Government vows to accelerate Irian development

JAKARTA (JP): The government would never victimize Irian Jaya's indigenous population in its effort to develop the country's easternmost province, President Soeharto said yesterday.

He said the government would accelerate Irian Jaya's development because the province was far behind Indonesia's other provinces. He also promised to fully involve local people in the development policy-making process.

"The ongoing development efforts will not cause suffering for the people. No single person will be neglected or left behind," Soeharto promised in a teleconference from the presidential Bina Graha office with Irian Jaya villagers in Jayapura.

The President chaired the third plenary meeting of the Eastern Development Council yesterday before talking with the villagers.

The council was formed in 1993 by Soeharto, with State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie as its executive chairman.

During the teleconference, Soeharto also symbolically inaugurated the Biak Integrated Economic Development Zone (Kapet).

Kapet is made up of parts of the Biak Numfor, Paniai, Yapen Waropen, Manokwari and Mimika districts. Kapet will focus its development activities on the tourist, industrial, fisheries, mining and agricultural sectors.

Soeharto also inaugurated a 550-kilometer-long highway connecting Jayapura and Wamena, and the Mamberamo and Maroo bridges.

"You (tribal chiefs) are expected to promote the benefits of development so there will be no more fear that development would only create suffering for the people," he said.

Experts have noted that the Irianese have often been treated by the government merely as the object, rather than participants, of development. Poorly educated local people, some with lifestyles similar to their ancestors in the stone age, are often unable to compete with migrants, mostly from Java.

Clashes between indigenous people and migrants have often been unavoidable.

During the teleconference, the head of the Biak Economic Zone, Brig. Gen. Frans de Wana, asked the President to order Garuda Indonesia to reopen the Jakarta-Biak-Honolulu air route.

Frans pointed out that Biak's tourist industry had greatly benefited from the route's stopover in the province.

"I fully support your idea and will try to make it a reality," Soeharto answered.

Rains

Irian Jaya grabbed both domestic and international attention last year when the prolonged dry season caused hundreds of deaths in some of its most severely affected regions.

However, as of Monday, it was reported that heavy rains which began earlier this month have brought relief for Jayawijaya, the most severely affected regency, enabling locals to till their land again.

The director of the local disaster management command post in the regency's capital of Wamena, A. Kohar, told The Jakarta Post by telephone Monday that conditions for locals had begun to improve.

"Thanks to the rain and all the relief efforts, the villagers have regained the hope and strength to cultivate their land," Kohar said.

He said the command post had distributed food and medical supplies sent by the central government and donors in Jakarta.

As of Jan. 8, more than Rp 1.5 billion (US$200,000) in donations had been channeled into the command post's bank account for the relief effort.

The money was used to buy rice from the local logistics agency and transport it to villages, he said.

"We have only a few tons of rice left to distribute to villagers, so we need to buy some more."

According to officials, 447 of the district's 447,000 people died of drought-related illnesses and malnutrition last year. The Puncak Jaya, Merauke and Mimika regencies were also affected by the drought which was believed to have been aggravated by the El Nio weather phenomenon.

Twenty-four people died in Puncak Jaya and 82 in Merauke. In Mimika, at least 137 have reportedly died of malaria.

Efforts to help the villagers were often hampered by difficult terrain, bad weather and the absence of ground transportation. Many of the stricken areas are isolated and could only be reached by air transportation.

The government has allocated Rp 262 billion for relief efforts spanning from December 1997 to March 1998 to the drought-stricken areas. (prb/aan)