Jakarta (agencies) – Indonesia's army chief yesterday called on the international media not to speculate on who was responsible for the fatal ambush of American schoolteachers near the Freeport mine in Papua at the weekend.

"If there is foreign media which is unclear, please tell the media not to speculate," General Ryamizard Ryacudu told El Shinta radio.

He said the attack occurred in an area where Kelly Kwalik, a factional leader of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), was active. "I'm not simply saying yes, but it is in Kwalik's operational area," he said.

In Papua itself, the local military commander, Major-General Mahidin Simbolon, said the attack was carried out by the OPM. "They're OPM, but we don't know which faction yet," General Simbolon said.

Security analysts were sceptical of Indonesian claims attributing blame to the OPM, which has resisted Indonesian rule for decades.

Diplomats cautioned that blaming the rebels was a rush to judgment, reflecting the government's political agenda. Indonesia's problems in keeping Papua are similar to those it had in East Timor.

The diplomats noted that the Papua rebels had not engaged in acts of violence against Americans or other foreigners during their 40-year struggle for independence.

"I don't see what they gain from it," a senior diplomat said. Another said: "A year from now, we're still likely to be asking who did it?"