News Contents: Indonesian Papua

Papua is the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. It comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura.

The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea. In 2003, the Indonesian government declared the westernmost part of the island, around Bird's Head Peninsula, a separate province; its name was first West Irian Jaya and now West Papua.

Naming

"Papua" is the official Indonesian and internationally recognised name for the province.

During the Dutch colonial era the region was known as part of "Dutch New Guinea" or "Netherlands New Guinea". Since its annexation in 1969, it became known as "West Irian" or "Irian Barat" until 1973, and thereafter renamed "Irian Jaya" (roughly translated, "Glorious Irian") by the Suharto administration. This was the official name until the name "Papua" was adopted in 2002. Today, natives of this province prefer to call themselves Papuans.

The name "West Papua" was adopted in 1961 by the New Guinea Council until the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) transferred administration to the Republic of Indonesia in 1963. "West Papua" has since been used by Papuans as a self-identifying term, especially by those demanding self-determination, and usually refers to the whole of the Indonesian portion of New Guinea. The other Indonesian province that shares New Guinea, West Irian Jaya, has been officially renamed as "West Papua".

Within Indonesia and West Papua itself, 'Papua' usually refers to the entire western half of New Guinea despite its division into separate provinces. Western New Guinea is generally referred to as 'West Papua' internationally - especially among networks of international solidarity with the West Papuan independence movement.

Government

The province of Papua is governed by a directly elected governor (currently Barnabas Suebu) and a regional legislature, DPRP (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua). A government organisation that only exists in Papua is the MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua / Papuan People's Council), which was formed by the Indonesian Government in 2005 as a coalition of Papuan tribal chiefs, tasked with arbitration and speaking on behalf of Papuan tribal customs.

Indonesian governance of Papua is recognised by the United Nations and practically all members of the international community. As in the other provinces of Indonesia, the central government in Jakarta has a strong influence in the Papua. Papua was a major beneficiary of a nation-wide decentralisation process started in 1999 and the Special Autonomy status introduced in 2002. Measures included the formation of the MRP and redistribution of resource revenues. The implementation, however, of the Special Autonomy measures has been criticized by many as only being half-hearted.

In 1999 it was proposed to split the province into three government-controlled sectors, sparking Papuan protests. In January 2003 President Megawati Sukarnoputri signed an order dividing Papua into three provinces: Central Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Tengah), Papua (or East Irian Jaya, Irian Jaya Timur), and West Papua (Irian Jaya Barat). The formality of installing a local government for Jaraka in Irian Jaya Barat (West) took place in February 2003 and a governor was appointed in November; a government for Irian Jaya Tengah (central) was delayed from August 2003 due to violent local protests. The creation of this separate central province was blocked by Indonesian courts, who declared it to be unconstitutional and in contravention of the Papua's special autonomy agreement. The previous division into two provinces was allowed to stand as an established fact.

In January 2006, 43 Papuan asylum seekers landed on the coast of Australia and stated that the Indonesian military is carrying out a genocide in Papua. They were transported to an Australian immigration detention facility on Christmas Island, 360 km (224 mi) south of the western end of Java. On 23 March 2006, the Australian government granted temporary visas to 42 of the 43 asylum seekers (the 43rd, who had a Japanese visa at the time of his arrival, received an Australian visa in early August 2006). The asylum seekers were granted visas on the basis of "well founded fear of persecution." Later, several of these refugees returned to Indonesia, saying they were "disillusioned" with the group. On 24 March 2006 Indonesia recalled its ambassador to Australia in protest at the granting of the visas .

Regions

As of 2005, Papua province consisted of 19 regencies (kabupaten), 1 city (kotamadya), 117 subdistricts (kecamatan), 66 kelurahan, and 830 villages (desa).

The regencies ("kabupaten") are: Asmat; Biak-Numfor; Boven Digoel; Jayapura; Jayawijaya; Keerom; Mappi; Merauke; Mimika; Nabire; Paniai; Pegunungan Bintang; Puncak Jaya; Sarmi; Supiori; Tolikara; Waropen; Yahukimo and . The city of Jayapura also has the status of a regency.

Jayapura, founded on 7 March 1910 as Hollandia is the capital. Since Indonesian administration the name of the city has been changed to Kotabaru, then to Sukarnopura before its current name, Jayapura. Jayapura is also the largest city, with a small but active tourism industry, it is built on a slope overlooking the bay. Cenderawasih University (UNCEN) campus at Abepura houses the University Museum. Both beach, near the market at Hamadi — site of the 22 April 1944 Allied invasion during World War II — and the site of General Douglas MacArthur's World War II headquarters at have monuments commemorating the events.

Geography

A central east-west mountain range dominates the geography of the island of New Guinea, over 1,600 km (994 mi) in total length. The western section is around 600 km (373 mi) long and 100 km (62 mi) across. The province contains the highest mountains between the Himalayas and the Andes, rising up to 4884 m high, and ensuring a steady supply of rain from the tropical atmosphere. The tree line is around 4000 m elevation and the tallest peaks contain permanent equatorial glaciers, increasingly melting due to a changing climate. Various other smaller mountain ranges occur both north and west of the central ranges. Except in high elevations, most areas possess a hot humid climate throughout the year, with some seasonal variation associated with the northeast monsoon season.

