Papuans worry about new Indonesian leader Prabowo’s plan to revive transmigration

By Victor Mambor in Jayapura, BenarNews

Just one day after President Prabowo Subianto's inauguration, a minister announced plans to resume the transmigration program in eastern Indonesia, particularly in Papua, saying it was needed for enhancing unity and providing locals with welfare.

Transmigration is the process of moving people from densely populated regions to less densely populated ones in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's most populous country. The ministry intends to revitalise 10 zones in Papua, potentially using local relocation rather than bringing in outsiders.

The program will resume after it was officially paused in Papua 23 years ago.

"We want Papua to be fully united as part of Indonesia in terms of welfare, national unity and beyond," Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara, the minister of transmigration, said during a handover ceremony on 21 October.

Iftitah promised strict evaluations focusing on community welfare rather than on relocation numbers. Despite the minister's promises, the plan drew an outcry from indigenous Papuans who cited social and economic concerns.

Papua, a remote and resource-rich region, has long been a flashpoint for conflict, with its people enduring decades of alleged military abuse and human rights violations under Indonesian rule. Prabowo, a former army general, was accused of rights abuses in his military career, including in East Timor (Timor-Leste) during a then-separatist insurgency against Jakarta rule.

Simon Balagaize, a young Papuan leader from Merauke, highlighted the negative impacts of transmigration efforts in Papua under dictator Suharto's New Order during the 1960s.

"Customary land was taken, forests were cut down, and the indigenous Malind people now speak Javanese better than their native language," he told BenarNews.

The Papuan Church Council stressed that locals desperately needed services, but could do without more transmigration.

"Papuans need education, health services and welfare - not transmigration that only further marginalizes landowners," Rev Dorman Wandikbo, a member of the council, told BenarNews.

Transmigration into Papua has sparked protests over concerns about reduced job opportunities for indigenous people, along with broader political and economic impacts.

Apei Tarami, who joined a recent demonstration in South Sorong, Southwest Papua province, warned of consequences, stating that "this policy affects both political and economic aspects of Papua."

Meanwhile, human rights advocate Theo Hasegem criticised the government's plans, arguing that human rights issues are ignored and non-Papuans could be endangered because separatist groups often target newcomers.

"Do the president and vice president guarantee the safety of those relocated from Java," Hasegem told BenarNews.

The program, which dates to 1905, has continued through various administrations under the guise of promoting development and unity.

Indonesia's policy resumed post-independence on 12 December 1950, under President Sukarno, who sought to foster prosperity and equitable development.

It also aimed to promote social unity by relocating citizens across regions.

Transmigration involving 78,000 families occurred in Papua from 1964 to 1999, according to statistics from the Papua provincial government. That would equal between 312,000 and 390,000 people settling in Papua from other parts of the country, assuming the average Indonesian family has 4 to 5 people.

The program paused in 2001 after a Special Autonomy Law required regional regulations to be followed.

Papuan legislator John N R Gobay questioned the role of Papua's six new autonomous regional governments in the transmigration process. He cited Article 61 of the law, which mandates that transmigration proceed only with gubernatorial consent and regulatory backing.

Without these clear regional regulations, he warned, transmigration lacks a strong legal foundation and could conflict with special autonomy rules.

He also pointed to a 2008 Papuan regulation stating that transmigration should proceed only after the Indigenous Papuan population reaches 20 million. In 2023, the population across six provinces of Papua was about 6.25 million, according to Indonesia's Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).

Gobay suggested prioritising local transmigration to better support indigenous development in their own region.

'Entrenched inequality'

British MP Alex Sobel, chairman of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua, expressed concern over the program, noting its role in drastic demographic shifts and structural discrimination in education, land rights and employment.

"Transmigration has entrenched inequality rather than promoting prosperity," Sobel told BenarNews, adding that it has contributed to Papua remaining Indonesia's poorest regions.

Pramono Suharjono, a resident of Arso II in Keerom, Papua, welcomed the idea of restarting the program, viewing it as positive for the region's growth.

"This supports national development, not colonisation," he told BenarNews.

A former transmigrant who has served as a local representative, Pramono said transmigration had increased local knowledge in agriculture, craftsmanship and trade.

However, research has shown that longstanding social issues, including tensions from cultural differences, have marginalized indigenous Papuans and fostered resentment toward non-locals, said La Pona, a lecturer at Cenderawasih University.

Papua also faces a humanitarian crisis because of conflicts between Indonesian forces and separatist groups. United Nations data shows between 60,000 and 100,000 Papuans were displaced between and 2022.

As of September 2024, human rights advocates estimate 79,000 Papuans remain displaced even as Indonesia denies UN officials access to the region.

Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta contributed to this report.

-This article was first published by BenarNews.