Dina Indrasafitri, Jakarta – Flexible policy implementation in the field is required to handle tension in Papua, a natural resources-rich province plagued by decades of separatist movement, a former minister says.

Former defense minister Juwono Sudarsono said that a cross-cultural approach should be taken into account in dealing with security problems in the easternmost province.

Papua has again come under international scrutiny after a video showing a Papuan activist lying with a gaping wound on his stomach – allegedly inflicted by Mobile Brigade personnel, voicing calls for "Freedom". The activist, identified as Yawan Wayeni, died last year.

"Security officers in the field are frightening that Jakarta would reprimand them. Jakarta should acknowledge that there should be flexibility in the field," Juwono said on the sidelines of a seminar on nationalism.

He added that the problem of "Jakarta versus Papua" was a cultural matter. "There needs to be a dialogue between Jakarta and Papua...[there has to be] a new approach...the Papuans should agree to stop blaming Jakarta and they are also competing with each other," he said.