Tribesmen burn migrants' houses

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Tribesmen from the Kwimi village, about 43 km south of here, burned down six new houses Friday which had been built for migrants under a government resettlement scheme, Antara reported yesterday.

The houses were unoccupied.

Kwimi's tribal leader, Johnes Nongguar, said he ordered the arson because his villages had not been adequately compensated for the tribe's sago forest that had been felled for the housing project. Sago is locals' staple food.

Nongguar said the tribe had voluntarily surrendered their land for the resettlement site but had demanded compensation for the felled sago trees.

Two million rupiah (US$818) was paid as compensation to the chief of the nearby Arso village who had no claim on the land.

Under the government's resettlement program, millions of people are moved from the densely-populated islands of Java and Bali to the outer islands, including Irian Jaya, which have low population densities. (swe)