Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Deaths from cholera increased to 173 in Papua as of Saturday, with lawmakers and civil society groups accusing the local administration and central government of neglecting to prevent the disease from spreading.

Observers warned Jakarta that the government's failure to take action could draw international attention to the troubled province – with accusations of neglecting the Papuans, and fueling questions of Indonesia's ability to govern the area.

Church aid workers in the remote Kamuu valley, Dogiyai regency, confirmed that victims had died from severe diarrhea and vomiting caused by cholera which had been in the area since April.

Catholic priest J. Budi Hernawan from the Jayapura archdiocese said local health authorities and the provincial government had known about the crisis since May, but had failed to act, leading to a more severe outbreak.

"We are afraid the death toll will continue to rise as little has been done so far," he told The Jakarta Post by phone from Jayapura.

Hernawan said the outbreak had spread to the neighboring regency of Paniai, adding that locals were already very angry and desperate because of the government's inaction.

The long delays had lead some Papuans to suspect the government was deliberately neglecting the outbreak and allowing these people to die, he added.

Angry Papuans in Kamuu attacked a settlement of migrants from other parts of Indonesia last week and destroyed a dozen houses, he said, because they assumed the migrants were to blame for the outbreak.

While confirming the presence of Cholera, the Health Ministry had said only 87 people died from 575 infected with the disease, blaming the traditional custom of hugging dead bodies as a source of the infection. "For now, the problems have been solved by the local health authorities," it said in its official website.

The Foreign Ministry also expressed concerns over the increasing number of the deaths, but said it had yet to receive complaints from the international community over the outbreak.

"For the time being, we will leave the problem in the hands of the Health Ministry," Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Andreas Pereira, who recently visited the province, also confirmed receiving a report of people dying from Cholera and urged the government to act quickly.

"I'm afraid the issue will be used by international NGOs to question Indonesia's ability to govern Papua if we continue to do nothing," he said.

University of Indonesia international relations expert Haryadi Wirawan also urged the government to quickly send aid teams to remote areas to prevent the disease from spreading. "By sending sufficient teams of doctors with enough medicine and equipment, we can show the Papuan people and international community we care, and stop the issue from being used to corner us," he said.