Govt knows how to win Irianese tribes' hearts

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)