Indigenous leaders and communities in West Papua have voiced strong opposition to the Indonesian government’s decision to revive a controversial internal migration initiative.
Known as “Transmigrasi,” the policy encourages relocation from densely populated islands like Java to the less populated regions of Papua.
The initiative, initially launched during the Dutch colonial era and later expanded by Indonesian President Sukarno, saw extensive implementation during the dictatorship of Suharto, according to a report by Vatican’s Fides News Agency.
The program was suspended in the early 2000s, but now, under the administration of newly elected President Prabowo Subianto, there are plans to reinvigorate it.
According to Minister of Transmigration Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara, the program seeks to “strengthen unity and provide social support to the local population” by revitalizing ten areas in Papua. “We want Papua to be fully unified as part of Indonesia in terms of welfare, national unity, and beyond,” he said.
However, the government’s announcement has provoked discontent among Indigenous Papuans, who worry that the program will exacerbate long-standing social and economic problems in the resource-rich but conflict-prone region.
Indigenous groups and student associations are particularly concerned about the potential for land confiscation, deforestation, and cultural erosion.
Under Suharto’s “New Order” in the 1960s, vast tracts of indigenous land were seized to make room for settlers, leading to deforestation and a dilution of local cultural practices.
Some indigenous groups have since adopted the Javanese dialect more fluently than their native languages.
Religious communities have also raised concerns. The Papuan Council of Churches, an ecumenical body representing various Christian denominations, has called on the government to prioritize the needs of the Papuan people over what they view as a form of “colonization.”
According to the Council, the people of Papua are “in dire need of services” and “can do without further ‘transmigration.'”
“Papuans need education, health care, social welfare, and development,” the Council asserted, stressing that the government’s focus should be on infrastructure and welfare programs tailored to the local population.
Religious leaders further highlighted the social issues perpetuated by the migration program, noting that cultural and linguistic differences often lead to exclusion and resentment among native Papuans toward migrants from other Indonesian islands.
They argue that these tensions contribute to a “distance” between Papua and the central government in Jakarta.
Since the 1960s, the program has relocated approximately 78,000 families to Papua with incentives. Today, an estimated 6.2 million people reside in West Papua, a region marked by persistent tensions and periodic violence between the Indonesian military and separatist groups, such as the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM), or the Free Papua Movement.
This ongoing conflict has resulted in around 80,000 internally displaced Papuans.
While the government insists that the transmigration initiative will foster unity, critics argue that the historical consequences of the program suggest otherwise.
