INDONESIA: ELECTIONEERING IN THE REMOTE PROVINCE OF IRIAN JAYA

(27 May 1997) Dani/Natsound

As Indonesia prepares to go to the polls on Thursday, its largest and most remote province, Irian Jaya, has seen some of the nation's most colourful electioneering.

Away from the violence and confrontation of the urban campaign, an unspoilt stone-age culture is experiencing a political awakening.

And they're sure about one thing - it's time for change at the top.

There's only one way into the Baliem Valley, located in Indonesia's far-flung province of Irian Jaya.

You have to fly in - and so must everything else.

Petrol, produce and people share the same infrequent flights on ageing cargo planes into one of the most inaccessible regions on earth.

It wasn't until 1936 that the outside world even knew of Baliem's existence.

There are no roads through this vast landscape - which ranks as one of the most unspoilt but treacherous tropical regions in the world.

It would take more than a month to walk to the nearest settlement - if you made it past the crocodiles, snakes and malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Home to Neolithic warrior farmers, the Dani, Baliem was first populated by their ancestors 30-thousand years ago.

Some say the Dani are related to Australia's Aborigines.

Little of the way of life in the isolated valley has changed in five thousand years.

The daily routine still centres on the traditional villages, the family and simple agriculture.

But with Indonesia's elections taking place in even the furthest reaches of the country, the Dani have recently been weighing up the national issues.

And they've decided - it's time for a change.

The leader of the Dani says his people want the ruling Golkar party out, so that a new social consensus can be forged.

SOUNDBITE (Dani):
"The government never cares about us. They never build houses for us. We are very tired of sleeping in huts. That's why we want more social programmes and housing. The government is not concerned about us. They don't even notice."
SUPER CAPTION: Hengky Hilapok, Chief of the Dani Tribal Chiefs

There is, however, some support in Baliem for the government.

At this election rally, hundreds of Dani have turned out to support Golkar on its last day of campaigning before the polls.

Supporters wear the colours of the party in the form of free t-shirts, but the rest of their costume and the music are all their own.

Many have walked for hours to attend, but there's little sign of fatigue - even when some feel the party is over.

But the majority of the Dani appears less than enthused with the Golkar track record.

Their warrior leader says he sees right through the government's election promises.

He says he is voting for the main opposition group - the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

SOUNDBITE (Dani):
"I will vote for the PDI, because the government told us that we would receive money if we join a government agriculture scheme. They told us to report to the Central Agriculture Office, but every time we got nothing. That's why we vote PDI, because all the money from the central government that was meant for the people here has been lost through corruption. So we never enjoyed the benefits of the development funds from Jakarta. PDI is for the common people, the whole society."
SUPER CAPTION: Hengky Hilapok, Chief of Dani Tribal Chiefs

It seemed as though nearly all of Dani society turned out in support of the P-D-I's last election rally.

Thousands from villages all across the Baliem valley gathered to voice a rather unique expression of democracy.

With a traditional battle cry, the ritual dances begin.









Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...