Markus Junianto Sihaloho – If he really wants to understand the grievances of the Papuan people, the president should set up an office there, an opposition legislator said on Thursday.

Tjahjo Kumolo, the chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction in the House of Representatives, said that by working out of the country's easternmost province, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would have a better idea of the various issues of concern to Papuans.

"That way, he can directly lead the law enforcement, security and development processes in Papua," he said.

Tjahjo was speaking following his return from a working visit to Papua with several other members of House Commission I, which oversees security and foreign affairs. He said the delegation had identified several problems that called for direct intervention by Yudhoyono or Vice President Boediono.

"Perhaps the president should also order some of his ministers to work from there too so that all of the problems can be resolved much quicker," he said.

Papua has for decades been beset by a low-level separatist insurgency, fueled in large part by accusations of human rights abuses by the security forces against the region's indigenous residents. There are also concerns that despite being the most resource-rich province in the country, Papua is the least-developed.

On Tuesday, Rev. Benny Giay of the Kingmi Papuan Evangelical Church told the Jakarta Globe that as long as Papua remained a part of Indonesia, "there will always be violence." "None of the stores there are owned by an indigenous Papuan. Even I wouldn't be allowed to run a store," he said.

Benny, speaking after a meeting with Yudhoyono, said there was "no separatism." "Papua was forced into Indonesia, and after that it has been subject to constant violence," he said. "Jakarta was the one that planted the seed of separatism and used that as justification for the heavy military presence there."

Hasyim Muzadi, a former chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Islamic organization, said the situation was "critical" and could lead to Papua seceding from Indonesia. "What happens if there's an independence referendum and more than 100 countries acknowledge Papua as its own country?" he said.

[With additional reporting by Rangga Prakoso & Anita Rachman.]