Papua

1.7.2 Papua

Province of Papua


Motto: Karya Swadaya (Sanskrit)
(Work with one's own might)


Capital
Jayapura

Governor
Barnabas Suebu

Area
421,981 km2 (162,928 sq mi)
Population
1,994,531 (2005)
Density
4.7 /km2 (12 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups
Indigenous: Melanesian (including Aitinyo, Aefak, Asmat, Agast, Dani, Ayamaru, Mandacan Biak, Serui), Non-indigenous (including Javanese, Bugis, Minangkabau, Batak, Minahasan, Chinese.)

Religion
Protestant (51.2%), Roman Catholic (25.42%), Islam (23%), others (2.5%)
Languages
Indonesian (official), 269 indigenous Papuan and Austronesian languages[1]

Time zone
WIT (UTC+9)

Web site Papua.go.id

Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also Western New Guinea). The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea, but in 2003, the western portion of the province, on the Bird's Head Peninsula, was declared by the Indonesian Government as a separate province named West Irian Jaya (now West Papua). The legality of this separation has been disputed as it conflicts with the conditions of the Special Autonomy status granted to Papua in the year 2000. The Papua Conflict takes place there.
(West) Papua has been engaged in a struggle for national liberation from Indonesia since it was annexed to the Indonesian state in 1969 in the discredited (but internationally recognized) 'Act of Free Choice' in which 'tribal' leaders were coerced by the Indonesian army into endorsing adherence to the Republic of Indonesia. This 'vote' was the culmination of a process by which U.S. state and corporate interests worked through the United Nations to pressure the Netherlands into allowing Indonesia to enact its claims sovereignty over West Papua. It has since been revealed that the U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan, based in Houston, TX, signed a contract to exploit the world's largest gold and copper reserves located at Tempagapura, years before Indonesian sovereignty over Papua was made official. The Freeport mine continues to be exploited at great profit to the US company and the Indonesian state, and at great social and environmental cost to the Papuan people.

Contents
1 Naming
2 Government
3 Regions
4 Geography
5 Ethnic groups
6 Demographics
7 Ecology
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Naming
Within Indonesia and West Papua itself, 'Papua' usually refers to the entire western half of New Guinea - West Papua - despite its division into separate provinces by the Indonesian government. What is referred to as 'Papua' in Indonesia is generally referred to as 'West Papua' internationally - especially among networks of international solidarity with the West Papuan national movement.
"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.[2][3] This was the official name until "Papua" was adopted in 2002. Today, natives of this province prefer to call themselves Papuans rather than Irianese. This may be due to etymology (variously identified as a real etymology or a folk etymology) of the name Irian which stems from the acronym Ikut Republik Indonesia, Anti Nederland (join/follow the Republic of Indonesia, rejecting the Netherlands).[citation needed]
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 among Papuan separatists 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".
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 unique government organisation that only exists in Papua is the MRP (Majelis Rakyat Papua / Papuan People's Council) that 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 controversial with international opinion varying a great deal. Some view it as naked colonialism, others maintain that Indonesia represents a legitimate authority with a willing people.[citation needed] Frank expression of views is complicated by the delicate and troubled relationship many nations have with Indonesia. The Free Papua Movement strives for independence of the area from Indonesia.[4] Like the rest of Indonesia, governance of the province has traditionally been strong and centralised from Jakarta. 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.[citation needed]
In 1999 it was proposed to split the province into three government-controlled sectors, sparking Papuan protests (see external article). 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. (King, 2004, p. 91)
In January 2006, 43 refugees landed on the coast of Australia and stated that the Indonesian military is carrying out a genocide in Papua. This was a rumor developed from military operations against OPM, the rebel group fighting for Papua's freedom. They were transported to an Australian immigration detention facility on Christmas Island, 360 km 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, finally received an Australian visa in early August 2006).[5] On 24 March 2006 Indonesia recalled its ambassador to Australia.[6]
Despite the strength of the military and police as well as civilian infrastructure of the Indonesian state in Papua, certain remote areas are known to be out of the state's control; these areas are often thought of as being the domain of the national liberation movement, OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka - Free Papua Movement). This de facto Papuan sovereignty at certain isolated margins of the Indonesian state is under constant threat, however, by possibility and reality of Indonesian military and police activities, which frequently take the character of 'scorched earth' operations involving killings, beatings and torture of civilians as well as destruction of houses and farms.
Regions
Indonesia structures regions by regencies and subdistricts within those. Though names and areas of control of these regional structures can vary over time in accord with changing political and other requirements, in 2005 Papua province consisted of 19 regencies (kabupaten).
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 Yapen Waropen. In addition to these, the city of Jayapura also has the status of a regency.
Jayapura, founded on 7 March 1910 as Hollandia, had by 1962 developed into a city with modern civil, educational, and medical services. Since Indonesian administration these services have been replaced by Indonesian equivalents such as the TNI (the army) replacing the Papua Battalion. The name of the city has been changed to Kotabaru, then to Sukarnopura and finally to its current official name. Among ethnic Papuans, it is also known as Port Numbai, the former name before the arrival of immigrants.
Jayapura is the largest city, boasting 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 Tanjung Ria 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 Ifar Gunung have monuments commemorating the events.
Geography
A central east-west mountain range dominates the geography of New Guinea, over 1600 km in total length. The western section is around 600 km long and 100 km 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.
Ethnic groups
The following are some of the most well-known ethnic groups of Papua:
Amungme
Asmat
Bauzi
Dani
Kamoro
Kombai
Korowai
Mee
Sentani
Yali
Yei
Demographics
The population of Papua province and the neighbouring West Papua province, both of which are still under a united administration, totalled 2,646,489 in 2005.[7] Since the early 1990s Papua has had the highest population growth rate of all Indonesian provinces at over 3% annually. This is partly a result of high birth rates, but mainly due to state-sponsored migration from Java. While indigenous Papuans formed the near-totality of the population in 1961, they are now roughly 50% of the population, the other half being composed of Indonesian migrants taking part in Indonesia's project of colonization, which simultaneously serves the interest of international resource exploitation capital. Current projections indicate the likelihood that indigenous Papuans will rapidly become a minority in their land within the next few years, unless Papuans succeed in claiming the power to regulate migration to Papua - which is unlikely to occur within the status quo of Indonesia sovereignty.
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% was Buddhist or Hindu.[8] There is also substantial practice of animism by Papuans, which is not recognised by the Indonesian government in line with the policy of Pancasila.
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 Palim (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.
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, tree monitors, 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, Sarmi, discovered numerous new species of birds, butterflies, amphibians, and plants, including possibly the largest-flowered species of rhododendron.[9]
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.[10]
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.[11]