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West Papua/Irian Jaya
Overview |
Geography
West Papua marks the eastern-most island of the Indonesian nation, forming the western half of the island of New Guinea. As Indonesia's largest province, it covers 160,150 square miles equaling three times the combined area of Java and Bali. West Papua is comprised of only a single province which includes nine districts: Jayapura, Jayawijaya, Merauke, Paniai, Fakfak, Sorong, Manokwari, Yapen-Waropen, and Biak Numfor. Jayapura, a city on the northern coast, is the capital of the province.
The terrain consists of widespread mountain ranges which cover more than 75% of the land, deep valleys, swamps, jungles, and grassy plateaus. Despite its generally tropical climate, snow caps many of West Papua’s mountain ranges, including the 16,503-foot peak of Puncak Jaya.
In 1997, many of West Papua/Irian Jaya’s forests were incinerated in a nationwide epidemic of forest fires. Estimates are that more than a million hectares were scorched. Due to intense smoke, toxic fumes, and a significant loss of local access to agricultural projects, thousands of indigenous Papuans face starvation and death.
Population
Despite its great size, West Papua/Irian Jaya represents but a little more than 1% of the Indonesian population, with only 2.3 million inhabitants. Although indigenous Papuans make up more than a million of West Papua/Irian Jaya’s residents, Indonesia’s policy of transmigration has resulted in an influx of Javanese reaching beyond the million-person mark. Over the next decade, estimates are that West Papua’s population will reach to between 2.6 and 3.9 million, largely due to the movement of Javanese from more populated islands. West Papua/Irian Jaya’s cities and economy are dominated by non-Papuans, who, in the eyes of the Indonesian administration, should assist in the assimilation of Papuans and their ethnic diversity into a unified and solitary Indonesian identity.
The indigenous people of West Papua, mostly Melanesians, are composed of diverse ethnic groups, including the Asmat, Dani, Amungmee, Mey Brat, Waropen, Ekari, Nimboran, Jagai, Auwyu, Tobati, Biak, Arfak, Moi, Segel, Karabra, Kebar, Amberbokem, and the Sarmi. Spread across the province, there are at least 250 main languages spoken by the indigenous people.
Although many Papuans continue to practice variations of traditional animist religions, Christianity and Islam have established primary seats of worship in the province due to former Dutch colonial rule and the migration of Javanese. Protestantism is the largest denomination in West Papua/Irian Jaya with close to 50% of the population, followed by Catholicism and Islam both holding approximately 20%, respectively.
History
Populated by the Pacific peoples for thousands of years, West Guinea/West Papua was first colonized by the Dutch in 1828. In 1883 the island of New Guinea was partitioned by three Western powers: the Dutch, who claimed the western half, and the Germans and British who claimed the east.
At the end of the Second World War mounting resistance to the Dutch led to the creation of an independent Indonesian Territory. In order to preserve control and access to the abundant natural resources of the region, the Dutch government secured the creation of an independent West Papuan state. Additionally, the Dutch claimed that West New Guinea was distinct and severable from the rest of the Indonesian archipelago by race and culture, as the island’s inhabitants were Melanesian as opposed to the Javanese who dominated the rest of the nation. Since Indonesian independence in 1945, Jakarta resisted this initiative and claimed sovereignty over West Papua. Briefly under UN supervision after the Netherlands relinquished control in 1961, the province came under Indonesian rule in 1963, and was officially incorporated in 1969.
West Papua was officially renamed Irian Jaya after incorporation into the Indonesian nation in 1973. Irian is an acronym for ikut Republik Indonesia Anti Nederland ("Join the Republic of Indonesia anti the Netherlands"), and Irian Jaya simply means "Glorious Irian." In an effort by the newly elected Wahid administration to promote more positive relations between Jakarta and its frontier regions, President Wahid declared in January 2000 that the provincial name of Irian Jaya would be changed back to West Papua. However, this declaration was subsequently rejected by a national parliamentary session in August 2000. Nomenclature currently plays a very sensitive role in the conflict, as the Indonesian government insists on referring to the province by its "official" name Irian Jaya, while Papuans overwhelmingly demand that the original title of Western Papua be resurrected.
For more information, click here, and see below.
Economy
West Papua/Irian Jaya is home to a vast array of natural resources, including rich gold, silver, and copper deposits, as well as oil, gas, marine resources, and timber. However, the provincial local economy has not benefited much from its tremendous natural resources, as only 20% of resource production actually goes towards local usage. In 1997, the labor force participation rate was 66.58%, and the unemployment rate was 3.20%. Exports in 1998 were approximately $1.5 million, and imports were more than $400 million.
Indonesia’s largest foreign taxpayer and investor, Freeport McMoRan, has been operating in West Papua/Irian Jaya since 1967. Attracted to the potential abundance of gold deposits in the region, Freeport, a US based company, has spent more than three decades establishing the world’s largest gold mine. Since 1992, Freeport has paid well over $1 billion in taxes to the Indonesian government and has an estimated annual gross production of approximately $40 billion. In 1995, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) revoked Freeport’s political risk insurance (worth $100 million) due to Freeport’s alleged violation of US regulations on pollution and the creation of unreasonable environmental, health, and safety standards in reference to the local terrestrial ecosystem and inhabitants.
For more information on Freeport, click here.
To some degree, the Papuan way of life remains unaffected by the outside world. Papuans grow sweet potatoes as their main food and raise hogs for meat. Many people in the lowland coastal regions live in small villages, surviving on fishing, hunting, and collecting sago, a starch that comes from palm trees.
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