Jayapura, 2/13 (Jubi ) – A lecturer of Papua State University (Unipa ) Musa Sombuk said that the Indigenous Peoples of Papua are under high pressure by migrants. This pressure will be higher if there is no effort to find best solution to deal with.
“Currently in the city of Jayapura, peoples of Port Numbay as Indigenous Peoples of Papua is only 1.2 percent of the population. It means that the number of Indigenous people from Port Numbay is 5000 people,” said Sombuk, member of of the Papua Election Comission in a discussion titled ” What is the Future of 14 Legislative Seats in the Papuan Legislative Council for native Papuans” at Grand Hotel Abe, Jayapura on Thursday (2/13).
He added that the population of Jayapura city according to population census of the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2012 is 273 928 inhabitants.
The same thing is also addressed by a former Chairman of the Kerom Election Commission, Aloysius Renwarin about the total population in Keerom represented the composition members of Keerom Representatives House as the number of people is very influential factor in determining legislative quotas in parliament. ” There are only three of 20 members in the Keerom Representatives House, are origin from Keerom. There is also no woman sitting in Keerom Representatives House, ” he said.
According to the former Director of Elsham Papua, non Papuans may not choose a figure from Papua and Papuans might not want to choose a non Papuan. ” It’s a fact that occurred in Keerom this time, ” he said .
This condition is almost similar to Fiji, one of the countries in the South Pacifif.
“Currently, the population of the Melanesian people is less compared to the Indians who came as workers at the sugarcane plantations, ” said Sombuk who got his doctorate degree in sociology of agriculture at Australian National University .
Such condition made John Spike declared a statement that Fiji is for Fijian. Yet, the Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says Fiji is for all, Melanesian or India. Anyone who lives in Fiji is Fijians.
A lecturer of Administration and Governance Faculty in University of Indonesia, H Zulkifli Hamid in his book entitled Political System South Pacific states in the 1990s mentioned that Fiji population was 700,000 as a multiracial society. It was made up of 50 percent of Indian descent, 43 percent of native Fijian, and 7 percent consists of races Europe, China, Polynesia and others.
Besides minority in terms of quantity and presence of equality between the main races, native Fijians have concerns over Indian descent, moreover economically the native Fijians is far behind compared to the Indian society . Indian have control over the economy of Fiji, from the sugar industry which is a major source for Fiji. And also other professional fields dominated by Indian society such as medicine, law, etc.
However, native Fijians have only one economic resource that is the land which can not be traded unless rented .
Apparently, native Fijians needed a solution to protect their rights as indigenous people in their own land. This condition is maintained since the days of British rule in Fiji . Its coup undertaken by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka was aimed to ensure the supremacy of native Fijian children in the future . ( Jubi / Dominggus a Mampioper/ Tina)
