FORMER GAM MEMBER KILLED IN ACEH SHOOTING

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 008389

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2016
TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL PHUM MARR ID
SUBJECT: FORMER GAM MEMBER KILLED IN ACEH SHOOTING


Classified By: Political Officer Eric W. Kneedler, reason: 1.4 (b) and
(d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) A former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel was reportedly
shot and killed by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI)
during the course of an apparent dispute over a traffic
violation in Northern Aceh. According to Aceh Monitoring
Mission (AMM) head Peter Feith, AMM personnel were present at
the time of the shooting, but no one from AMM was injured.
Feith and police officials announced plans to investigate.
Vice-President Kalla told the Ambassador July 5 that the
incident is "manageable" and noted that the new Aceh Law had
been approved in a special DPR committee that day. Although
the specific details of the shooting vary widely, it appears
to have been an isolated incident that will be contained if
handled properly. End Summary.

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TWO VERY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SAME INCIDENT
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2. (C) AFP reporting quotes a local police spokesperson as
saying the shooting took place while AMM members and soldiers
were investigating the detention of a civilian by local
military personnel in Keude Paya Bakong village. (Note: the
village is in the Lokseumawe area, several hours from Banda
Aceh, on the road to Medan. End Note) The civilian
reportedly had been arrested in front of a military post for
speeding on a motorcycle and, according to AFP,s account,
for allegedly carrying marijuana. According to this version
of the story, AMM officials, military officers and several
former GAM members were being briefed on the arrest along
with a group of civilians when gunmen opened fire. Soldiers
manning the post reportedly retaliated by shooting towards
the gunmen, and an ex-GAM member was killed in the process; a
policeman who was escorting the AMM officials and a civilian
in the group were also wounded.


3. (C) According to the Jakarta Post, ex-GAM officials on
the scene in their capacity as Aceh Transition Committee
(KPA) members, as well as local civilians, related a
contrasting version of the incident. The Jakarta Post
reports local residents claimed the KPA members arrived at
the scene to assist a civilian that was being beaten by
soldiers after he was detained for speeding on his
motorcycle. The KPA,s official spokesperson, Sofyan Dawood,
confirmed two KPA members were present at the time of the
incident, but denied they were responsible for initiating the
shooting.


4. (C) The Ambassador raised the incident with
Vice-President Kalla during a July 5 meeting. Kalla replied
that such problems arise because some former GAM personnel
forget that they are no longer "heroes" while TNI personnel
at times forget that their powers are not what they were
before implementation of the peace agreement. Kalla said
that military police and the AMM would conduct an
investigation and that they would await those results. He
judged the incident as manageable. Kalla noted that the
Special Committee in Parliament dealing with the new Aceh law
had come to agreement that afternoon, and that he expects the
draft to pass in plenary without a problem.

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COMMENT
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5. (C) Our contacts in TNI and the NGO community have not
been able to flesh out the exact details of the shooting, so
there is still much that is not yet known about what exactly
took place. While the incident is a serious one, it does not
appear to jeopardize the positive momentum of the peace
process.
PASCOE