Tribal people misunderstood

Tribal people misunderstood

AMBON, Maluku: Most government officials and the public have
little knowledge about isolated tribes in Indonesia, an official
said here yesterday.

This has resulted in the misunderstanding of tribes living
subsistent lives in secluded regions, said Budi Santoso, an aide
to the State Minister for the Environment.

It is wrong to assume that tribal people live in isolation
because they are socially and culturally primitive, he said at a
Patimura University seminar.

He said their socio-cultural values are generally similar to
those of "ordinary" people's. Tribal peoples, he added, are
isolated only physically. (pan)