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)