More transmigrants to restive area

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