More transmigrants to restive area

PALU, Central Sulawesi: A senior official said on Wednesday that a total of 875 families from seven provinces across the country, mostly Java, had been selected as transmigrants for the province, which was devastated by widespread Muslim-Christian warring over the last few years.

Taufiq R. Tiangso, the head of the Manpower and Transmigration Office in Central Sulawesi, said that the transmigrants were from Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, West Nusa Tenggara and Bali.

"We'll accept the transmigrants following Governor Aminuddin Ponulele's agreement with the seven governors of those provinces last year," said Tiangso.

He said that the transmigrants would resettle in four regencies: Buol, Toli-toli, Donggala and Damsol.

The government's transmigration program has been going on for decades with millions of people affected. Generally, families come from densely populated Java and are sent to lesser populated eastern areas of the archipelago. The transmigrants usually are settled in specially built villages and given land and cash, but the program has often been criticized as unfair by the original inhabitants, many of whom have disparate religious beliefs. -- JP