Papua province's governor Jaap Salossa says the resource-rich territory will never secede because its people benefit by being part of Indonesia.

The governor on Tuesday said the Papuan people's "enjoyment of the fruits of development" for more than 40 years has made the province an integral part of the Indonesian republic.

"Papua remains in the frame of Indonesia, and its people have to understand well about the concepts of development here," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.

But many Papuans tell a different story, complaining they are being marginalized in their own land due to the policies of the central government and military to profit from the province's abundant natural resources.

The have also protested strongly against the government's effort to split Papua into three new provinces – a move that is widely seen as an attempt to boost exploitation of natural resources and quash the local separatist movement.

John Rumbiak, head of the Papua-based human rights organization ELSHAM, recently told the European Parliament that conflict in Papua has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives since the territory was occupied by Indonesia in 1963.

"The Indonesian military – operating with impunity – has carried out numerous operations in Papua, resulting in widespread human rights violations. Indeed, the Indonesian military has killed, wounded, raped, robbed, tortured, kidnapped, illegally detained and/or destroyed the property and livelihoods of tens of thousands of indigenous Papuans," he said.