, and national reconciliation. A French speaker among 
Lusophones, a Moslem in a country of Christians and animists, Maitre 
Beye's life was the ultimate symbol of selflessness and dedication to 
the common humanity of all people. Along with Maitre Beye, seven other 
people were killed in the tragic plane crash, all committed men of 
peace. These included Koffi Adjoyi, Alvaro Costa, Baendegar Dessande, 
Amadou Moctar Gueye, Jason Hunter, Andrew McCurrah, and Ibikunle 
Williams.
  Maitre Beye's relatives, friends and colleagues will commemorate the 
life and times of this great man and to honor the others who died that 
day by hosting a memorial service at the New York Headquarters of the 
United Nations--the institution he loved and in whose service he 
ultimately gave his life--on June 26, 2008. The program for Maitre Beye 
will not be a sad memorial, but a joyous celebration of the life of 
this great man of wisdom and humor, and a tribute to the peace he and 
his colleagues sought to bring to the world. We wish them our best in 
this honorable endeavor.

                          ____________________