Settlers return to West Java

BANDUNG: More than 1,800 families of West Javanese settlers have been returning over the last 12 months because of unrest at their new home.

In all, 7,222 West Javanese have fled from Maluku, West Kalimantan, Irian Jaya and Aceh. Most settlers, part of the government-sponsored transmigration, said they would not go back.

But the head of the West Java office of the Ministry of Transmigration, Sukarto Karnen, said 172 families were resettled in "safe" areas, such as North Sumatra and Riau.

"There are another 22 families at our transit dorm waiting for the past month to depart," Sukarto said.

The office is also looking into the possibility of resettling the returnees in West Java, he said.

As a pilot project, an area of some 13,000 hectares in Cibinong, South Cianjur, will be distributed among 200 families. (25/09)