The third major habitat feature are the vast southern and northern lowlands. Stretching for hundreds of kilometers, these include lowland rainforests, extensive wetlands, savanna grasslands, and some of the largest expanses of mangrove forest in the world. The southern lowlands are the site of Lorentz National Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The province's largest river is the Mamberamo, sometimes called the "Amazon of Papua", which winds through the northern part of the province. The result is a large area of lakes and rivers known as the Lakes Plains region. The famous Baliem Valley, home of the Dani people is a tableland 1600 m above sea level in the midst of the central mountain range; Puncak Jaya, sometimes known by its former Dutch name Carstensz Pyramid, is a mist covered limestone mountain peak 4884 m above sea level. It is the highest peak of Oceania.

Ethnic groups

The following are some of the most well-known ethnic groups of Papua:

The Yei pronounced Yay are sometimes known as the Jei, Je, Yei-nan people.

There are approximately 2,500 speakers of the Yei language. 40% Ethno Religionists- animistic tribal religion 60% Catholics and Christians (blended with animistic beliefs & customs) The Yei language is believed to have 2 dialects observed by a Wycliffe, SIL language survey in 2001. At home the Yei people speak their own language but use Indonesian for trade, wider communication and at school. Most Yei are literate in Indonesian. The Yei people have no Bible translation, gospel films or videos in their language.

There are elementary schools in each village. About 10-30% of children continue in middle school. Very few go to high school. The nearest high school is in Merauke city. They live primarily by hunting, fishing, and gardening short and long term crops in the lowlands. The Yei diet mainly consists of rice, vegetables, fish and roasted sago. With their land at an altitude of less than 100 meters above sea level, the Yei people can best be accessed by vehicle on the road from Merauke or by motorized canoe up the Maro River. There is no airstrip or airplane access other than float plane which is currently available from Merauke through MAF by about a 15 minute flight to Toray. The Poo and Bupul villages have a clinic but people still use traditional medicines. There is very little infrastructure in the area: no telephones or toilets. At night electricity is run from a generator. There are (SSB’s) Single side-band radios in Bupul, Tanas, Poo, and Erambu villages, mainly used by the police and military force. Most villages get their drinking water from the Maro River, but some get it from wells or by collecting rain.

Demographics

According to the 2000 census, 78% of the Papuans identified themselves as Christian with 54% being Protestant and 24% being Roman Catholic. 21% of the population was Muslim and less than 1% were Buddhist or Hindu. There is also substantial practice of animism by Papuans.

The densest population center, other than the large coastal cities that house Indonesian bureaucratic and commercial apparatus, is located in and around the town of Wamena in the (a.k.a. Baliem) Valley of the Central Highlands. The 'extreme democracy' and ecological stewardship of the highlands Papuan society is documented by Jared Diamond in the book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

Ecology

A vital tropical rainforest with the tallest tropical trees and vast biodiversity, Papua's known forest fauna includes marsupials (including possums, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, cuscuses), other mammals (including the endangered Long-beaked Echidna), many bird species (including birds of paradise, cassowaries, parrots, cockatoos), the world's longest lizards (Papua monitor) and the world's largest butterflies.

The island has an estimated 16,000 species of plant, 124 genera of which are endemic.

The extensive waterways and wetlands of Papua are also home to salt and freshwater crocodile, , flying foxes, osprey, bats and other animals; while the equatorial glacier fields remain largely unexplored.

In February 2006, a team of scientists exploring the Foja Mountains, , discovered numerous new species of birds, butterflies, amphibians, and plants, including possibly the largest-flowered species of rhododendron.

Protected areas within Papua province include the Lorentz National Park, which is also a World Heritage site and the Wasur National Park, a RAMSAR wetland of international importance.

Ecological threats include logging-induced deforestation, forest conversion for plantation agriculture (especially oil palm), smallholder agricultural conversion, the introduction and potential spread of alien species such as the Crab-eating Macaque which preys on and competes with indigenous species, the illegal species trade, and water pollution from oil and mining operations.

Papua's ancient rain forests have recently come under an even greater threat of deforestation after the Chinese government placed an order of 1 billion US dollar or 800,000 cubic meters of the threatened merbau rainforest timbers, used in buildings for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In remote forested valleys, several thousand smallholder farmers are growing Arabica coffee in the shade of Calliandra, Erythrina and Albizia trees. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not available in these valleys. Since there are no roads, the coffee is flown out and then exported from the port of Jayapura.

References

King, Peter, West Papua Since Suharto: Independence, Autonomy, or Chaos?. University of New South Wales Press, 2004, ISBN 0-86840-676-7.

External links

Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_(province)

News Contents

2011-05-18

Indonesian Papua

Papua (province)