Transmigration program, Transmigration program - Aims, Transmigration program - Criticism, Transmigration program - History, Demographics of Indonesia, Migration, Political migration, Human rights in western New Guinea
ARTICLES RELATED TO Transmigration program - Criticism
Indonesia's transmigration program was the target of extensive opposition, particularly from indigenous populations in the regions where transmigrants settled. Some foreign and domestic observers also criticized the program's intentions or implementation.
Many indigenous people saw the program as a part of an effort by the central government on Java to extend greater economic and political control over their region, by moving in people having closer personal ties to Java. This was particularly resented in areas such as Papua that had ...
The policy was started by the Dutch colonial government in the early nineteenth century to reduce crowding and to provide a workforce for plantations on Sumatra. The program diminished during the last years of the Dutch era, but was revived after independence in an attempt to alleviate the food shortages and weak economic performance that were a major feature of the Sukarno era.
Under the President Suharto, the program continued and was expanded to send migrants to more areas of the archipelago. At its peak between 1979 and 1984, 535, ...
The stated purpose of the program, according to proponents in the Indonesian government and the development community, was to move millions of Indonesians from the densely populated inner islands (Java, Bali, Madura) to the outer, less densely populated islands to achieve a more balanced population density. This would alleviate poverty by providing land and new opportunities to generate income for poor landless settlers. It would also benefit the nation as a whole by increasing the utilization of the ...
