PAPUA
Papua is one of Indonesia province comprising a
majority part of the western half of New Guinea
Island and nearby. 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 in Jakarta as separate
province named West Irian Jaya. The legality of
this separation has been disputed, as it appears
to conflict with the conditions of the Special Autonomy
status awarded to Papua in the year 2000. The status
of West Irian Jaya province is not yet resolved
as of early 2006.
Papua
is the official Indonesian and internationally
recognized name for the province. During the colonial
era the region was known as Dutch New Guinea.
The province was known as West Irian or Irian
Barat from 1969 to 1973, and then renamed Irian
Jaya ("Victorious Irian") by Soeharto.
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) the name
of Irian, which stems from the acronym Ikut Republik
Indonesia, Anti Nederland (join/follow with the
Republic of Indonesia, rejecting The Netherlands).
The name West Papua is used among Papuan separatists
and usually refers to the whole of the Indonesian
portion of New Guinea.
The
capital of Papua province is Jayapura. Most of
the population depends on subsistence farming,
especially the cultivation of rice and maize.
The main industries include copper (with the largest
concentration of copper in the world at Tembagapura),
palm oil, copra, maize, groundnuts, pepper, tuna,
gold, oil, coal, and phosphates. It is mostly
a mountainous and forested region, with the Maoke
Mountain range rising to 5,029-m/16,499 ft at
Jaya Peak. The population comprises Melanesians
(original settlers of Western New Guinea), Papuans,
Negritos, and Europeans. Indigenous animism prevails.
The province declared independence from Indonesia,
as West Papua, in June 2000. However, the president
of Indonesia stated that the declaration was unrepresentative
of true feeling in the province.
Geographically
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. Steep mountains 3000 to 4000 m and up
to 5000 m high along the range ensure a steady supply
of rain from the tropical atmosphere. The tree line
is around 4000 m elevation and the tallest peaks
are snowbound year round.
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Information
and pictures courtesy of Indonesia Tourism. |
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