Pilot meets tribal people

Pilot meets tribal people

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: A pilot reported yesterday he
encountered "primitive" tribal people he believes are unknown to
the local government while he was working in a jungle.

Djoko Prasetyo, a pilot of Air Fast working for American
mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia, said he had met the tribal
people in the hinterland of Paniai.

He told the Antara news agency that they use leaves to cover
their genitals and that most of them suffer from skin diseases.

Djoko said he encountered several groups of the tribal people.
He recalled a day when he was surrounded by a group of arrow-
wielding people who appeared out of some bushes when he landed
his helicopter on the bank of a river.

"Their leader approached me and accepted my shirt I was
offering in sign language," he said. (31)