Govt knows how to win Irianese tribes' hearts

JAKARTA (JP): The government claims it now knows how to win the hearts of Irian Jaya's tribal people and gain their communal land to resettle the poor from other densely populated provinces.

The key to success, according to the head of the Irian transmigration office, Y. Sudarmadi, is a neighborly approach to local tribal chiefs, and never using forceful tactics.

"We have to respect their social and cultural sensitivities in appropriating their land, so that there won't be claims in the future," Sudarmadi told journalists here yesterday.

Sudarmadi was on his way to Sumatra, the traditional destination of people resettled under state-sponsored transmigration, to conduct a comparative study.

Jakarta is determined to shift the main destination from Sumatra to eastern provinces, notably the sparsely-populated Irian Jaya.

Sudarmadi acknowledged that the transmigration program in Irian Jaya has often been hampered by disputes over land ownership involving the government and indigenous tribes.

Last year, he said, four of the total 163 transmigration sites across the province were disputed, but all have been settled amicably.

During his journey, Sudarmadi is taking a number of Irian tribal chiefs along with him, including Theys H. Eluay of the Sentani tribe in Jayapura, Seblum Werbakai of the Bonggo tribe in Jayapura regency and SP Hanibora of the Moi tribe in Sorong.

Theys said that all the conflicts stemmed from the government's lack of communication with local tribal people.

"All the land in Irian Jaya is communal land. If the government plans to open resettlement sites, they have to discuss it with the relevant tribal chiefs. Then the community leaders will communicate the plan to their people," he said.

He said the government should not grab land in Irian Jaya on the pretext that it belongs to the state. "It would offend us and we will try anything possible to regain it."

He stressed that Irianese tribes open their doors to newcomers and support the transmigration program, because it speeds up development of the vast territory.

Covering an area of 421,981 square kilometers, Irian Jaya has a population of only two million people. Each square kilometer is occupied by four people. By comparison, the 132,186 square kilometers of Java are crammed with 115 million people, or 870 people occupying each square kilometer of land.

In the ongoing 1996/1997 fiscal year, the government plans to send around 9,000 families to Irian Jaya. Of those, 8,208 families were resettled on the state's account, and 3,787 on their own initiative and expense. Last year, the government relocated 4,650 families from other provinces.

Sudarmadi said that out of one million hectares of land donated by the local community, only 260,000 hectares have been used for resettlement projects.

"The government has acquired another 70,000 hectares, but it has not been developed due to the lack of technology, workers and investment," he said. (31)