Writer links recent transmigrants to Papua conflict

Aprila Wayar this month published her third novel, Sentuh Papua, which covered human rights issues and the effects of Indonesian transmigration in Papua. Transmigration refers to movement of landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia to less populous parts of the country. Ms Wayar, a former journalist, said that after Indonesia took over Papua in the 1960s, early migrants settled relatively smoothly. But those who have come 2001 when Papua gained Special Autonomy Status were a different story, she said.