Neles Tebay – When the territory of Papua was under Dutch rule, the population was almost exclusively Papuan, made up of some 252 ethnic groups. Since Indonesia took over the territory in 1963, however, the composition of the population has altered due to the influx of Indonesian migrants.
The main reason has been the government-sponsored programme of transmigrasi (transmigration). According to the regional office of the Deparatment of Transmigration in Papua (formerly known as Irian Jaya), from 1964 to 1999 nearly 250,000 households – or over 500,000 people – have been settled in Papua, living in more than 200 settlements or villages built by the government. Slowly but surely these transmigration sites have developed into towns with ballooning populations.
The majority of the transmigrated people originate from the island of Java and are Muslims. Although the government denies it, Papuans suspect the transmigration program to be a thinly veiled policy of "javanization" of the territory of Papua.
Other newcomers have been 'spontaneous migrants' who have settled in all major towns in Papua. Two-thirds of the population of major towns are not Indonesians who were not born in Papua.
The influx of migrants has already altered Papua's demography. In 1961, the population of 700,000 was predominantly Papuan. In 2001, of the 2.2 million people in Papua, there were approximately 800,000 migrants and 1.4 million indigenous Papuans. If this trend continues, within a few years the Papuans, who are a minority in Indonesia, will also be a minority in their own land.
Changing places
The influx of migrants has effectively marginalized indigenous Papuans. Migrants play dominants role in society, excelling in trade, services, construction and contracting in virtually all major towns. Jobs in government offices are taken by migrants and their descendents.
Government development activities has also been concentrated in towns, which are for more developed than rural areas. Consequently, migrants have disproportionately benefited from these government programmes, while the majority of the Papuans who live in isolated and remote villages are ignored.
Papuans see the migrants getting rich easily and quickly. People say: "They only come for the money," or "They only come to find and steal our natural resources, not to educate the Papuan people." The situation inevitably fosters envy and tension among local communities.
In 2001, the provincial government of Papua, worried about the impact of transmigration, introduced a programme if development for villages occupied by the Papuans in rural areas. In the same year, the central Indonesian government in Jakarta, in its law on special autonomy for Papua, agreed to limit the influx of spontaneous migrants to only those who are experts and have completed studies at high school or university level. However, to date the Indonesian government has failed to implement the law on special autonomy.
Breaking point
In the future, many more migrants will continue to go to Papua, to fill government jobs or work for private companies investing in the territory – such as BP's gas project in Bintuni Bay in partnership with the state-owned Indonesian company Pertamina.
Qualified and skilled people are needed for these jobs – and indigenous Papuans cannot fill all the jobs. Indonesian are free to move to and live in any part of Indonesian territory. People will go where the jobs and the opportunities are, and consequently many more internal migrants will go and settle in Papua. The influx of migrants is inevitable but it is also, inevitably, altering Papua's demography. Indigenous Papuans are already marginalized socially, culturally, and economically. Many of them feel it is no exaggeration to say that sooner or later, if these trends continue, ethnic Papuans will ultimately vanish from the surface on the earth.
Papuans are therefore calling on the international community to put pressure on the Indonesian government to implement its own law on autonomy for Papua. The Indonesian government must also be urged to engage in peaceful and constructive dialogue with Papuans to identify the root causes of the problems and to determine peaceful solutions – before it is too late.
[Interact is published by the Catholic Institute for International Relations.]