Page "History of Indonesia" Paragraph 18

The Transmigration program ( Transmigrasi ) was a National Government initiative to move landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia ( such as Java and Bali ) to less populous areas of the country including Papua, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.

The stated purpose of this program was to reduce the considerable poverty and overpopulation on Java, to provide opportunities for hard-working poor people, and to provide a workforce to better utilise the resources of the outer islands.

The program, however, has been controversial with critics accusing the Indonesian Government of trying to use these migrants to reduce the proportion of native populations in receiving areas, in order to weaken separatist movements.

The program has often been cited as a major and ongoing factor in controversies and even conflict and violence between settlers and indigenous populations.