Jakarta – A US lawmaker Friday urged Indonesia to ease access to its easternmost province of Papua, the site of a long-simmering separatist movement, amid allegations of military abuse.

Human right groups claim some 100,000 people have died in the province as a result of military action or atrocities by Indonesian troops during the decades-long rebellion.

The government makes it difficult for foreigners to visit Papua, the country's most remote region, geographically and politically, so allegations of abuse are difficult to confirm.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., said he told Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono "any degree of openness and ability to examine what happened there would be helpful."

Granting some sort off access would demonstrate Indonesia's "dedication to trying to solve this difficult problem," he told reporters after a meeting at the presidential palace.

Indonesia seized Papua province in 1963 and formalized its occupation in 1969 following a UN-sanctioned ballot that rights groups have labeled a sham.

Ever since, the poorly armed Free Papua Movement has fought a sporadic campaign for independence. The military has been accused of widespread abuses in its effort to defeat the group.

"The question was whether the people... can be made feel comfortable in their region and had the openness and the protection from many possible abuses by the military," Feingold said.

An attack in 2002 on a convoy of teachers working at the mine that killed two US citizens disrupted moves to normalize military ties between Jakarta and Washington.

However, Washington lifted a six-year embargo on arms sales to Indonesia in November as a reward for Indonesia's cooperation in fighting terrorism.

In January, police arrested eight suspects in the killings, all members of Papua's tiny separatist army who were said to have intended to kill soldiers who patrol the road.